The
recent terrorist attack in America has brought the religion of Islam into the
spotlight. It is unfortunate that Muslims have become the scapegoats for attacks
of terrorism perpetrated locally or internationally. Furthermore ,
Afghanistan’s declaration of a “Holy War” conjures in the minds of
non-Muslims, images of “mullahs in flowing robes’ , hell bent on killing and
destroying everything and everyone in their path ‘for the sake of Allah(SWT).”
Reality is far removed from the erroneous illusion that is portrayed by
un-informed people, and the record has to be set straight. Islam, like other
Monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Judaism,
is a glorious and noble great religion which respects the dignity of all
humanity. There will always be Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and other
fanatics who will commit crimes in the name of religion. One should not condemn
a nation or a religion or a country , based on the actions of a few individuals.
Generalizations breed hatred. Hatred is a cancer that destroys the bearer of
this disease . Furthermore , one should guard against the mis-information that
is disseminated by some biased
media. This short article looks at the concept of Jihad and the
context in which this term should be used.
The
translation of the Arabic word “Jihad” has been distorted and twisted to
such an extent , that it no longer gives meaning to the original term. The word
“jihad” means “striving ; exerting oneself in any endeavour; going the
extra mile; endurance in the face of obstacles.”
For example , a student who is studying for his exams , is
performing Jihad , because he is striving to succeed in his/her studies.
A business owner who is striving to make a success of his business is performing
Jihad. A husband who is trying to save his marriage , is performing Jihad
because he is striving in the face of obstacles to make a success of his
marriage. The Prophet Mohamed (Peace Be Upon Him) stated that the highest Jihad
is against oneself . By this he meant that the best Jihad is controlling ones
own desires , controlling ones emotions of anger , jealousy , hatred and
revenge. To do this , is not easy – that is why it is a Jihad. It is a
struggle. It means developing a strong will power and disciplining the mind and
the body for a more noble cause and effort. It is only through struggle and
hardships that character is developed. Jihad
means controlling ones lower , animalistic base desires (the ‘nafs’) and
thereby unveiling the true inner spirit of compassion , mercy , love ,
selflessness and kindness for all
humanity. The true test of one’s character comes when a victim does not take
revenge when in a position of strength. For example, Nelson Mandela was
incarcerated for 27 years. When victory came to him, he could have extracted
revenge , and few people would have
blamed him. However , he showed true character and a strong will – he
controlled his desire for revenge – by controlling his desire for revenge ,
Mandela performed Jihad. The Prophet Mohamed (Peace Be Upon Him) was persecuted
and forced to flee from the land of his birth. He came back victorious after 10
years – in that moment of victory , he was the Superpower of Arabia and he
could have annihilated all his enemies – yet , not a single drop of blood was
shed – he performed Jihad of the highest order, when he forgave his enemies.
The Prophet Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) performed Jihad when he prayed to Allah
(SWT) to forgive his enemies “for
they know not what they do.” The Prophet Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) did not
pray for revenge-he controlled his inner desire (‘nafs’) for revenge.
Mahatma Gandhi performed Jihad when he exercised
self control and embarked on peaceful (passive) resistance against the
British army.
In
addition to the types of Jihad described above , even looking after your parents
is a Jihad. When a man was about to join a battle, the Prophet (Peace Be Upon
Him) encouraged him to instead look after his ailing parents – that is, it is
a better form of Jihad than going for a battle.
We all know that sometimes it is difficult to be kind and polite to our parents.
But for Muslims, to be kind , merciful
and respectful to parents is a duty of the highest form , even more rewarding
than being a Martyr in a battle.
A
man came to the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) asking his permission to take part
in Jihad. The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) asked him, “Are your parents alive
?” . He replied in the affirmative. The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said to
him, “ Then exert yourself in their service.”
{Sahih Al Bukhari Hadith,
4.248 Narrated by Abdullah bin Amr
(RA) }
Furthermore
, for women , the best form of Jihad is to perform the Hajj. The Pilgrimage of
Hajj is a strenuous and arduous journey filled with hardships and requires much
tolerance on the part of the one who embarks on this journey.
Sahih
Bukhari Hadith 4.43 Narrated by
Aisha (RA) , that she said “ O Allah’s Apostle ! We consider Jihad as the
best deed . Should we not fight in Allah’s cause ? “
He (Peace Be Upon Him) said : “ The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj
Mabrur (ie Hajj which is done according to the Prophet’s tradition and is
accepted by Allah).”
HOLY
WAR
Warfare
is one type of Jihad. Warfare is also a form of striving. However , fighting and
warfare in Islam is only allowed in extreme and very exceptional circumstances.
All avenues of discussion , negotiation and communication must be exhausted
before the route of warfare is embarked upon.
The
Holy Prophet Mohamed (Peace Be Upon Him) said : “ The best fighting (Jihad) in
the path of Allah is (to speak) a word of justice to an oppressive ruler.” {Sunan
of Abu Dawood Hadith 4330,
Narrated by Abu Said al-Khudri (RA) }
A
Muslim is only permitted to take up arms in two main instances . Firstly ,
against an oppressive government. Secondly , in self defence. When any of these
two conditions are present , then a Muslim is permitted to take up arms ,
provided that the decision has been made by a group consensus of leading
Ulema’s (Scholars and Jurists). In this case , striving in this effort ,
against an oppressor , is known as Jihad. It does not matter who the oppressor
is – all Muslims have a duty to fight all forms of oppression, discrimination
and slavery (whether it is social, political or economic). If
a Muslim is oppressing a Muslim, then all Muslims must perform Jihad
against the Muslim ruler to fight on behalf of the silent masses. If a Jewish
government is oppressing its Jewish citizens, then Muslims have a duty to
perform Jihad against the oppressor. If a Christian government or a Hindu
government or a Communist government or any other oppressive government is
oppressing its citizens , then Muslims are duty bound to assist and free the
victims of oppression.
In
the current news media , a lot of media hype was caused when Afghanistan
declared ‘Holy War” . It should be remembered that Afghanistan is not the
aggressor. Afghanistan has declared a Holy War , only in self – defence , in
response to America’s declaration of war against Afghanistan. There is not a
single shred of evidence , that this poorest country in the world (Afghans are
dying daily due to hunger , lack of water , lack of medical facilities and lack
of proper sanitation) , which does not believe in technology (citizens are not
even allowed Television) , or Usama Bin Ladin , a Bedouin , living in the
deserts and caves of Afghanistan , could ever be responsible for this precise,
very sophisticated military hit on the Pentagon.
By declaring a “holy war’ , Afghanistan is simply doing what any
country in the world would do , that is , declare a state of Emergency (Holy
War) to defend its citizens against a possible apocalyptic catastrophe . There
is nothing sinister in this approach.
Islam
places great emphasis on the rules of conduct in any war . War is the last
resort, when all other measures fail. Discussion and negotiation win more wars
and battles than military conflict- “jaw-jaw” is better than “war-war.”
In the extreme scenario when war is inevitable , then Muslims are duty bound to
abide to the following very strict conditions of warfare which have been
commanded by the Prophet Mohamed (Peace Be Upon Him)
in various authentic Hadith such as :
Al
Muwatta Hadith 21.10
Narrated by Yahya (RA)
The
Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said : “ I advise you 10 things
: Do not kill women or children or aged, infirm person. Do not cut down
fruit bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place. Do not slaughter sheep
or camels except for food. Do not burn bees and do not scatter them. Do not
steel from the booty and do not be cowardly.”
(1)
The war should be confined to the battle field : soldier against soldier
(2)
No woman or child, or elderly man , or any civilian not involved in the
battle , should be harmed in any way; thus there is no concept of hostages or
terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in Islam
(3)
The environment , fruit bearing trees, water , houses , animals , birds,
insects and livestock or essential
supplies cannot be harmed or damaged in any way
(4)
Torture of prisoners is forbidden. In fact , the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH)
encouraged his followers to treat the captives with compassion and kindness . In
the event that Muslims had prisoners, the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)
enjoined on his followers to first feed the prisoners , before he ate.
(5)
A war must only be waged for the sake of Allah , meaning that the war
must not be done for any material gain eg capturing land for territory ,wealth,
oil or gold;
The
Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said : “ The action dearest to Allah Most
High is Love for Allah’s sake and hatred for Allah’s sake.” {Al-Tirmidhi,
Hadith 5021 Narrated by Abu Dharr (RA) }
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 2510 narrated by Abu Huraira (RA)
A
man said :” Apostle of Allah , a man wishes to take part in Jihad in Allah’s
path desiring some worldly advantage ? The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said :
“ He will have no reward.”
(6)
A war cannot be waged on another nation to force them to accept Islam ,
because Allah clearly commands in the Quran “ there is no compulsion in
religion”. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world , not because of
threats or warfare , but simply through the tools of logic, common sense and
reason. Unlike other religions, Islam has not been tainted by human folly’s of
interpolation , additions and deletions to the original Word of Allah.
(7)
Before any war is contemplated , irrefutable facts and evidence must be
presented. No one can act on hearsay or suspicion. Justice and fair-play are
necessary preconditions because human lives are at stake. In Islam , the
sanctity and sacredness of all human life is firmly entrenched in the following
guidance : if someone kills an innocent person without cause , it is as if he
has killed the whole of humanity. If someone saves a human life , it is as if he
has saved the whole of humanity.
(8)
War must be terminated as soon as the opposite party relents –
continuation of the war to extract sadistic revenge is
totally forbidden
(9)
Arrogance is totally forbidden and usurping the rights of the defeated
nation by making life difficult for them is not allowed as shown in the
following :
The
Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said :”Those who occupy much space or encroach on
the road will not be credited with Jihad.” (Sunan of Abu Dawood , Hadith 2623
, Narrated by Mu’adh ibn Anas al-Juhani (RA) }
This
is what makes war in Islam a ‘holy’ war – that is , a war that is
conducted with the highest morality , ethics and a code of conduct of behaviour.
Muslims are fully aware that all their actions will be judged one day by Allah ,
the one and Only , Who will judge between all humanity. This is the Day of
Accountability where every action of every person will be displayed. No Muslim
will dare utter that he is performing an action “for the sake of Allah” ,
when his actions are against the Code of Conduct laid down in the Quran and
shown by the Prophet Mohamed (Peace Be Upon Him). Thus the word “holy”
simply means that it is a war with ethics , compassion and the highest moral
conduct by all combatants.
In
contrast , a war that is conducted by some Western nations is not regarded as
“holy” or ethical from an
Islamic point of view or any other point of view , as the following few examples illustrate :
(1)
America used 80 000 tons (80 Million kilograms) of cluster bombs which do
not discriminate between civilian and non-civilian targets in Iraq . This is
‘unholy” and not ethical . More than 1 million innocent civilians
lost their lives . Buildings, land, dams, electrical power stations, schools and
hospitals were totally destroyed thus catapulting this 1st World
country back to the primitive Stone Age .
(2)
More than 5000 children under the age of 5 years are dying every month
since 1991 in Iraq because America used depleted Uranium (outlawed
internationally) and because of ongoing sanctions on this crippled nation. This
is unethical and unholy.
(3)
The use of Agent Orange by America , on Vietnam , is unholy. Agent Orange
is carcinogenic and mutanogenic and has not only affected humans , but has also
destroyed the environment for decades
(4)
The use of a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima is unholy and unethical , since it
killed many innocent civilians but in addition , the cancer effects on the
population and the destruction of the environment are still being felt today and
for generations to come
(5)
The action of an armed Israeli soldier who shoots a 6 year old
Palestinian Child in the head is “unholy
“ and unethical
(6)
Destroying the homes of Palestinians with bulldozers or Apache Attack
Helicopters , killing and torturing thousands of Palestinians who are fighting
for their freedom and their land that was unlawfully usurped from them , is
unholy and unethical
(7)
The ethnic cleansing and slaughter of Muslims in Bosnia is unholy and
unethical
(8)
The kamikaze attack on the World Trade centre where innocent civilians
died in the planes and on land is unholy and unethical
(9)
The hoarding of wealth by a few industrial nations who live in opulent
luxury , while millions in Africa , India , Pakistan, South America and other
parts of the world are living in abject poverty is regarded as ‘unholy’ and
‘unethical’ – Muslims are duty bound to restore the living conditions of
all humanity. Poverty is economic oppression
(10)
The unlawful underwater testing of nuclear weapons is unethical and
unholy since it destroys millions of marine life and damages the oceans of the
world
There is only One God. The One God does not give conflicting information to different religions. We are all children of Prophet Adam (Peace Be Upon Him). One should not condemn a nation or a religion on the basis of the actions of a few misguided people. An American Citizen is no more and no less important than a non-American Citizen. One should conduct our affairs with justice , compassion , dignity , respect and mutual tolerance for all humanity, black or white , great or small, Muslim or non-Muslim. We are one family. We are one humanity. We need a new world order based on the respect , dignity , compassion and love for all humanity. We pray to Allah (SWT) , to grant us Guidance , Forgive us our shortcomings and to Grant the Wisdom of Solomon to all world leaders to make decisions that will uplift all humanity and not selfish decisions to earn political points or flaunt the lands with brutal arrogance. All humanity has to embark on a global Jihad to bring peace to this world. Ameen.
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