by Tavis Adibudeen
There is a lot of talk
lately about jihad juxtaposed with terrorism. It is unfortunate that
the topic has even emerged, but it is certainly a reasonable question
and deserves a just and honest response.
Jihad is an arabic word that comes from the root jahada
meaning "to struggle." It can refer to various types of struggle:
physical, psychological, spiritual, and even financial. In the case of
the Qur'an, it is used to mean all of these forms in various places.
For example:
O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of approach unto Him, and strive (jaahidu) in His way: that you may be successful. (3:35)
and
And We shall try you until We test those among you who strive (al-mujtahidina) their utmost and persevere in patience; and We shall try your reported (mettle). (47:31)
The Prophetic tradition (Sunnah), which is the second source of Islam after the Qur'an further illustrates the importance of inner-struggle or jihad-un-nafs over that of outward struggle.
Al-Sukuni relates on the
authority of Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (A): `Verily on seeing the
returning armies from the battlefront, the Prophet (S) of God said:
Blessed are those who have performed the minor jihad (jihad al-asghar), and have yet to perform the major one. When asked, what is the major jihad (jihad al-akbar)? the Prophet replied, "the jihad of the self" (struggle against self) (recorded by Al-Kulayni in al-Kafi)
Those who wish to
eliminate Islam, however, has striven in their own jihad to isolate the
minor jihad of Islam and superimpose the anomaly of terrorism in its
place. There is no doubt that some ill-minded Muslims have used corrupt
interpretations of Qur'an and Sunnah to justify terrorism, but this is
a recent phenomenon that does not extend its reach into the classical
Islamic tradition. What those who seek to discredit Islam have
attempted to do is to align current unIslamic terrorism with legitimate
and lawful warfare of Islam's past.
To gain a better
understanding of this dilemma, we must first understand some of the
rules of Jihad, as explained in the Qur'an and Sunnah.
1. All enemies in war must be active combatants.
In other words, if a person or group of people are not engaged in
fighting a Muslim, then a Muslim cannot fight them. Anyone who is a
non-combatant (women, children, non-fighting men, animals, trees, etc.)
is safe from the Muslims in all times.
Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors. (2:190)
2. Accidental killing is not excused in Islam.
There must be careful consideration as to whether an action will cause
the loss of innocent life. (This is much different from the western
concept of "collateral damage" where bombs are dropped, knowing that
many innocent people will be killed). Therefore, nuclear and biological
weapons are not allowed Islam because of the risk that innocent people
will be hurt.
O
ye who believe! When you go abroad in the cause of Allah, investigate
carefully, and say not to any one who offers you a salutation: "You are
not a believer!" Coveting the perishable goods of this life: with Allah
are profits and spoils abundant. Even thus were you yourselves before,
till Allah conferred on you His favours: Therefore carefully investigate. For Allah is well aware of all that you do. (4:94)
3. All other avenues must be extinguished before fighting is commenced.
Peace and Justice must be the ultimate goals. Here it should be noted
that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) spent the first
55 years of his life without going to war. His prophetic mission began
at age 40, and for the first 13 years in Makkah, he did not fight.
During that time, he and his followers were subjected to ridicule and
abuse.
The Prophet sometimes had
entrails of animals thrown on him while he prayed. His followers were
tortured and killed (the first martyr of Islam was an innocent woman
named Sumayah). Bilal, then a slave of an wealthy arab, was subjected
to the cruelty of heavy stones placed on his chest because he would not
recant his belief. He was saved and freed by Abu Bakr, a companion of
the Prophet. The Prophet finally had to send the weakest of his
followers to Abyssinia where they would be safe.
Then, the arab tribe
Quraysh decided to expel the Prophet and his family from Makkah. They
were forced to live in the open desert under the burning sun, during
which time, the Prophet's wife, Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib, died.
Still, the Prophet did not order his people to fight. He could have.
They were a minority, but they could have engaged in secret
assassinations, suicide attacks, etc, but the Prophet hated war and
killing and wanted to exhaust every possibility before going there.
Also, there was no point
to such resistance unless he had a proper army and could ensure that
his people had learned enough about Islam so as not to do injustice to
their enemies.
Finally, after the
Prophet had made a deal to move his followers to Madinah and establish
a new city with alliances and strength, the Quraysh decided to kill
him. They sent men in the night to kill the Prophet, but Allah gave him
a vision of this. So, Ali, the Prophet's young brave cousin laid
himself in the prophet's bed awaiting the attackers. Upon seeing the
brave and willing Ali instead of their intended target, they relented
and instead went out in search of the Prophet.
He escaped, but the
persecution did not end there. After most of the Muslims and their
Prophet were safe in Madinah, the Quraysh began a campaign of thievery
and oppression that were the precursors to war. Some Muslims were left
behind in Makkah, especially women who were essentially imprisoned by
their tribes. Many were separated from their husbands and families. The
Quraysh also stole the homes and valuables that the Muslims left behind.
Muslims began to raid
caravans, not to steal from the Quraysh, as stealing is not allowed in
Islam, even if your enemy steals from you. And evidence shows that the
Muslims did not loot and plunder these caravans. Instead they used a
brilliant stratagem of war. The Qurayshi strength was in their economy,
which depended on the trade route to Syria. The Muslims successfully
cut off this route, which eventually led to the Battle of Badr.
Please keep in mind that
these battles between the Muslims and Quraysh pale in comparison to
modern day battles. In the battle of Badr, for example, approximately
16 Muslims and 55 Quraysh were killed.
None of the dead were innocent civilians, unlike today's wars where the
majority of dead are innocent people. Hundreds of thousands of
innocents died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki alone because of the atom bomb
dropped by the United States.
These concepts of
"suicide bombing" and killing of innocents are not Islamic inventions.
They are unislamic tactics that Muslims learned from secular war
theories. Muslim terrorists today are more influenced by Stalin and Mao
than by Muhammad and Ali.
It is related that Ali
ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, was once engaged on the battle field
with one of the top Qurayshi warriors, who had been boasting that no
one could defeat him. Ali, who was known as the best warrior among the
Muslims, answered the call. After much fighting, Ali subdued his
opponent and struck him to the ground. His opponent then spat in the
face of Ali. Suddenly, Imam Ali turned and walked away. The man was
shocked and demanded to know why Ali did not finish him. Imam Ali said
what became famous words:
"Know, O Amr, I only kill
in the way of Allah and not for any private motive. Since you spat in
my face, my killing you now may be from a desire for personal
vengeance. So I spare your life. Rise and return to your people!"
So, how, following Imam
Ali's example, can Muslims justify killing innocents when Imam Ali
would not even kill a sworn enemy of the Muslims who was laying
helplessly on the ground and had spat in his face?
One could make the
argument that later Muslim civilizations such as the Ottomans committed
atrocities and injustices against non-Muslims. In some cases, this is
true, but these empires did not represent Islam. Many of them committed
far worse crimes against Muslims, especially the Umayyad and Abbassid
regimes. The same oppressive history has repeated itself today, where
the majority of dead are Muslims and the blood that is shed is Muslim
blood.
No terrorist can claim Islam in one hand and kill Muslims with the other. Such a person is a hypocrite.
"The Hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire: no helper will you find for them" (4:145)
No terrorist can claim to
stand for justice, no matter how noble the cause, and kill children.
Prophet Muhammad used to seek out the children and ask them to pray for
him because he knew that the supplications of children were the purest
on earth. Now imagine a child who supplicates to Allah to relieve her
from the suffering inflicted upon her by a terrorist.
Those who now seek to
defame Islam live by the same principles as the terrorists. They
operate on an understanding of absolutes, "Either you are with us, or
you're against us." It does not matter to some people
that you are peace-loving and compassionate if you wear the title of
"Muslim". You are an enemy, and they will seek to distort your religion
to make you appear as though such horrific evil is justified.
"That is because they hate what Allah has revealed; so He has made their deeds fruitless." (47:9)
Nevertheless, let truth
stand clear from falsehood. Let the true nature and love of Islam
permeate throughout the world. Let all peace-loving and God-fearing
people, regardless of their religions, stand united in the cause of
justice and tranquility. Let every Muslim lend a hand to every
suffering person around the world, and let the world see her plight
through the eyes of a Muslim child.
"It
is not righteousness that you turn your faces Towards east or West; but
it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the
Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance,
out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the
wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be
steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the
contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or
suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are
the people of truth, the Allah-fearing." (2:177)
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