Jihad

From ilmpedia

Jihad is a struggle against injustice and oppression. Contrary to popular perception, it does not denote holy war at all. The purpose of Islam is not territorial acquisition but to make us moral beings. Hence, Islam is against anarchy.

In the Qur'an, Jihad is declared against a particular group of disbelievers (2:191 -Thus should such disbelievers be rewarded); Muslim theologians have always defined this group as those to whom the reality of Islam was made manifest (i.e.- when God made it clear to the whole of Arabia that Muhammad (Blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) was His Prophet and Messenger). Four Surahs of the Qur'an - Surah Araf, Surah Anam, Surah Taubah and Surah Anfal support this view ^[1]

It has always been the way of God to punish those who reject His messengers. This is what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah to the people of Lot, and this is what happened at the time of Noah. In the time of Muhammad (Blessings of Allah and peace be upon him), this punishment was meted out by God Almighty through the sword of His Messenger. Allah does not command us to kill today's unbelievers because He is Perfectly Just and Supremely Merciful. The conquests in the earliest period of Islam were a fulfilment of the Divine commandment, hence the Caliph 'Umar stopped his armies from venturing beyond the stipulated territories. After that period, Jihad will continue but only against injustice and oppression.

1 Meaning
2 Qur'anic view
3 Difference in the Prophet's time and now
4 Notes

Meaning

The word Jihad is derived from the word Jahada, which means ‘he exerted himself,’ thus literally Jihad means exertion, striving; but in juridical-religious sense, it signifies the exertion of one’s power to the utmost of one’s capacity in the path of Allah. Jihad is the use of all our energies and resources to establish the Islamic system of life, in order to gain Allah’s favour. Jihad is a continuous process. In its first state a Muslim learns to control his own bad desires and intentions. We need to strive hard to achieve this. This is Jihad within ourselves and is the basis for the comprehensive Jihad which is concerned with establishing Ma’ruf (right) and removing Munkar (evil). It demands the use of all our material and mental resources. Eventually we may be required to give our life for the cause of Islam. The aim of Jihad is to seek pleasure of Allah. This must not be forgotten because this purpose is the basis of all Islamic endeavours.

All Islamic duties should prepare us to engage in Jihad. Jihad is the end result of our efforts in Salah, Zakah, Sawm and Hajj. We cannot think of Islam without Jihad. We would like to see truth prevail and untruth vanish, but we are aware that this cannot happen on its own: we have to do our utmost to achieve it. The performance of other Islamic duties will be meaningless if they do not lead us towards the target of Jihad.

We should ask others to be obedient to Allah in an appealing and convincing way. "Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them in the better way." (Quran 16:125) Our own lifestyle will count for much here. It is most important that we try hard to practice what we say. Allah does not like those whose words and deeds are not the same. Allah says, ‘O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not? It is most hateful to Allah that you say that which you do not.’ (Quran 61:2,3)

The word Jihad is often confused with the word Qital (fighting) and these are wrongly used as synonyms, whereas the Holy Quran has made a clear distinction between them. Jihad is fighting in the way of Allah. The Holy Quran has clearly pointed out that Jihad denotes two kinds of striving: 1. Striving with the help of God-given faculties, both mental and physical and 2. Striving with the help of resources which he has at his command.

Ibn Rushd maintains that Jihad is an all-round struggle and makes it obligatory for a Muslim to exercise all his powers, may be in the form of intellectual or physical capacities, or his gift of speech or his moral strength, courage and steadfastness in the face of hardship and his worldly riches.

‘The believers and only those who believed in Allah and His Apostle and thereafter doubted not, and struggled hard with their riches and their persons in the cause of Allah. Those! they are the truthful.’ (Quran 49:15)

Jihad in Islam is a striving in the way of Allah, and has far wide scope than mere fighting. The Holy Prophet (s) once explaining the true qualities of a Mujahid (the one who strives in the path of Allah) significantly remarked: The Mujahid is one who tries to struggle against his self i.e., evil self.

Qur'anic view

The Qur'an supports the preservation of human life, yet at the same time it recognizes the theory of repelling and hence permits fighting in exceptional circumstances:

By Allah's will they routed them, and David slew Goliath, and Allah gave him power and wisdom and taught him whatever (else) He willed. And were it not for Allah's repelling some men with others, the earth would certainly be in a state of disorder, but Allah is full of bounty to all the worlds. (2:251)

Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause except that they say, "Our Lord is Allah." And had there not been Allah's repelling some people by others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah's name is much remembered. (22:40)

Difference in the Prophet's time and now

As far as people are concerned, jihad applies to two cases; one was in the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and a second after his death.

The first case was when jihad was legislated: after the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) Hijrah (emigration from Makkah) to Madinah by consensus. However, after jihad was legislated, was it an individual or a collective duty? There are two well-known scholarly opinions in this respect. They both pertain to the Shafi`i school of fiqh.

Al-Mawardy said, "It was an individual duty imposed on the emigrants from Makkah, and no one else." He corroborates this view by referring to the obligation of emigration to Madinah on every Muslim convert before the conquest of Makkah to defend Islam."

Al-Suhaily says, "It was an individual obligation imposed on the Ansar (Muslims of Madinah) and no one else." He corroborates this view by their pledging allegiance to Allah's messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of Al-‘Aqaba, promising to shelter and protect him. From these two sayings we conclude that it was an individual obligation for both parties and a collective duty for the others. However, generalization is not applicable to both parties. It was the duty of the Ansar if an enemy attacks Madinah, and it was the duty of the emigrants if it was a preemptive war against the disbelievers. This is supported by the event of Badr as related by Ibn Ishaq, which is explicitly indicative in this respect.

The second case is as follows: After the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), passed away the most famous opinion is that jihad is a collective duty unless there is a necessity, like when the enemy launches an attack. It is imposed on whoever is assigned by the Imam.