Go to:
http://www.secularislam.org/jihad/exeges
is.htm
or read below.
An exegesis on ˜Jihad in Islam™
Syed Kamran Mirza
Sye_mirza@hotmail.com
[Author™s note: I apologize to the readers for writing such a
lengthy essay on Jihad. Jihad is extremely serious matter in the
Islamic history. There is abundance of valuable literatures
depicting Islamic Jihad which I could not include in order to keep
the size within limit. However, I tried my best to make it as
plausible as possible by many important literatures dealing with
Jihad. Some Islamists are trying to fool the western readers by
their deceitful and elusive meanings of Jihad. I urge the readers to
have patience to read the entire article in order to learn about the
true meaning of Islamic Jihad.]
September Eleventh™s horrific episode has come as the big
thunder out of the blue to strike the core meaning of Islam. Since
then, Islamists were busy defending Islam, which according to
them was hijacked by militant Islamists. For quite a while, they
spent time in their futile efforts to make Islam a peaceful religion.
Now they are busy again to give a wishful new meaning of Jihad.
This essay will be dedicated to explore the practical meaning and
purpose of Islamic Jihad.
What is the meaning of Jihad?
The meaning of Jihad in the Webster Dictionary: is Holy war. The
meaning of œCrusade is also Holy war. Entire humanity
knows”historically both œJihad and œCrusade was soaked with
blood. Now why then we are debating and trying to redefine Jihad
at this juncture?
Now in the Arabic language the word œJihad literally means, "to
strive, and "to struggle. Some Muslim scholars further classify
Jihad into following categories: 1. Jihad-an-nafs or Jihad against
one™s self; 2. Jihad ash-shaitaan or Jihad against Satan; 3. Jihad
al-kuffar or Jihad against disbeliever; 4. Jihad al-munafiqeen or
Jihad against hypocrites; 5. Jihad al-faasiqeen or Jihad against
corrupt Muslims. Now, can we make people fool by these
semantic loopholes of the various meanings of Jihad? Certainly
not!
Honestly, I am not very much impressed by the various bookish
meanings of the Arabic word œJihad. We know very well that in
every language certain words may have many different meanings
depending on its usage. That does not mean one can elude people
the actual meaning of the word with some different meanings of a
particular word. Because the word meaning is always understood
by its practical or circumstantial use only. Consider the word
Jihad that means struggle. This struggle may have various
circumstantial effects. Struggle can be in your mind, in your own
life, in your work, in your way to office with the traffic, or
struggle may be fighting with the enemy. You can say: œI am
fighting with my mind whether I should accept it or not, or œI am
fighting with my wife over the decision of changing our house or
you can say”œI am fighting a war with my enemy. Now, a
simple human being will see the meaning of the word œfight
(usual meaning of which is armed collision) varies greatly with
it™s circumstantial use.
Sometimes the actual meaning of a particular word may even
change by the circumstantial use. Consider the Perso-Indian
(Urdu) word œRazakar means œhelper of King. However, by its
circumstantial and historical use, the meaning may have changed
greatly. In 1971, Bangalee™s freedom struggle (War of Freedom or
Muktijuddha) the Razakars killed, raped, and tortured millions of
freedom loving Bangalees. Now, in Bangladesh, calling some
body a Razakar is not salutary, but on the contrary it is an epithet
or it is an outright demeaning, to put it mildly. If you call
somebody Razakar, he may come to physically assault you. Why?
The circumstantial and historical effects have changed the
meaning and nuances of the word Razakar from helper to vile
conspirator and Fifth Columnist. That is a valid reason why we
must take the meaning of Jihad from its historical and
circumstantial effects. I shall search for the meaning of the Jihad
from its (a) History, (b) Qur™an referrals, (c) Hadiths™ mentioning
of it, and (d) Historians and Islamic scholars interpretation of it.
A. Historical meaning of Jihad:
Historically, Jihad means Holly War. For 1400 years, Muslims
always understood the meaning of Jihad as Islamic Holy War.
Every Islamic scholar, Mullah, maulana, Imam, etc., of the whole
world will agree with this meaning of Jihad. Technically, Jihad is
war against non-Muslims (Jihad al-kuffar or Jihad against
disbeliever; and Jihad al-munafiqeen or Jihad against hypocrites)
only, since Muslims are forbidden to fight the Muslims. Hundreds
of books were written by the Islamic scholars on Jihad and
everybody unanimously used the word Jihad as the religious war
called holy war. In the Islamic history, more than 80% of the texts
are filled with Holy War (Jihad). Early Islam was spread in the
Arabian Peninsula solely by holy wars (Jihad). Islam was
propagated as a religion by series of wars/battles “both defensive
as well as Offensive. As many as 78 historic battles were fought
by the Prophet Muhammad himself. And out of 78, only one
(battle of ditch) was defensive war, and the rest were simply
offensive wars. Did Muslim soldiers go to Syria, Iran, and Egypt
to fight defensive war? What about those great historical
BATTLES “ Battle of Oho™d, Battle of Bad™r, Battle of Khayber,
signing of peace-pacts such as œHudaibya Peace Pact, etc.? Were
those wars fought with the so-called struggle only? Alternatively,
were those wars fought with the heart-piercing sharpened swords?
Prophet Mohammed and his successors initiated series of
offensive wars against pagan Arabs, Jews, Christians, etc., to
spread or to impose Islam by force as well as to seize the
abundance (booty) of these lands. However, it was quite possible
that there had been some small numbers of conversions by sheer
greatness of Prophet himself or due to some other miracles.
Nevertheless, a great majority was converted by force, and people
of Arabia did not have freedom to choose. After Prophet
Muhammad gained enough might in his force while in Medina,
the tradition was to send an invitation of Islam to various Arab
Tribes or countries. First, an invitation to pagans to accept Islam,
then war against those who refuse to accept Islam. A typical
invitation to the people of the book (Christians and Jews) was:
œEmbrace Islam, or pay the poll-tax (Ziziya), or fight to death.
Undoubtedly, the concept of an offensive war to spread the faith
of Islam is a genuine Islamic concept: Holy War (Jihad) for the
sake of God. I can write hundreds of pages of authentic Islamic
history of wars in which tens of thousands of life was lost; tons of
human bloods were shed.
Prophet Muhammad was injured seriously (lost some teeth) in one
of those wars he fought relentlessly. Prophet™s uncle Amir
Hamzah was killed and dismembered and his liver and heart were
eaten by the wife of a pagan tribe leader Abu Sufian. Now may I
ask what kind of so-called œstruggle might have caused these
above misery? It was obviously by Jihad (Holy War) and not by
any peaceful struggle, indeed.
B. What Qur™an Says about Jihad?
Jihad was mentioned in the Qur™an most frequently with the
meaning of "warfare, often coupled with "fi sabil Allah" (in the
way of Allah). Jihad as warfare is a pivotal concern for the
Qur™an, the Hadith and the Shari˜ah which we shall explore later
in this essay.
All most all the hateful, coercive, intimidating and tempting
verses in the Quran were made in respect to the Jihad”Holy war.
Important to note: Prophet Muhammad while he was in Mecca did
not have too many supporters; hence, he was very weak in power
compare to the Pagans. It was at that time he brought some soft
verses (maximum one dozen in the whole Qur™an) which our
hypocritical Islamists use them to elude the truth of Islam. But in
Medina Muhammad quickly assumed both religious and political
power and leadership over the whole Median community. It was
at that time he brought all those harsh/hateful (several hundreds of
them) Qur™anic verses just to incite his followers to fight.
In the Holy Qur™an one can find hundreds of verses (Ayats) which
dictates to fight holy wars (Jihad) against non-Muslims infidels.
Let me cite here a few of them:
Qur™an-(9:5): œBut when the forbidden months are past, then fight
and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, And seize them,
beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of
war) ; but if they repent (accept Islam) and establish regular
prayers and practices regular charity then open the way for them;
for God is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
Qur™an-(8:65): œ O Apostle ! Rouse the believers to the fight, if
there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering , they will
vanquish two hundred; if a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand
of the unbelievers; for these are a people without understanding.
Quran-2:216: Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But
it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you
Qur™an-(2:191): œAnd slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn
them out from where they have turned you out¦¦¦such is the
reward of those who suppress faith.
Qur™an-(9:29): œFight those who believe not the Allah nor the last
day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah
and his apostle, nor acknowledge the religion of truth even if they
are the people of the book, until they pay the Jizya with willing
submission, and feel themselves subdued.
Qur™an(48:20): œ¦.Allah promises you much booty (spoils of
war) that you will capture from the defeated infidels¦.
Quran-8:38 œAnd fight them on until there is no more Tumult or
oppression
Quran-8:12: I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers:
smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them
Quran-8: 15,16: O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers
in hostile array, never turn your backs to them. If any do turn his
back to them on such a day - unless it be in a stratagem of war, or
to retreat to a troop (of his own)- he draws on himself the wrath of
Allah, and his abode is Hell,- an evil refuge (indeed)!
Quran-9:111: Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons
and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise):
they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding
on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the
Qur™anQuran-9:73: O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and
the hypocrites! Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a
hapless journey™s end.
Quran-9:123: O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers
who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know
that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).
Quran-4:95: O ye who believe! Shall I show you a commerce that
will save you from a painful doom? You should believe in Allah
and His messenger, and should strive for the cause of Allah with
your wealth and your lives. That is better for you, if ye did but
know. ... Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and
fight with their goods and persons than those who sit (at home).
C. Jihad as per Hadiths:
Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihad) was sanctioned widely in
sahi hadiths. Almost one-third of the fourth of nine volumes of
Bukhari, Islam™s principal collector of Hadith, focused on jihad as
physical war. There are thousands of sahi hadiths that simply talk
about Jihad”the holy war in Islam. I cannot include them all in
this short essay in order to keep to a minimum. I will only
mention however some of them in this essay. The following are a
few examples:
Sahi Bukhari# 35, page-102:
Prophet Muhammad (sa) narrated, œ He who is out at war Allah
becomes the protector for him. Because, he only joins the fight
when he put his solid belief upon Allah and his Apostle. Allah
provides him wealth and much booty (Maal-e-goni-mat) with
which he returns home. Or, place him in the paradise by making
him a Shaheed (martyrdom).
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 46:
Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The
example of a Mujahid in Allah's Cause-- and Allah knows better
who really strives in His Cause----is like a person who fasts and
prays continuously. Allah guarantees that He will admit the
Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He
will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty
(maal-e-gani-maat)."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 53:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said, "Nobody who dies
and finds good from Allah (in the Hereafter) would wish to come
back to this world even if he were given the whole world and
whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority
of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed
again (in Allah's Cause)."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 48:
Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "A single endeavor (of fighting)
in Allah's Cause in the afternoon or in the forenoon is better than
all the world and whatever is in it. A place in Paradise as small as
the bow or lash of one of you is better than all the world and
whatever is in it. And if a houri from Paradise appeared to the
people of the earth, she would fill the space between Heaven and
the Earth with light and pleasant scent and her head cover is better
than the world and whatever is in it."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 44:
Narrated Abu Huraira: A man came to Allah's Apostle and said,
"Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." He
replied, "I do not find such a deed." Then he added, "Can you,
while the Muslim fighter is in the battle-field, enter your mosque
to perform prayers without cease and fast and never break your
fast?" The man said, "But who can do that?" Abu- Huraira added,
"The Mujahid (i.e. Muslim fighter) is rewarded even for the
footsteps of his horse while it wanders bout (for grazing) tied in a
long rope."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 49:
Narrated Samura: The Prophet said, "Last night two men came to
me (in a dream) and made me ascend a tree and then admitted me
into a better and superior house, better of which I have never seen.
One of them said, 'This house is the house of martyrs."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 50:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said, "A single endeavor
(of fighting) in Allah's Cause in the forenoon or in the afternoon is
better than the world and whatever is in it."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 42:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Allah's Apostle said, "There is no Hijra (i.e.
migration) (from Mecca to Medina) after the Conquest (of
Mecca), but Jihad and good intention remain; and if you are called
(by the Muslim ruler) for fighting, go forth immediately.
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 54:
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "By Him in Whose
Hands my life is! Were it not for some men amongst the believers
who dislike to be left behind me and whom I cannot provide with
means of conveyance, I would certainly never remain behind any
Sariya' (army-unit) setting out in Allah's Cause. By Him in Whose
Hands my life is! I would love to be martyred in Al1ah's Cause
and then get resurrected and then get martyred, and then get
resurrected again and then get martyred and then get resurrected
again and then get martyred.
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 55:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Prophet of Allah said, "Zaid took the
flag and was martyred, and then Ja'far took the flag and was
martyred, and then 'Abdullah bin Rawaha took the flag and was
martyred too, and then Khalid bin Al-Walid took the flag though
he was not appointed as a commander and Allah made him
victorious." The Prophet further added, "It would not please us to
have them with us." Aiyub, a sub-narrator, added, "Or the Prophet,
shedding tears, said, 'It would not please them to be with us."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 61:
Narrated Anas:
My uncle Anas bin An-Nadr was absent from the Battle of Badr.
He said, "O Allah's Apostle! I was absent from the first battle you
fought against the pagans. (By Allah) if Allah gives me a chance
to fight the pagans, no doubt. Allah will see how (bravely) I will
fight." On the day of Uhud when the Muslims turned their backs
and fled, he said, "O Allah! I apologize to You for what these (i.e.
his companions) have done, and I denounce what these (i.e. the
pagans) have done." Then he advanced and Sad bin Muadh met
him. He said "O Sad bin Muadh ! By the Lord of An-Nadr,
Paradise! I am smelling its aroma coming from before (the
mountain of) Uhud," Later on Sad said, "O Allah's Apostle! I
cannot achieve or do what he (i.e. Anas bin An-Nadr) did. We
found more than eighty wounds by swords and arrows on his
body. We found him dead and his body was mutilated so badly
that none except his sister could recognize him by his fingers."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 63:
Narrated Al-Bara: A man whose face was covered with an iron
mask (i.e. clad in armor) came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's
Apostle! Shall I fight or embrace Islam first? "The Prophet said,
"Embrace Islam first and then fight." So he embraced Islam, and
was martyred. Allah's Apostle said, A Little work, but a great
reward. "(He did very little (after embracing Islam), but he will be
rewarded in abundance)."
Sahi Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 64:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Um Ar-Rubai'bint Al-Bara', the mother
of Hartha bin Suraqa came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's
Prophet! Will you tell me about Hartha?" Hartha has been killed
(i.e. martyred) on the day of Badr with an arrow thrown by an
unidentified person. She added, "If he is in Paradise, I will be
patient; otherwise, I will weep bitterly for him." He said, "O
mother of Hartha! There are Gardens in Paradise and your son got
the Firdausal-ala (i.e. the best place in Paradise)." [What could be
a bigger bluffing and exploitation of a poor ignorant mother (who
lost her son in Jihad) by our merciful Prophet?]
Mishkat al-Masabih, trans. by James Robson (Lahore: Ashraf,
1975) Vol. 1:807.
Abu ˜Abs reported God™s messenger as saying, "No man whose
feet become dusty in God™s path will be touched by hell." Bukhari
transmitted it.
Mishkat al-Masabih, Vol. 1:814.
Al-Miqdam b. Madikarib reported God™s messenger as saying,
"The martyr receives six good things from God: he is forgiven at
the first shedding of his blood, he is shown his abode in paradise,
he is preserved from the punishment in the grave, he is kept safe
from the greatest terror, he has placed on his head the crown of
honour a ruby which is better than the world and what it contains,
he is married to seventy-two wives of the maidens with large dark
eyes, and is made intercessor for seventy of his relatives."
Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.
D. Jihad as per Islamic-historians/Scholars/Philosophers:
We can find hundreds of books written by well-known Islamic
authorities (Islamic thinker) on Jihad. A few examples of
historical events and comments should be enough to lay the
foundation that Jihad in Islamic history was primarily a Holy War
against the infidels. Here are some examples:
In his book, œ Jurisprudence in Muhammad™s Biography the
Azhar scholar, Dr. Muhammad Sa™id Ramadan al-Buti wrote the
following: œThe Holy War (Islamic Jihad), as it is known in
Islamic Jurisprudence, is basically an offensive war. This is the
duty of Muslims in every age when the needed military power
becomes available to them. This is the phase in which the
meaning of Holy war has taken its final form. Thus the apostle of
God said: ' I was commanded to fight the people until they believe
in Allah and his messages¦..(page 134, 7th edition) .
Azhar scholar Dr. Buti adds in the same book (page-263): The
apostle of Allah started to send military detachments from among
his followers to the various Arab tribes which were scattered in
the Arab Peninsula to carry out the task of calling (these tribes) to
accept Islam. If they did not respond, they (Muslims) would kill
them. That was during the 7th Hgira year. The number of the
detachments amounted to ten.
The Baydawi quoted in his book (The lights of Revelation, page-
252): œFight Jews and Christians because they violated the origin
of their faith and they do not believe in the religion of the truth
(Islam), which abrogated all other religions. Fight them until they
pay the poll-tax (Ziziya tax) with submission and humiliation.
In another place of his book (The Jurisprudence in Muhammad™s
Biography) Al-Buti (published in Egypt) quoted: œThe concept of
Holy War (Jihad) in Islam does not take into consideration
whether defensive or an offensive war. Its goal is the exaltation of
the Word of Allah and the construction of Islamic society and the
establishment of Allah™s Kingdom on Earth regardless of the
means. The means would be offensive warfare. In this case, it is
the apex, the noblest Holy War. It is legal to carry on a Holy
War.
Ibn Hisham-Al Sohaily quoted in his famous book (Al- Rawd al-
Anaf, page-50,51 ): " No two religions are to exist in the Arab
Peninsula . Therefore, Saudi Government does not allow any
other religion to manifest their religious task. What a tolerant and
peaceful religion Islam is!
The well-known Egyptian scholar, Sayyid Qutb, (Sayyid Qutb,
Milestones, Revised Edition, chapter. 4, œJihaad in the Cause of
God") notes four stages in the development of jihad:
* While the earliest Muslims remained in Mecca before
fleeing to Medina, God did not allow them to fight;
2. Permission is given to Muslims to fight against their
oppressors;
* God commands Muslims to fight those fighting them;
* God commands the Muslims to fight against all
polytheists.
Sayyid Qutb views each stage to be replaced by the next stage in
this order, the fourth stage to remain permanent). To justify the
universal and permanent dimensions of jihad he cites the
following Qur™anic passages:
Quran: 4:74-32: They ought to fight in the way of God who have
sold the life of this world for the life of the Hereafter; and
whoever fights in the way of God and is killed or becomes
victorious, to him shall We (God) give a great reward...
Quran: 8:38-40: and fight them until there is no oppression and the
religion is wholly for God....
Quran: 9:29-32: Fight against those among the People of the Book
(Jews and Christians) who do not believe in God and the Last
Day, who do not forbid what God and His messenger have
forbidden, until they are subdued and pay jizyah (tax on non-
Muslims) ...
Sayyid Qutb, however, pours scorn upon those who view jihad as
solely defensive:
... They are ignorant of the nature of Islam and of its function, and
that it has a right to take the initiative for human freedom. Thus
wherever an Islamic community exists which is a concrete
example of the Divinely-ordained system of life, it has a God-
given right to step forward and take control of the political
authority so that it may establish the Divine system on earth,
while it leaves the matter of belief to individual conscience.
Maulana Mawdudi™s Fatwa:
Likewise, the popular Pakistani Muslim revivalist Abu™l Ala
Mawdudi rejects any distinction between offensive and defensive
jihad. So also, the distinguished contemporary Pakistani scholar,
Fazlur Rahman, while recognizing the extensive presence of jihad
in the Qur™an, rejects the stand of those modern Muslim
apologists who have tried to explain the jihad of the early
(Muslim) Community in purely defensive terms (Fazlur Rahman,
Islam (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979) 37).
According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, "the fight is obligatory
even when the unbelievers have not started it (E. Tyan, œDjihad,
Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. (Leiden: Brill, 1965). In the
words of Rudolph Peters the "ultimate aim of jihad is ˜the
subjection of the unbelievers™ and ˜the extirpation of unbelief™"
(Rudolph Peters, œJihad, The Encyclopedia of Religion
(NewYork: Macmillan, 1987) Vol. 8:88-91).
All of these authorities simply echo Islam™s fundamental
assumption that world sovereignty must be in the hands of
Muslims.
Quran: 16:101: And when We put a revelation in place of
(another) revelation, “ and Allah knoweth best what He revealeth
“ they say: Lo! thou art but inventing. Most of them know not.
On the basis of these verses there arose within the Muslim
community the principle of Qur™anic interpretation, called naskh
("abrogation") which stipulated that earlier peaceful verses could
be abrogated by later militant verses, i.e., in the case of jihad the
Meccan verses were abrogated by the Medinan verses. It is well
known that many Muslim scholars in the early history of Islam
contended that Qur™an 9:5, sometimes called "the verse of the
sword", abrogated a host of peaceful passages in earlier portions
of the Qur™an.
What it has signified in the past and signifies at present for masses
of Muslims is well summarized in a statement by the world
renowned Ibn Khaldun (A.D. 1332-1406), Islam™s great historian,
sociologist and philosopher:
In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty,
because of the universalism of the (Muslim) mission and (the
obligation to) convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or
by force. Therefore, caliphate and royal authority are united in
(Islam), so that the person in charge can devote the available
strength to both of them at the same (Ibn Khaldun, The
Muqaddimah, trans. by Franz Rosenthal (New York: Pantheon
Books Inc., 1958) Vol. 1:473).
(The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol.
1:xxiv-xliii ).
So, it is incumbent upon us (Muslims) to follow the path which
Allah™s Messenger (Muhammad) adopted to avoid polytheism and
heresy in all its shapes and to take the Holy Qur™an and the
Prophet™s Traditions as torches in front of us to guide us. We have
to teach our brethren and convey the Message to non-Muslims all
over the world as much as possible in order to save them from the
Hell-fire. We have to prepare ourselves to stand in the face of our
enemy and to possess the means of power and to participate in the
progress of useful industries in order to protect our religion and be
powerful enough to face our enemy, as Allah, the Elevated says in
Surat al-Anfal (8:60):
Qur™an: 8:60: Against them (kaffirs) make ready your strength to
the utmost of your power, including steeds of war (tanks, places,
missiles and other weapons, etc.) to strike terror into the (hearts
of) the Enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others beside, whom
you may not know, but whom Allah does know. Whatever you
shall spend in the Cause of Allah, shall be repaid to you, and you
shall not be treated unjustly
How many terrorists would appeal to this verse "to strike terror
into the hearts of the enemy"?
The majority of the Qur™an™s texts themselves clearly identify
jihad as physical warfare in Islam and, Islamically, God™s way of
establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. Likewise, from the
Hadith and the earliest biographies of Muhammad it is just as
evident that the early Muslim community understood these
Qur™anic texts to be taken literally. Historically, therefore, from
the time of Muhammad onwards, jihad as physical warfare in
support of the message of Islam has been a reality for the Muslim
community. Hence, it comes as no surprise when even terrorists
(Osama and his al-Qaeda) easily appeal to these source materials
to justify their actions, not to speak of their teachers who teach the
theory and the art of terrorism. September 11, 2001, terrorist act
in the soil of America is the glittering example of Jihadi mindset
of Islamist like Osama bin Laden.
Qur™anic Ayats (I just mentioned above) and numerous Sahi
Hadiths of same kind were instrumental for Muslims to dedicate
their strength & minds for the cause of Islam. Therefore, in the
name of spreading the religion, devout Muslim fighters killed
millions of people while occupying neighboring Arab lands such
as Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and non-Arab countries
like India, Turkey, Libya, Iran etc. Even Spain had fallen into
their hands for hundreds of years. I simply wonder were these
wars defensive. Were those swords used by Islamic soldiers to
occupy country after country be considered a symbol of
forgiveness or mercy? Following Muhammad™s death, his
companions fought each other in relentless savage wars
competing for authority.
In summary, Islamic Jihad with the help of Islamic sword--
hundreds of tribes were wiped out from the Arabian Peninsula.
Thousands were orphaned and widowed. Hazzaz bin Yousuf
killed more than a hundred thousand Sahabis, Ibne Khattal was
killed in Kaba™a. Later Abdulla Bin Zubair was killed in the same
Kaba™a. By the end of the first civil war of Muslims, all the Badari
Sahabis were killed. By the end of three civil wars all the Sahabis
were killed "it sucked up all the strength of Muslims" ( Bokhari).
Ten thousand Muslims were killed in the Jamal war between
Hazrat Ali (RA) and Bibi Ayesha (RA). Islamic scholar Dr. Abu
Zayd Shalabi claimed in his book (page-75), in the ˜battle of
Alees™ which took place on the border of Iraq, the great Islamic
General Khalid killed 70,000 people.
Thousands of non-Muslims were killed. After the death of Prophet
Muhammad, there were four most favorite disciples of Prophet
who ruled the Islamic kingdom established by the prophet
Muhammad, who were known as the most pious caliphs. Out of
these four Caliphs”three of them were brutally assassinated, and
only one had natural death because of his old age and very short
rule of the Islamic state. Karbala was flooded with blood with a
roar of "Allahu Akbar!" Was it because of the fact that Islamic
sword was the sign of Mercy? The fact of the matter is”sword
can never be the sign of mercy! Period.
Global Agenda: As I cited various valuable quotes, which clearly
depicted a special and unique feature, which is totally absent in
any other monolithic religions of the world. Unlike any other
world religion”Islam has an ulterior motive in its agenda. Islam
considers it has a sacred and mandatory God given duty to spread
Islamic message (Din-e-Islam) to all the inhabitants of the world.
Their ultimate wishful goal is to convert and bring entire mankind
under the fold of Islam, the only true religion of Allah. To this
end”two main groups are working very hard. These two groups
are: (a) Militant/radical Mullahs, (b) Educated/elite western
residing true believing Muslims (Muslims of the ummatic groups
in the west such as: AMC, CAIR, ICNA, ISNA, NABIC etc). Here
we can exclude group-C Muslims (general God fearing innocent
gullible Muslims who constitute about 70-80% of the total
Muslims.
Both the groups (A & B) have one thing common in their minds.
That is to convert sufficient peoples to Islam in order to establish
Islamic Sharia™h or Huhud Laws (Allah™s laws just like Afghan
Taliban state) as the state governing administration. Here the main
difference is”group A (Militant/fanatics) is engaged in armed
struggles (Holy war, Terrorism); and group-B (mainly western
resident) is engaged in secret and peaceful propagation with sweet
talks and peaceful persuasion of the gullible western peoples by
deceitful sermons in the mosques and in various annual and semi-
annual Islamic conferences and meetings (Ummatic conference).
Both have one last thing in mind”to establish Islamic Sharia™h
law in the state.
Conclusion:
Our gullible and wishful Islamists like that Harvard graduate,
which we have plenty all over the world, or any other Islamists
who wants to twist the real practical and historical meaning of
Jihad to fool the modern world, which we have among educated
Muslims scattered everywhere, must consider this. If they want to
give a new twisted meaning “ a sober and politically correct one --
of the word Jihad, they had better first change the Qur™an, Hadiths
and all those Islamic history books available in the library
throughout the world. Alternatively, they should dump all the
Islamic history literature into the Daria or sea and re-write a new
peaceful Islamic history by themselves. Sadly, if they do so, then
it will be a Reformed Islam, which Mullahs will now allow to
happen any time soon. Therefore, the Islamic elites, many of who
visit NFB (News From Bangladesh) on a regular basis, will have
to swallow their false pride and lick their wounds too. The
proverbial phrase “ the dogs will be barking, but the caravan will
pass. Humanity is poised now to get rid of all kinds belief system
that has crippled the humankind and which never allowed us to
rich for a higher plane.
References:
1. The Holy Qur™an, Translated by A. Yousuf Ali, Published by
Amana Corporation, Brentwood, Maryland, 1983
2. Buchari Sharif, Bengali Translation by Maulana Muhammad
Mustafizur Rahman, Sulemani Printers and Publishers, Dhaka,
Second edition-1999
3. Holy Qur™an, Bengali translation by Maulana Muhiuddin khan,
Khademu Harmain Sharifain, Saudi Arabia, Madina Mannwara,
1413 Hijri.
4. The Biography of Muhammad and the Wars (Maghazy) Ibn
Isaac, Dr. Sohaul Zakkar, dar Al Fekr
5 The Biography of the Prophet, Ibn Kathir, dar Al Knowledge,
Beirut
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