Legislation of Jihad in the Islam: -

According to the Quranic terminology Jihad is the striving of the soul and money and energy to please God by all means. So, it includes giving money to the poor people regardless of their religion and faith, and the peaceful discussion with unbelievers, and to fight them only to defend yourself. (29: 8) (8: 72)(25: 52).

The Quran sets the legislation for Jihad; its commandments, its principles and its final aims.

Generally, the Quranic legislation based on commandments which serve principles, those principles are serving the basic Islamic aims or values. Regarding Jihad, the commandment: “fight” is based on principles of self-defense and in response to violent attack, or in the Quranic term “fighting in the cause of God”, while this principle is serving the final aim or value of fighting which is to assure religious freedom and prevent religious persecution.

The final aim or the great value of Jihad in Islam is to allow every person to follow the religion of his choice without any persecution. For this value or aim the Muslim state has to fight to prevent the persecution and to defend itself and its freedom of belief and speech.

 By this way, every one has the freedom of choice in the realm of religion and he will be responsible before God only on the last Day according to his freedom of choice. In this life he is responsible only before the society if he violates the other people’s rights.

 Here are some examples to demonstrate the correct rules of Jihad:   God says :( And fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly God loves not transgressors) (2: 190) Here the commandment is (fight) and the principle is (in the cause of God those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly God loves not transgressors).The fight in the cause of God means according to His legislation which forbids transgression. God repeated and confirm the same meaning :(...Then whoever attacks you, you may attack them to inflict an equivalent retribution. (2: 193).       

The ultimate goal of this legislation in His saying: (and fight them until there is no more oppression.)(2: 193). Therefore the prevention of oppression is the essential aim for the legislation of fighting.

The oppression means in the Arabic and Quranic language:  ‘Fitnah’ which is used in the Quranic terminology to refer to the religious persecution committed by the unbelievers in Mecca against the early Muslims.

That persecution included the continuous fight against the peaceful early Muslim even after their escape to Al Madina. So, God says: (And oppression is worse than slaughter. And they will not cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can” (2: 217).

By allowing religious freedom and preventing oppression in religion, every one deals with God alone and straightly in obeying or disobeying him, and every one will be responsible for his deeds this before God only on the Day of Judgment.  None else has the right to take upon for him God’s sovereignty or judge other people’s faith or to persecute those who hold deferent religious opinion. This makes the realm of religion belong to God alone without any kind of human religious authority. This is precisely what the verse calls for when it says: (And fight them until there is no more oppression and all the religion will belong to God alone.) (8: 39). God may forgive them if they refrain and stop transgression and persecution, and the Muslims have no right to attack them, otherwise they become transgressors themselves, God says: (And fight in the cause of God those who fight you, and transgress not the limits. Truly, God loves not the transgressors... But if they cease, then God is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them until there is no more oppression and the religion will belong to God. But if they cease, let be no more transgression except against the transgressors only.) (2:190 to 193) This is confirmed in other verses :( 8: 38 to 40).

Obviously this legislation concerning fighting agrees with what is understood from the terms ‘Islam’ of submission and peace and protects peace from any animosity or transgression.

Peace and freedom

This assures religious freedom. It’s enough here to remember the Quranic principle: (There shall be no compulsion in religion; the truth is now distinguishable from falsehood.) (2: 256). Moreover, God said to the prophet Mohammed blaming him: (And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together. So, will you then compel mankind until they become believers?)(10:99). This confirms the Quranic fact that the religion belongs to God alone without any human religious authority, and the prophet Mohammed has ant religious authority as it’s the will of God to let people exercise their freedom of choice and be responsible for this before Him alone in the Last Day. The freedom in religion is the key of democracy and freedom of thinking and speech.

Rules of alliance

For the first time in the Arabic Peninsula, some Arabs established a real state according to our modern definition of state. It was the first –and may be the last- Islamic state in the time of the prophet Mohammed. The new Islamic state had its border and its people and its government. It had also its allies and its enemies.

Any believer in the Arabic desert wanted to be member of this state he had to immigrate to it and lived inside its border. All the believers inside this state were allies to each other against the enemies who used to attack the peaceful state. So the Quran stated to them that the believers out side the state should immigrate to the state to be a part of the state. If those outsider believers asked protection from the Islamic state, the state ought to defend them unless there was a treaty between the state and those who attacked these outsider believers. So, all believers should be allies to each other inside their state to face the unbelievers who were united and alliance against the lonely state. (8: 72 -73)

Inside that state there were different groups of oppositions who were against the state and its religion. The Quran called them the hypocrites. They enjoyed the freedom of speech and belief, and also the freedom of conspiracy against the state. The Holy Quran used to expose theirs plots and their inner thoughts, but in the same time order the believers to avoid them, turn aside from them as long they did not fight the state. You can find some details in these suras :( 2 :8 to 14 &204 to206 ) (3 : 118 to119 & 155 to 158 &167 to168 ) ( 3: 60 to 69 & 81 to 83 & 105 to 115 & 138 to146 ) ( 5 :52 ) ( 8: 49 ) ( 9 : 42 to 68 & 73 to 87 & 93 to 98 & 101 & 107 to 110 & 124 to 127 ) ( 24 : 11 to 26 & 46 to 54 )  ( 33 : 1 & 12 to 20 & 24 & 48 & 57 to 61 & 73 ) ( 37 :16 & 20 to 30 ) ( 48 : 6 & 11 to 16 ) (58 : 7 to 22) ( 59 : 11 to 16) ( 63 : 1 to 8) ( 66:9 )

 However, those hypocrites inside Al Madina were under control but there were another kind of hypocrites who lived in the desert and used to come to the Islamic state claiming Islam, but their inner goal was to deceive Muslims. Some of them offered to ally to the state while they were real enemies to the Islamic state. Those hypocrites were real danger, so the Quran ordered Muslims not to ally with them till they immigrate to the state. If they refused to immigrate then they should be treated as enemies in the battle field. However, if they did not immigrate but they did not attack the state either, the Muslims were not allowed to fight them. (4: 88 to 91). God described most of those Arabic Bedouins as the (worst in disbelief and hypocrisy and more likely to be in ignorance of the God’s Legislation.) (9: 97).

Most of them controlled the routs north and south the new Islamic state, and had a good relationship with the Arabic Christian tribes and the Jewish tribes in the Arabic Peninsula. Those Christian and Jewish tribes united together against the new Islamic state which was alone in front of those allies. Some people inside the Islamic state – including the hypocrite – had a good relationship with those allies in spite of their enmity and fight. So, God ordered them not to take them allies as long they fighting their state, otherwise they will be in their side and part of them.( 5 : 51 to 58 ).

The Islamic state had to defend itself against the attacks of those Christian and Jewish tribes. God ordered the Islamic state to fight them as they violated God’s commandment until they pay expiation as a punishment for their aggression. (8:29). It means not to occupy their land, nor to force them to convert to Islam, but only to pay back for their aggression as our modern international legislation deals with any country attacks other country and is finally defeated.

Those rules of alliance protected the new peaceful Islamic state in front of all it enemies who surrounded it.

Generally, God makes it clear rules in dealing with the non- Muslims who are out of the Islamic state:

[1] Muslims should deal kindly and justly with those who do not fight them, and did not drive them out of their home.

[2] Muslims are not allowed to be allies to those who attack them and fight them because of their religion, and also expelled them from their home, or helped the unbelievers in driving them out from their homes. (60:8 & 9).

Rules in battle field:

Not only does the Quran establish a clear relationship between the terms ‘Islam’ and ‘peace’ and the legislation of war , but the Quran also presents other legislations in order to confirm the main value of peace and to leave no ground for ambiguity or intended misuse.

1- We find a clear-cut example in sura 4 hence which talks about the prohibition of killing a peaceful and a safe believer; the verse says:  (It’s not for a believer to kill a believer except by mistake.) (4: 92) it means that it is impossible or unjustifiable, that a true believer would intentionally kill another. The verse goes in talking about the compensation due such a case and the rules related to it. Then verse 4: 93 talks about the divine punishment awaiting the killer of a peaceful man or a believer for that matter doesn’t make deference at the point. The verse says :( And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein forever, and the wrath and the curse of God are upon him and a dreadful punishment is prepared for him.) Thus he who kills a peaceful believer faces eternity in Hell, wrath and curse and great suffering. These are stated in the Quran as separate punishments each. Yet it seems that the person who commits such a dreadful crime deserves all of these punishments added together.

The sura 4 continues as verse 94 declares the right of life to any peaceful one regardless of his inner belief, it says: “Oh you who believed! When you go’ to fight’ in the cause of God, investigate carefully and say not to anyone who greets you: You are not a believer.). Thus in time of war, the believers must carefully investigate to make sure that they aren’t committing the crime of killing a peaceful man, who by misfortune happens to be in the battle field. God gives him and even any one in the other side of the enemy a constant right to be saved simply by pronouncing the words (peace be upon you) or the Islamic greeting. If he says so, it then becomes unlawful to kill him. He even becomes a peaceful believer regardless of his inner belief and his strange presence in the battle field. If he is killed, the killer will deserve the total punishment mentioned in the verse 93. Therefore any peaceful one is Muslim and believer even during war time and field, and if he gets killed then his killer deserves the abode in Hell, the great suffering, and God’s curse and wrath.

2- In that time, it was a bad habit to kill the captives, enslave them or free them for money or ransom. God blamed the prophet Mohammed when he set free all the captives of Badr Battle for money, as the main mission of the prophet not to seek the vanity of this life but to give a good example to people. God ordered the prophet Mohammed to tell them that He would forgive them if they had any good in their heart :( O Prophet say to the captives that are in your hands “ If God knows any good  in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you and He will forgive you, and God is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.’) (8: 70)

God ordered the prophet Mohammed and Muslims only two choice to deal with the captives; to set them free or as exchange of prisoners of war. (37:4). In all cases, the prisoner of war after releasing him becomes (Ibn Al Sabeel) or  a guest as long he is in the Muslim State, should be given charity and alms and shelter until he returns home.(76:8) (2: 177 &215) ( 4: 36)( 8: 41)( 9: 60)( 17: 26)( 24: 22)  (30: 38)( 59: 7).

These Quranic laws about the captives were ignored by Muslims during their history, as it was a bad habit in the middle Ages to kill the captives as the first option. This used to happen during the fight between Muslim Empire and the Roman Empire and other nations, besides the domestic wars inside the Muslims civil wars.

Moreover, killing the captives or enslaving them was accompanied by enslaving women and children. It was the dark Middle Aged culture which made the Muslim traditions and history full of these aspects in manifest defiance to the real Islamic values.

3- In a case of a worrier fighting Muslims who decided to cease fighting, he only has to seek an asylum. When he does so his life is in safe and secured, he should be allowed to listen to the Quran to choose to believe in it or not, and also to have no excuse before God in Judgment Day. The Muslims are ordered to escort him to a safe place, or a home, in security and peace. That is precisely what the verses says: (If one amongst the unbelievers seeks protection from you, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of God, and then escort him to where he can be secured, that is because they are without knowledge ( 9 : 6).

The truth is that most Muslims are also without knowledge.

The proof is that Islam is a religion of peace. Peace is in its origin and in its legislation but because of the behavior of the old Muslims and the fanatic Muslims in our time, Islam has become accused of fanaticism, fascism and terrorism. This leads us to identify the meanings of “Infidel, unbeliever.” Is he any one who is non – Muslim as most of Muslims believe?

Two meanings for the infidel and unbeliever

Islam means to submit you to the One God – in dealing with Him- and to be peaceful in dealing with people. God alone is the only one who has the power to judge our belief. The society in this world has the right to judge the individuals regarding the relationship among them. So, any peaceful one is Muslim regardless of his belief, and any honest safe faithful one is believer regardless of his inner faith. On the other hand, any one who transgresses the limits or wrongs the others, or attacks them or terrifies them is unbeliever or infidel regardless of any slogan he claims.

The Quranic language has many descriptions for the infidels and disbelievers to explain the main aspects of those people in any time regardless of any motto they claim.  It’s up to the One God alone to judge their inner belief, but it’s up to us to recognize them according to their transgression.

“Al Zolm”

“Al Zolm is the first description of the infidel or the disbeliever. It’s an Arabic term means to do wrong, to commit outrage, to tyrannize, to be unfair , unjust, to oppress, to attack the innocent ones. This term is repeated in the Quran about 300 times as it’s the main aspect of the disbelief and infidelity. For example: (2:254) (31:13) and: (2: 165) (4: 75 & 168) (6: 45) (10:13 &52) (11: 37& 67& &94& 102 & 116) (14: 44 & 45) (21:13) (29: 49)

The unbeliever chooses to wrong the Only God by adding partners to Him, but God is the only one who will judge him concerning the realm of faith and religion. If this unbeliever lives peacefully, he is a believer according to our limits in this life as we are concern only about living in peace and safe and justice in terms of dealing with each other.

Every one believes that his own faith is the real truth, so it’s against the pure justice to judge each other in faith and belief. It’s a pure justice to leave this to the God Himself to judge us as we all have different faiths concerning Him. So He is the only one who will tell us the real truth on the Day of Truth (2:113) (3:55) (10:93) (16:124) (5:48) (39:3 & 7 &46). Our concern should be only to live peacefully and justly and not to allow any one to violate this peace by the name of God while he is wronging the God and disobeying His commandments. It’s the most outrageous deed to disobey the One God and claim himself man of God killing the people by His name.

This is Quranic Islamic culture contradicted its early middle ages.

But its more contradiction was to its Arabic Peninsula’s culture where the Arabic tribes used to live in continuous blood sheds, glorifying raiding each other as a sign of honor and courage. Those Arabic tribal incursions mean killing the other tribe’s men and enslaving their women and children and giving the other tribe the right to retaliate. This bloody culture was faced by Islam and its peaceful face. The new Quranic language makes transgression, wrong, attack and assaults the attitude of the disbelief in the One God.

As the Quran talks about [Al Zolm] in about two hundred times, making it a sign of infidelity and disbelief, we find in the Quranic context another Arabic Quranic word ( transgression) to give the same meaning and used also in the same context regarding the unbelievers and infidels. God Says twice in the Quran :( … and transgress not. Verily God loves not the transgressors.) .This is mentioned in sura (2: 190) to refer in the rules of fighting, and mentioned also in the sura (5: 87) to confirm the absolute right of God alone in revealing the Divine legislation. This was a serious warning to the believers not to prohibit the good things that God has permitted.

God mentioned two kinds of aggressions, one of them made by infidels against the peaceful people. God says about them: (It’s they who are the transgressors.) (9:10) [Read also: (50: 25) (68: 12) (83: 12). The other kind they made against God, His revelation and His legislation. [See: (4:154) (7:163) (2:229) (4: 14) (65:1) (5: 94& 87) (23: 7).]. It’s up to God alone to judge those who violate His image, His revelation and legislation. But it’s the human society responsibility to face those who violate the human rights, especially the right of life. 

To face this (zolm) and oppression God ordered Muslims to be patient. Patience or (Al Sabr) is a Quranic term mentioned in the Quran about one hundred times as great Islamic value means forgiveness, tolerance, forbearance, perseverance and endurance.

Muslim has to uphold (Al Sabr) all his life seeking to please his Almighty Lord, in every stance of his life. He has to be (saber) in forgiving those who insult him, and to be (saber) also if he has to fight to defend his life or his freedom of belief. It’s a positive Islamic value to protect peace and to confirm tolerance and forgiveness in the same time. It was in middle between the total passiveness of the peaceful early Muslims, and the other people who were active in aggression and transgression.

The terrorist is the worst criminal.

•  Some unbelievers have the two kinds of transgression; it’s those who kill the innocent people in the name of God. The Muslim terrorists of our time are the clear example of this case. It’s imperative to face them from inside Islam to prove the contradiction between them and the real Islam and its real Jurisprudence. The simple criminal kills one person or few people without any religious justification, but the other criminal kills thousands of the innocent people believing it’s his religious duty to kill those who have different faith or different religion. In this case, he does not kill people, but he also kills the real values of the Divine religion. In this case, the killer is not the only criminal, but also those scholars and those religious authorities who preach such bloody culture as religious teachings should be obeyed.