An Introduction to Real Islam and Jihad (Part 2/15)





[Readers, please note: the original author of this ‘Book’ sent me the draft
for a review and commentary. Having carefully reviewed and having made some
minor corrections/alterations of the draft , I felt compelled to circulate
this basic book on ‘Real Islam’ in the Internet, so that anyone who is
interested in ‘Real Islam’ and Islamic Terrorism may benefit from its rich
content. The original author prefers to remain anonymous at this stage,
until possibly when a publisher agrees to publish this book at an
appropriate time. Due to its prolix nature, I have divided this ’Book’ into
15 parts. This is part 2/15; the remaining parts will be posted as they
become available. Please feel free to comment on this ‘Book.’ All comments
should be sent to abul88@.... Happy reading—Abul Kasem, the
reviewer.]



Chapter 4
Definitions of "JIHAD":

What follows are several classical definitions of Jihad. Thereafter, we
will examine passages from the Qur’an, Hadith, and Sira related to Jihad and
violence in Islam. "Jihad" or other forms of the word occur in the Qur’an
about 35 times. Additionally throughout the Qur’an there are other words
used for various other forms of violence.

From the "Concordance of the Qur’an", by Hanna Kassis, published by
University of California Press, Los Angeles, CA, 1983, [6] comes a
definition, which is probably the simplest, most straightforward found.
Kassis essentially derived it from the Qur’anic context of the word:

JIHAD = JAHADA (verb). To struggle, strive, fight for the faith.

The following is a more detailed definition of Jihad from the Shorter
Encyclopaedia of Islam, page 89, [7]:
DJIHAD, holy war. The spread of Islam by arms is a religious duty upon
Muslims in general. It narrowly escaped being a sixth "rukn", or fundamental
duty, and is indeed still so regarded by the descendants of the Kharidjis.
The position was reached gradually but quickly. In the Meccan Suras of the
Kur’an patience under attack is taught; no other attitude was possible. But
at Madina the right to repel attack appears, and gradually it became a
prescribed duty to fight against and subdue the hostile Meccans. Whether
Muhammad himself recognized that his position implied steady and unprovoked
war against the unbelieving world until it was subdued to Islam may be in
doubt. Traditions are explicit on the point; but the Kuranic passages speak
always of the unbelievers who are to be subdued as dangerous or faithless.
Still, the story of his writing to the powers around him shows that such a
universal position was implicit in his mind, and it certainly developed
immediately after his death, when the Muslim armies advanced out of Arabia.
It is now a "fard ‘ala ‘l-kifaya, a duty in general on all male, free, adult
Muslims, sane in mind and body and having means enough to reach the Muslim
army, yet not a duty necessarily incumbent on every individual but
sufficiently performed when done by a certain number. So it must continue to
be done until the whole world is under the rule of Islam."


Many Westerners have wondered in amazement at the number of men
leaving safe and relatively comfortable lands to undertake a perilous
journey and face a certain death to fight superior forces in Afghanistan,
Chechnya, and Iraq. Clearly, those who do so, do it out of a strong sense
of religious duty, fully expecting to be rewarded for their sacrifice. The
"Dictionary of the Qur’an", op cit, defines Jihad as:

"The literal meaning of Jihad is "to strive". Technically, Jihad is any
endeavor that is made to further the cause of God, whether the endeavor is
positive (e.g. promoting good) or negative (e.g. eradicating evil) in
character, takes the form of social action or private effort, involves
monetary expenditure or physical struggle, or is made against the enemy
without or the enemy within (i.e. against "the bidding self"). The reduction
of Jihad to "war" is thus unjustified, though war is an important form of
Jihad, and a number of Qur’anic verses about Jihad (e.g. 8:74, 75, 9:44)
refer primarily to fighting. The comprehensive nature of Jihad is evidenced
by such verses as 29:69: "Those who strive in Us (= Our way), We guide them
to Our ways." When Jihad takes the form of war it is know as qital
("fighting").

Regarding Jihad, the "Tafsir of Ibn Kathir", volume 2, pages 116, 117
on verse 2:191, [8], states:

As Jihad involves death and the killing of men, Allah draws our attention to
the fact that the disbelief and polytheism of the disbelievers, and their
avoidance of Allah’s path are far worse than killing. Thus Allah says, "And
Fitnah is worse than killing." This is to say that shirk (Polytheism) is
more serious and worse than killing.


The "Reliance of the Traveller, (the Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred
Law)", page 599, [9], is one of the more respected, classical works in
Islamic theology. This 1200+ page voluminous book on Sharia contains
fundamentals of Islamic jurisprudence compiled by "the great 13th century
Hadith scholar and jurisprudent", Imam Nawawi, and others (like Ahmad ibn
Naqib al-Misri). This work was not written with a Western audience in mind.
They wanted to produce a book on Islamic Laws that was precise, and
accurate; one that taught true and correct Islamic values. There are
additional statements regarding the rules of Jihad found in "Reliance of the
Traveller", but we quote only the relevant statements that portray Jihad’s
scope and application:

o9.0 JIHAD

"Jihad means to war against non-Muslims, and is etymologically derived from
the word mujahada, signifying warfare to establish the religion. And it is
the less Jihad. As for the great Jihad, it is spiritual warfare against the
lower self, (nafs), which is why the Prophet said as he was returning from
Jihad.
‘We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad’
The scriptural basis for Jihad, prior to scholarly consensus is such Koranic
verses as:
1) Fighting is prescribed for you (2:216)
2) Slay them wherever you find them (4:89)
3) Fight the idolaters utterly (9:36)
and such Hadiths as the one related by Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet
said:
"I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no
god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and perform the
prayer, and pay zakat. If they say it, they have saved their blood and
possessions from me, except for the rights of Islam over them. And their
final reckoning is with Allah";

and the Hadith reported by Muslim,

‘To go forth in the morning or evening to fight in the path of Allah is
better than the whole world and everything in it.’”



o9.1 OBLIGATORY CHARACTER OF JIHAD

Jihad is a communal obligation. When enough people perform it to
successfully accomplish it, it is no longer obligatory upon others (O: the
evidence for which is the Prophet’s saying (Allah bless him and give him
peace).

“He who provides the equipment for a soldier in jihad has himself performed
jihad,”

and Allah Most High having said:

Those of the believers who are unhurt but sit behind are not equal to those
who fight in Allah’s path with their property and lives. Allah has preferred
those who fight with their property and lives a whole degree above those who
sit behind. And to each Allah has promised great good" (Koran 4:95).


o9.3 Jihad is also (O: personally) obligatory for everyone (O: able to
perform, male or female, old or young) when the enemy has surrounded the
Muslims.

o9.8 The Caliph makes war upon the Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians,
provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and
if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by
paying the non-Muslim poll tax Jizya…in accordance with the word of Allah
Most High:
"Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and who forbid not
what Allah and Hiss messenger have forbidden – who do not practice the
religion of truth, being of those who have been give the Book – until they
pay the poll tax out of hand and are humbled." 9:29
The Caliph fights all other peoples until they become Muslim….




Finally, from Sahih Muslim,Book 1, Hadis #0033, and Sahih Bukhari,
Volume 1, Book 8, Hadis #387, comes a telling insight on the true meaning
and scope of Jihad:
Muhammad said, "I have been ordered to fight against people until they say
that "there is no god but Allah", that "Muhammad is the messenger of Allah",
they pray, and pay religious taxes. If they do that, their lives and
property are safe."

The Qur’an says Jihad receives the highest reward and is the surest way
to paradise if the “fighter” dies: “Think not of those who are slain in
Allah’s way as dead … they live … in the presence of their Lord” (Qur’an
3:169). “… To him who fighteth in the cause of Allah … soon shall we [God]
give him a reward” (Qur’an 4:74).


Based upon many Islamic scholars writings, it appears undeniable that
violent Jihad is permitted in Islam for both offensive and defensive
purposes. It was commanded by, and praised by Muhammad as being one of the
greatest forms of true Islamic spirituality. Further, some of the final
direction from Muhammad was that it (Jihad) is to continue until all people
are subjected to Islamic rule. Aggression toward non-Muslims is allowed,
but prior to attacking, the Muslims are to offer them a choice: 1- Become
Muslim; 2- do not become Muslim but pay the extortion (jizya) tax; 3- defend
yourselves unto death.

For reference, some verses in the QUR’AN that contain the word, or form of
the word "JIHAD": 3:136,142; 4:95,97; 5:35,54,59; 8:72,74,75;
9:16,19,20,24,41,44, 73,74,81-82, 86,87,88; 16:110-111; 22:77-78; 25:52;
29:5,6,7,8,69; 31:14-15; 47: 31,33; 49:15; 60:1; 61:11; 66:9.
Chapter 5

Chronology and Abrogation in the QUR’AN:

Now we will review the general CHRONOLOGY of the QUR’ANIC listings,
with respect to their violent Jihadi passages. As stated earlier, we must
explore both the context and chronology of the Qur’an’s passages. This is
challenging because the Qur’an is not arranged chronologically, and in fact,
no one knows for certain its complete chronology. There is no standard
chronological agreement among scholars, be they Muslims, Christians, or
secular, as to when chapters or even portions of chapters were revealed
during Muhammad’s life. Some of Muhammad’s words, spoken as the Qur’an near
the end of his life, were folded into passages he spoke near the beginning
of his declared prophethood. Therefore, the Qur’an is a jumbled
chronological hodgepodge. In and of itself, the Qur’an is practically
worthless when it comes to determining its chronology. The only
corroborating references that are able to provide us a guide as to when
certain passages were spoken are the Sira and Hadith. Sometimes they provide
chronological details behind the Qur’an’s verses. However, as a whole,
scholars are unable to completely determine the Qur’an’s chronology.
Consequently, they only offer their best, educated, opinions. In our study,
we are most interested in the opinions accepted by the majority of Muslims
today.



A Qur’anic chronology is very important because what Muhammad said
earlier in his life did not necessarily apply to later events (due to
"abrogation" mentioned above). By any standard of evaluation, it appears he
was always prepared to change his mind, vows, and rules. (See the selection
of Hadiths from Sahih Muslim, [10], book 15, #s 4044 – 4062). If we are to
understand true Islamic Jihad as it is understood and taught today, then we
need to establish his final position with respect to Jihad and aggression.
Hence the importance of the last few chronological passages of the Qur’an,
and the subsequent actions of his closest companions and followers.


Note that the majority of various Qur’anic passages relative to "Jihad"
or violence come from chapter nine (ie Sura 9). Most scholars agree that
chapter nine is from a very late period - near the end of Muhammad’s life.
The great Muslim historian Tabari, in volume 8, (who wrote a 39 volume
Islamic history and an extensive commentary on the Qur’an), [11], shows that
the conquest of Mecca occurred in 630, and Ibn Ishaq documented in his
"Sirat Rasulallah", page 617, [12], (this work is the most authentic
biographical material still extant today), states that the main Jihad
section of chapter 9 was revealed in AH 9, i.e. 631. Muhammad died in 632.
Therefore, chapter 9 was revealed during Muhammad’s last two years, if not
in the last year. Chapter 5 is usually thought to be the last chronological
chapter, but it does not have many references to Jihad.


The following is a quote from the Encyclopaedia of Islam, op cit, with
respect to the problems of Qur’anic chronology. At the end of the quote are
its chronological lists taken from several different scholars of Islam.

The Kuran responds constantly and often explicitly to Muhammad's
historical situation, giving encouragement in times of persecution,
answering questions from his followers and opponents, commenting on current
events, etc. Major doctrines and regulations for the Muslim community, which
are never stated systematically in the Kuran, are introduced gradually and
in stages that are not always clear. There are apparent contradictions and
inconsistencies in the presentation of both the beliefs and the regulations,
and the latter are sometimes altered to fit new situations. Thus it is
essential to know the approximate dates or historical settings of some
passages, and at least the chronological order of others, if they are to be
understood fully. This problem was recognized by early Muslim scholars who
devoted much attention to it in the first few centuries, until a fairly
rigid system of dating was established and given the imprimatur of
orthodoxy. In modern times the study of the chronology of the Kuran has been
almost exclusively a domain of Western scholars, who have not however been
able to reach a consensus on a dating system, or even on the possibility of
establishing one.
The Egyptian standard edition gives the following chronological order of the
Suras, with the verses said to date from a different period given in
parentheses: XCVI, LXVIII (17-33, 48-50 Med.), LXXIII (10 f., 20 Med.),
LXXIV, I, CXI, LXXXI, LXXXVII, XCII, LXXXIX, XCIII, XCIV, CIII, C, CVIII,
CII, CVII, CIX, CV, CXIII, CXIV, CXII, LIII, LXXX, XCVII, XCI, LXXXV, CVI,
CI, LXXV, CIV, LXXVII (48 Med.), L (38 Med.), XC, LXXXVI, LIV (54-6 Med.),
XXXVIII, VII (163-70 Med.), LXXII, XXXVI (45 Med.), XXV (68-70 Med.), XXXV,
XIX (58, 71 Med.), XX (130 f. Med.), LVI (71 f. Med.), XXVI (197, 224-7
Med.),XXVII, XXVIII (52-5 Med., 85 during Hijrah), XVII (26, 32 f., 57,
73-80 Med.), X (40, 94-6 Med.), XI (12, 17, 114 Med.), XII (1-3, 7 Med.),
XV, VI (20, 23, 91, 114, 141, 151-3 Med.), XXXVII, XXXI (27-9 Med.), XXXIV
(6 Med.), XXXIX (52-4 Med.), XL (56 f. Med.), XLI, XLII (23-5, 27 Med.),
XLIII (54 Med.), XLIV, XLV (14 Med.), XLVI (10, 15, 35 Med.), LI, LXXXVIII,
XVIII (28, 83-101 Med.), XVI (126-8 Med.), LXXI, XIV (28 f. Med.), XXI,
XXIII, XXXII (16-20 Med.), LII, LXVII, LXX, LXXVIII, LXXIX, LXXXII, LXXXIV,
XXX (17 Med.), XXIX (1-11 Med.), LXXXIII Hijrah II (281 later), VIII (30-6
Mec.), III, XXXIII, LX, IV, XCIX, LVII, XLVII (13 during Hijrah), XIII, LV,
LXXVI, LXV, XCVIII, LIX, XXIV, XXII, LXIII, LVIII, XLIX, LXVI, LXIV, LXI,
LXII, XLVIII, V, IX (128 f. Mec.), CX.



The Encyclopaedia of Islam, op cit, also details three Western Islamic
scholars chronology of the Qur’an. (Noldeke was one of the greatest Qur’anic
scholars from the West). This is the chronological order of the last Medinan
Suras listed in their work:

Weil: 2, 98, 62, 65, 22, 4, 8, 47, 57, 3, 59, 24, 63, 33, 48, 110, 61, 60,
58, 49, 66, 9, 5.
Noldeke and Blachere: 2, 98, 64, 62, 8, 47, 3, 61, 57, 4, 65, 59, 33, 63,
24, 58, 22, 48, 66, 60, 110, 49, 9, 5.
[NOTE, traditional Western dating breaks the chronological order of the
Qur’an up into 3 or 4 groups. The last group (sometimes called "late
Medinan") is presented above. There are earlier Suras in both lists above,
however, for space’s sake, and editing time, only the last Sura grouping is
presented. Note that Sura 9 is the second to last in all these three
scholar’s groupings.]



Canon Sell in "The Historical Development of the Qur’an", page 204,
[13], details that Jalalu-d-Din as-Suyuti (a great Muslim Qur’anic scholar)
lists Chapter 9 second to last, and Sir William Muir (a great Western
Islamic scholar) lists chapter 9 as last. All of the above mentioned
references also list Chapter 5 near the chronological end, if not at the
very end.


The Hadith of Sahih Bukhari, volume 6, book 60, # 129 (or 5.59.650),
[14], Hadith states that "The last Sura that was revealed was Bara’a…" so
Sura 9 was considered by him to be one of the last, if not the last revealed
chapters of the Qur’an.


Therefore, the works of six top scholars, (3 of them Muslim, 3
Western), all agree that Chapter 9 is either the last or the second last
chapter to be spoken or revealed by Muhammad. Consequently, since this
chapter contains the largest amount of violent passages, this is our focus,
because as a result of being the last Chapter revealed, Sura 9 would
dominate, or abrogate, conflicting Qur’anic passages from earlier periods.
That being said, to be thorough and fair we will also review other relevant
passages on Islamic violence and Jihad found in the Qur’an.


In “Milestones, Ideologue of Fundamentalist Islam in Egypt”, Syed Qutb
argues strongly for Jihad from some select Qur’anic verses (Qur’an 4:74-76;
8:38-40; 9:29-32). These passages alone, he states, suffice to justify the
universal and permanent dimensions of Jihad (pp. 53-76).




REFERENCES:

[1] http://answering-islam.org/Silas/
[2] Mir, Mustansir, "Dictionary of Qur’anic Terms and Concepts", Garland,
New York, NY, 1987.
[3] Jeffery, Arthur, "Islam: Muhammad and His Religion", Bobs Merril
[4] "Encyclopaedia of Islam", published by Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands.
[5] http://answering-islam.org/Silas/mo-death.htm
[6] Kassis, Hanna, "Concordance of the Qur’an", University of California
Press, Los Angeles, CA, 1983.
[7] "Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam", edited by H.A.R. Gibb, published by
Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands.
[8] Ibn Kathir, "Tafsir of Ibn Kathir" published by Al-Firdous, New York,
NY, 2000.
[9] "Reliance of the Traveler", (A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law), by
Ahmad al-Misri, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, published by Amana
publications, Beltsville, Maryland, USA 1991
[10] Muslim, Abu’l-Husain, "Sahih Muslim", translated by A. Siddiqi,
International Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1971. [nternet
version is available at
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/]
[11] al-Tabari, "Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l-muluk", (The History of al-Tabari),
volume 8, State University of New York Press, 1997.
[12] Ibn Ishaq, (d.782), "Sirat Rasulallah", compiled by A. Guillaume as
"The Life of Muhammad", Oxford, London, 1955
[13] Sell, Canon, "The Historical Development of the Qur’an", published by
People International.
[14] Bukhari, Muhammad, "Sahih Bukhari", Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi, India,
1987, translated by M. Khan [Internet version is available at
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/
[15] "The Nobel Qur’an", translated by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali
and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, published by Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, PO Box
21441, Riyadh 11475, Saudi Arabia, 1994. [Internet version is available at
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/]
[16] Dawood, N. J., "The Koran", Penguin, London, England, 1995
[17] Watt, W. M., "Muhammad at Mecca", Oxford University Press, London 1952.
[18] Gatje, Helmut, "The Qur’an and its Exegesis", Oneworld, Oxford,
England, 1997
[19] Rodwell, J. M., "The Koran", by, published by Everyman, London, England
[20] Ibn Sa'd, (d. 852 A.D.), "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir", (Book of the
Major Classes), translated by S. Moinul Haq, Pakistan Historical Society
[21] Dashti, Ali, "23 Years: A Study in the Prophetic Career of Mohammad",
Mazda, Costa Mesa, CA, 1994. Translated by F.R.C. Bagley
[24] Wensinck, A., "Muhammad and the Jews of Medina", pub. by K. S. V.
[25] http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life3/chap13.htm
[26] Abu Dawud, Suliman, "Sunan", al-Madina, New Delhi, 1985, translated by
A. Hasan. [Internet version is available at
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/
[27] Ayoub, Mahmoud, "The Qur’an and Its Interpreters" vol. II - The House
of Imran, Albany, N.Y.; State University of New York Press, 1992
[28] Ali, Yusef, "The Holy Qur'an", published by Amana, Beltsville,
Maryland, USA, 1989 [Internet version is available at
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/]
[29] Asad, Muhammad , "The Message of the Qur’an", Dar Al-Andaulus,
Gibraltar, 1980
[32] Payne, Robert, "The History of Islam", Dorset Press, New York, 1990
[33] Fregosi, Paul, "Jihad", Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York, 1998
[35] Rehman, Afzal, "Subject Index of the Holy Qur’an", published by
Classical Printers, Delhi, India, 1987



This essay continues in part 3/15

_________________________________________________________________
Hot chart ringtones and polyphonics. Go to
http://ninemsn.com.au/mobilemania/default.asp