The fourth thing discussed in the verses (2:190-4) is the ultimate goal of jihad. It says that jihad should continue until two objectives are totally achieved:

Firstly, فِتْنَة (fitnah) is uprooted.

Secondly, in the Arabian peninsula only Islam reigns supreme.

For the first objective, the words used by the Quran are حَتىَّ لَا تَكُوْنَ فِتْنَة (until fitnah does not remain). Surah Anfal (8:39) also mentions this objective in similar words. فِتْنَة (fitnah) is something which the Quran regards as أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْل (a greater crime than murder). It means “persecution” (to force a person to give up his religion). It is used in this meaning at a number of places in the Quran. No doubt, it is a crime greater than murder. The Almighty has created this world to test man by giving him the right to freely choose his religion and ideology. Consequently, any person who forces someone to give up his religion is in fact rebelling against the scheme of the Almighty. So when an Islamic state was established in Madinah, Muslims were directed to take up arms against people who were responsible for persecuting Muslims and to continue this aggression until persecution was uprooted from Arabia. The following verses forcefully depict this directive:

وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنْ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَل لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَل لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ نَصِيرًا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ الطَّاغُوتِ فَقَاتِلُوا أَوْلِيَاءَ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا (4: 75-6)

And what has come over you that you fight not in the cause of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women, and children whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town of oppressors, and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help.” [You should know that] those who are believers, fight in the cause of Allah, and those who are disbelieves, fight in the cause of Satan. So fight you against the friends of Satan. Ever feeble indeed is the plot of Satan. (4:75-76)

The directive of waging war against “persecution” (فِتْنَة) is mentioned in certain other verses of the Quran as well. No doubt, the age old tradition of forcing people to renounce their religion has almost been eliminated today; however, as long as human beings are human beings, they can always revert to it. Consequently, this is an eternal directive of the Quran. If persecution surfaces at any place on this earth of God, it is imperative upon a Muslim state to root it out if it has the strength and power to do so and help the oppressed by waging war against it. This is an everlasting directive of the Qur’an for the Muslims and no law of this world can repeal it.

A question arises here: Do other forms of injustice and oppression besides persecution also not entail a similar action? The answer to this question in the opinion of this writer is that all forms of oppression against the life and wealth as well as freedom of opinion and expression of Muslims – should be considered under it in various degrees. Consequently, if a group of Muslims commits unwarranted aggression against some of their brothers and does not desist from it even after all attempts of reconciliation, such a group according to the Quran should be fought with:

وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنْ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّى تَفِيءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ (49 :9-10)

And if two parties or groups among the believers start fighting, then make peace between them both. But if one of them outrages against the other, then fight you against the one which outrages until it complies with the decision of God. Then if it complies, make reconciliation between them justly, and be equitable because God loves those who are the equitable. The believers are brothers to one another. So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah that you may receive mercy. (49:9-10)

The directives mentioned in these verses can be summarized thus:

1. If two groups among the Muslims are engaged in a fight with one another, other Muslims should not remain indifferent to this state of affairs and should not think that this matter does not concern them. Similarly, it is improper to support a group merely on the basis of familial or tribal bias. They must support the group who in their opinion is on the right, and, in no way, let such biases form the basis of their support. They must try to fully comprehend the situation, and, then, try to reconcile the two groups.

2. If one of the groups is not willing to reconcile, or, after reconciliation, again resorts to oppression and injustice, then it is the duty of the Muslims that, if they have the power, they should fight this group under the authority of some state. This aggression launched should continue until that group surrenders to the decision the arbitrators have put forth before the two groups. The Qur’an has used the word أَمْرُ الله (the decision of God) for the decision of the arbitrator. This means that if a person defies this decree, he is in fact defying the decree of God.

3. If the two groups show their willingness to reconcile, the Almighty has stressed that neither should any unwarranted lenience be shown to them nor should they be shown injustice in any way. Justice should be the basis of reconciliation and whatever loss a party has incurred, it should be compensated for it.

This directive obviously pertains to the existence of a Muslim state under which such a war can be waged. If Muslims do not have a state, then in such a situation, the Prophet Muhammad (sws) while answering a question raised by Hudhayfah (rta) directed the Muslims to dissociate themselves from such anarchy and disorder:

قُلْتُ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ جَمَاعَةٌ وَلَا إِمَامٌ قَالَ فَاعْتَزِلْ تِلْكَ الْفِرَقَ كُلَّهَا وَلَوْ أَنْ تَعَضَّ بِأَصْلِ شَجَرَةٍ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَكَ الْمَوْتُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ

I asked: “If there is no state or ruler of the Muslims?” He replied: “In this situation, dissociate yourself from all groups, even if you have to chew the roots of a tree at the time of your death.”[1]

For the second objective, the words used in Surah Baqarah and Surah Anfal are يَكُوْنَ الدِّيْنُ ِلله (God’s religion reigns supreme) and يَكُوْنَ الدِّيْنُ كُلُّهُ لله (all of God’s religion reigns supreme) respectively. Prior to them, the word قُاتِلُوْهُمْ (fight them) directs the Muslims to wage war. It is evident from the context that the antecedent of the pronoun هُمْ (them) in this word is the Idolaters of Arabia. Consequently, these expressions mean that in the land of Arabia the religion of Islam would reign supreme. This purpose could only have been achieved in two ways: either the followers of all other religions be put to death or they be subdued and subjugated completely. Consequently, after many phases interspersed with periods of both war and peace when the disbelievers were totally humiliated, both these ways were adopted. Muslims were directed to kill the Idolaters of Arabia if they did not accept faith and to let the Jews and Christians live on their own religions if they accepted to pay jizyah and live a life of total subjugation to the Islamic state established in Arabia. However, the active adversaries among them were put to death or exiled whenever it became possible.

It has been written at the very beginning of this chapter that the various measures adopted by the Prophet (sws) and his Companions (rta) including warfare were all Divinely ordained. These measures do not belong to the common shariah law of Islam. Rather they belong to a specific law that can be termed as the law of itmam al-hujjah (إِتْمَامُ الحُجَّة). This law can be summarized as: when the truth of a rasul’s message is communicated to a people in its ultimate form such that no one has any excuse to deny it, the rejecters of this truth are punished in this very world. The Quran says that the decision for this punishment is made by the Almighty after various phases of the preaching mission of a rasul. These phases includeindhar, [2] indhar-i ‘am, [3] itmam-i hujjah [4] and hijrah wa bara’ah. [5] In this way, the divine court of justice of the Almighty is set up in this very world, and the reward or punishment that will take place on the Day of Judgement is rehearsed in this very world. The history of this worldly Judgement as mentioned in the Qur’an shows that the nature of the punishment meted out is generally of two forms:

In the first case, a rasul has very few companions, and, also does not have a place to migrate. In the second one, he migrates with a considerable number of companions, and, before he even does so, the Almighty arranges for them a territory where they can migrate and live there as its sovereigns with freedom. In both these cases, the established practice of the Almighty regarding His rusul manifests itself – the practice which the Quran describes in the following words:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحَادُّونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُوْلَئِكَ فِي الأَذَلِّينَكَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ(58 :20-21)

Indeed those who are opposing Allah and His Messenger are bound to be humiliated. The Almighty has ordained: “I and My messengers shall always prevail.” Indeed Allah is Mighty and Powerful. (58:20-21)

In the first case, this humiliation takes the form of Divine punishment that descends upon the adversaries of a rasul in the form of raging storms, cyclones and other calamities, which completely destroy them. It is evident from the Qur’an that the nations of Noah (sws), Lot (sws), Salih (sws) and Shu‘ayb (sws) along with some other nations of rusul met with this dreadful fate. The only exception to this were the Israelites who were not destroyed because, being the People of the Book, they were basically adherents to monotheism. Their humiliation took the form of constant subjugation to the followers of Jesus (sws) till the Day of Judgement.

In the second case, a rasul and his companions subdue their nation by force, and execute them if they do not accept faith. In this case, his addressees are given some further respite. In this period, the rasul does itmam al-hujjah on the inhabitants of the land to which he had migrated. He morally purifies his followers, isolates them from the disbelievers and organizes them in the form of a group, and prepares them for a final onslaught with evil. He also consolidates his political power in the land so that he is able to root out the disbelievers and establish the supremacy of the believers through this political power.

It was this situation which had arisen in the case of the rasul Muhammad (sws). After itmam al-hujjah, it was the Jews who were subdued first. They had been granted amnesty because of various pacts. Those among them who violated these pacts were given the punishment of denying a rasul (messenger) of God. The Prophet (sws) exiled the tribe of Banu Qaynuqa‘ to Khaybar and that of Banu Nadir to Syria.[6] Afterwards, the power they wielded at Khaybar was crushed by an attack at their strongholds. [7] Prior to this, Abu Rafi‘ and Ka‘b ibn Ashraf were put to death in their houses. [8] The tribe of Banu Qurayzah was guilty of treachery and disloyalty in the battle of Ahzab. [9] When the clouds of war dispersed and the chances of an external attack no longer remained, the Prophet (sws) laid siege around them. When no hope remained, they asked the Prophet (sws) to appoint Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh (rta) as an arbitrator to decide their fate. Their request was accepted. Since, at that time, no specific punishment had been revealed in the Qur’an about the fate of the Jews, Sa‘d announced his verdict in accordance with the Torah. As per the Torah, the punishment for treason was that all men should be put to death; the women and children should be enslaved and the wealth of the whole nation should be distributed among the conquerors. [10] In accordance with this verdict pronounced, all men were executed. [11] No other incident worthy of note took place regarding the Jews until in Surah Tawbah the final judgement was declared against them:

قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنْ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حَتَّى يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَنْ يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ (9: 29)

Fight those from among the People of the Book who believe not in Allah or the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger nor adopt the Religion of Truth as their religion, until they pay the jizyah with willing submission and are subdued. (9:29)

This directive related to both the Jews and the Christians. The punishment mentioned in these verses was in fact a show of great lenience to them because of the fact that they were originally adherents to monotheism. In reality, they had become worthy of death and destruction after deliberately denying the truth. However, they did not benefit from this lenience because after the death of the Prophet (sws) they once again resorted to fraud and treachery. [12] Consequently, the Jews of Khaybar and the Christians of Najran were exiled once and for all from the Arabian peninsula by the caliph ‘Umar (rta). This exile in fact thus fulfilled the following declaration of the Qur’an about them:

وَلَوْلَا أَنْ كَتَبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ الْجَلَاءَ لَعَذَّبَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابُ النَّارِ(3:59)

And had it not been that Allah had decreed exile for them, He would certainly have punished them in this world; and in the Hereafter theirs shall be the torment of the Fire. (59:3)

When the Idolaters of Arabia had been similarly subdued, it was proclaimed in Surah Tawbah that in future no pact would be made with them. They would be given a final respite of four months and then they would be humiliated in retribution of their deeds and would in no way be able to escape from this punishment (the Quran 9:1-2). Consequently, Makkah was conquered and just as some of the active adversaries among them had been executed when they were caught as prisoners in the battle of Badr and Uhud, similarly, at this occasion also such adversaries were put to death. Prior to this, the directive had been revealed about them that it should be proclaimed at the time of the hajj-i akbar (9th hijrah) that once the forbidden months would be over, Muslims should slay the Idolaters wherever they find them except if they accept faith, establish the prayer and pay zakah. However, those among them who were bound in time bar pacts with Muslims were an exception to this directive. Muslims were asked to honour these contracts until their stipulated time period if their counterparts abided by them. The implication was clear: once the time period expired, these people would also meet the fate that had been ordained for all the Idolaters of Arabia. They were to be killed in case they did not accept faith. This declaration was made in the Qur’an in the following words:

وَأَذَانٌ مِنْ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ إِلَى النَّاسِ يَوْمَ الْحَجِّ الْأَكْبَرِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ بَرِيءٌ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَرَسُولُهُ فَإِنْ تُبْتُمْ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَإِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ غَيْرُ مُعْجِزِي اللَّهِ وَبَشِّرْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ عَاهَدتُّمْ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنقُصُوكُمْ شَيْئًا وَلَمْ يُظَاهِرُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَحَدًا فَأَتِمُّوا إِلَيْهِمْ عَهْدَهُمْ إِلَى مُدَّتِهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فَإِذَا انسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَاحْصُرُوهُمْ وَاقْعُدُوا لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍ فَإِنْ تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (9: 3-5)

And a declaration should be made from Allah and His Messenger to these people on the day of the great hajj that Allah is free from [all] obligations to these Idolaters and so is His Messenger. So, [O Idolaters!] If you repent, it is better for you, but if you turn away, then know that you cannot escape from the grasp of Allah. And [O Muhammad (sws)!] Give tidings of a painful torment to these disbelievers. Except those of these Idolaters with whom you have a treaty, and who have not shown treachery in it nor have supported anyone against you. So fulfil their treaty to the end of their term. Indeed, Allah loves those who abide by the limits. Then when the sacred months [after the hajj] have passed, kill these Idolaters wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush. But if they repent and are diligent in the prayer, and give zakah, then leave them alone. Indeed, Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most-Merciful. (9:3-5)

With these measures, the basic objective of war stated by the words:يَكُوْنَ الدِّيْنُ كُلُّهُ لله (all of Allah’s religion reigns supreme) was achieved in the ultimate sense. However, during this period the Prophet (sws) presented his message to all the nearby nations outside Arabia. [13] By writing letters to the rulers of the nations, [14] he made it clear upon them that now Islam alone can guarantee existence for them. [15] This meant that just as the truth had been conclusively communicated through the Prophet (sws) to the Idolaters and the People of the Book of Arabia, it shall also be conclusively communicated before his death to these nations. The obvious outcome of this was that these nations also shall be punished in this world as per the divine law relating to deliberate rejection of the truth communicated to people by their respective messengers. Consequently, this is what happened also and after consolidating their rule in the Arabian peninsula, the Companions (rta) launched attacks against these countries giving them two options if they wanted to remain alive: to accept faith or to accept a life of subjugation by paying jizyah. None of these nations was an adherent to polytheism in the real sense, otherwise they would have been treated in the same way as the Idolaters of Arabia.

It is evident from these details that all these armed campaigns and offensives were not merely qital(war), they were in reality a divine punishment. This punishment, which is meted out to those to whom the truth is communicated to such an extent that they are left with no excuse to deny it, is an established practice of Allah. As a Divine scheme, it descended first upon the Idolaters and the People of the Book of Arabia and then to certain other nations outside it. Consequently, this is absolutely certain that fighting those who have deliberately rejected the truth and forcing the vanquished to lead a life of subjugation by imposing jizyah on them is no longer allowed. Till the Day of Judgement, no one can attack any nation of the world for this purpose nor has the authority to subjugate the vanquished by imposing jizyah on it. For Muslims, the sole ground of war is injustice and oppression. This is the sole warfare they can now carry out. They cannot wage war in the name of religion on any other ground.

(Javed Ahmed Ghamidi)

(Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem)

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[1]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 1221, (no. 7084).

[2]. Warning.

[3]. Augmented and pronounced warning.

[4]. Communicating the truth to the extent that no one among its addressees is left with an excuse to deny it.

[5]. Migration and acquittal.

[6]. Ibn Hisham,Al-Sirah al-nabawiyyah, vol. 3, 40-42; Ibid. vol. 3, 151-160.

[7]. Ibid., 255-277.

[8]. Ibid., 43-48, 215-217; Ibn Sa‘d, Al-Tabaqat al-kubra, vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1960), 28.

[9]. Ibn Hisham,Al-Sirah al-nabawiyyah,vol. 3, 180-182.

[10]. Deuteronomy, 20:10-14.

[11]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 698-699, (nos. 4121, 4122); Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 784-785, (nos.4596, 4598).

[12]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 447, (no.2730); Abu Yusuf, Kitab al-Karaj, Fasl fi al-Fay wa al-Kharaj, 4; Ahmad ibn Yahyaibn Jabiral-Baladhuri,Futuh al-buldan (Qum: Manshurat al-arummiyyah, 1404 AH), 73; Abu al-Hasan ‘Izz al-Din al-Jazariibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil fi al-tarikh, 1st ed., vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar Beirut, 1965), 112.

[13]. This happened after the truce of Hudaybiyah, when after this pact of peace with the Quraysh, the situation arose in which the Prophet (sws) could extend his preaching endeavours.

[14]. The names of these heads of states are: 1. Negus of Abyssinia, 2. Maqawqas of Egypt, 3. Khusro Parvez of Persia, 4. Qaysar of Rome, 5. Mundhir ibn Sawiof Bahrain, 6. Hudhah ibn ‘Ali of Yamamah, 7. Harith ibn Abi Shamr of Damascus, 8. Jayfarof Amman.

[15]. Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih,485-487, (no. 2941); Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 787-789, (no.4607).