One concept that is being generally misunderstood andmisrepresented is the term Jihad that in common discourse is wrongly seensomething like free for all kind of a holy war. As we will see below theconcept in its linguistic sense, in terms of the Qur’anic references and theprophetic practices carries a much broader and considerably nuanced meanings.In literal sense the word means striving and struggling. Thus, in its broadestsense it implies striving for pursuing good. The good within Islamic traditionincludes the pursuit of knowledge, helping weak, saying and standing by truthin trying situations and times and bearing with persecution in the cause offaith, righteousness and justice with patience and perseverance. All this and much more in a civil andpeaceful manner is always required of a good Muslim.
Dr. Yusufal-Qaradawi (b.1926) one of the widely acknowledged contemporary Islamicscholar on the authority of Ibn al-Qayyim (2102-1350), (student of IbnTaymiyya, 1263-1328), enumerates 14 forms of Jihad out of which 13 relate topeaceful, non-fighting types of it. All these forms are discerned from theirmention in Quran, tradition of the Prophet or both. According to one suchtradition the first and foremost, in all these is jihad al-nafs (jihad of theself) resisting one’s own tendency to drift from the right path.”A struggleagainst one’s own base impulses….”Similarly, he (SAW) is also reported tohave said the best Jihad is stating and standing by word of truth and Justicein front of an oppressive ruler (Musnad Aḥmad18449).Jihad in the sense of fighting (battling out in a violent interface) is onlyone of these 14 forms. While as Jihad has a broader/wider connotation,Qital(orAl-Harb), is preferred (technical) expression used in Qur’an to referto fighting. Ahmed al-Dawoody, in hisbook Islamic Law of War, (2011) enumerates that jihad, in its seventeenderivatives, occur altogether forty-one times in Quran. Out of these only 12 referencesdeal with fighting/war. Remaining 29 times these refer to various forms ofnon-violent civil-peaceful forms of struggle and actions.
Thus, Islamic concept of Jihad is fundamentally differentfrom the holy war used in the context of crusades under the authority of theholy Church. Jihad as seen above has much wider connotations and is notrestricted to only to a violent interface. While jihad in its broader sense of day to daystriving/struggling/exerting in the righteous path, with a degree of perseverance,is without an exception an all-time obligation for all Muslims, in the sense ofQital (fighting) it is contextual, has certain prerequisites, applies under certain conditions withvariation in its applications and within specified norms (rules andregulations) thatare defined in Quran, within the traditions of the prophet andclearly codified in Islamic Law of War.The Prophet (SAW) and his companionsstrived with dignity, patience and resilience in the face of tremendous odds intheir unwavering commitment to their faith right from the day of the initialdeclaration of the prophethood made in Makkah. The Muslims in Makkah where toldto “… listen not to the Unbelievers, but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness, with theQur’an (25:52). It is jihad of preaching. Striving with God’s word is taken toimply “using beauty, power and persuasive eloquence of the Qur’an to win peopleto faith”. The ‘command to engage in jihad has remained a constant theme ofrevelation all through from its beginning in Makkah. But there was nopermission for them to undertake Qital (fighting) even in self-defence.’ It wasnot permitted to Muslims for initial 14 years of the prophetic mission.Therefore, there is a ‘clear distinction between jihad,striving as a civilpeaceful/nonviolent effort/movement and jihad as Qital, fighting in a violentencounter necessitated under certain conditions. God, in His absolute wisdom,did not grant permission of Qital (violent action/fighting/war/fight back) tillMuslims migrated to Medina, established a polity relatively within the safezones of the city and had consolidated their position and resources. TheProphet and his followers suffered oppression with dignity, perseverance,without compromising their mission, and under the divine command remained patientto all provocation from the hostile Makkans. In Islamic understanding it all isJihad, in the path of God, all through a peaceful but with sustainedperseverance.
Makkans after having persecuted Muslims, forcing them toseek refuge away from the comfort of their homes, rendering them homeless andimpoverished, occupying their properties, creating difficulties in theirmigration in peace and security, continued their hostilities towards them evenafter their emigration to Madina. They even began to conspire with Jewishtribes living in the periphery of Madina. Despite their contractual obligationtowards the new state some of these tribes began to betray by treacherouslybecoming partners in these anti-Muslim conspiracies. In their common enmityagainst Islam they did not want Muslims to stabilise and consolidate as acommunity in their new home. Therefore, after addressing some of the urgentissues of security and rehabilitation of the displaced (Muhajir) Muslims byestablishing a unique mechanism of Muakhah (brotherhood of sharing betweenlocal hosts, Ansar, and migrants from Makkah) attention began to be given tothe lurking external threat to their security as a community. It was in this context when political communityin Madina had relatively stabilised that Muslims, one year after Hijra e.i. inthe 14thyear of the prophethood, were allowed to fight the enemies not as amechanism of aggression but as a means to protect and safeguard the communityof faithful. The permission from Allah came thus; “To those against whom war ismade, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily,Allah is most powerful for their aid;-” (22:39) It indicates that permission isgiven in response to Muslims having been ‘wronged’. The following verse (22:40)qualifies on what the Qur’an means by wronging: “[They are] the ones who wereexpelled from their homes without any just reason, except that they say, ‘OurLord is Allah…’” This position is reinforced by verse 2:190 whereby the faithful are commanded to: “fightin the way of Allah against those who fight you, and do not transgress. Verily,Allah does not like the transgressors….” This verse asks Muslims to fight thosewho fight them. But at the same time, it prohibits aggression and allows theuse of force in self-defence. Secondly, it allows only fighting combatantsduring actual combat (qital). ‘Do not transgress’ means that the limits set byAllah must not be violated. Thus, theverses 22:39 & 2:190 speak of fighting in self-defence.In the context ofthe continuedly treacherous behaviour of the Quresh, Muslims are asked to “…fight them until there is no persecution, and religion is professed only forAllah. But if they desist, then remember that no hostility is allowed exceptagainst the wrongdoers.”(2:193)
It is within the above indicated parameters set in Quranthat the Prophet was allowed permission to fight against the aggression(Queraesh at Badre) a year after Hijra e.i. in the14thyear (i.e.H.2) of theprophethood. The Prophet used defensive tactics so that Muslims had minimumloss in life and property as they were still weak in both numerical andmaterial terms. In the battle at UhadMuslims suffered more because someSahaba(companions) prematurely left the defensive placement that the prophethad entrusted them to be at. He (SAW) always guarded against any suicidaladventure. If required, he avoided a faceoff with the invading forces as amatter of defensive strategy. In the 5thyear of Hijra when combined Arab and Jewish tribes withseveral times more personnel (3000) and resources the Muslim (i.e.1000) couldbring together the Prophet on the suggestion of Salmani Farsi got a trench(Ahzab) dug around the tiny city of Madina as a defence line to defeat thedesigns of the invading army. The invading armies exhausted through the faceoffacross the trench line left without achieving anything and thus allowing Muslimresources remaining intact. They won without any significant fighting. Allthese campaigns under the command of the prophet indicate the optimum restraintfrom violence and retribution. It holds several lessons. The prophet thought itto be strategically unwise to fight in an open battle in a situation where inmilitary parameters the adversary is stronger. In Islam war and fighting is nota private affair. Even for an organised political community/state permission iscontextual and not an all-time activity. Its conduct is subject toconsiderations of feasibility and principle, rules and norms. More importantlywar and violence has not to be a preferred option for Muslims. The tellingexample for this has been the Prophet entering a peace treaty Makkans on termsthat many of his colleagues’ thought were unfavourable to them.
(to be concluded)