Quote (poulgaragr @ Oct 28 2012 03:12am)
Rebuttal:
What is Jihad?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Besm Ellah El Rahman El Raheem
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَى أَن تُحِبُّواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ وَاللّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٢١٦
Kutiba ,Aleykum Alqitalu Wahuwa Kurhun Lakum Wa,asa An Takrahoo Shay'an Wahuwa Khayrun Lakum Wa,asa An Tuhiboo Shay'an Wahuwa Shar-run Lakum
Wallahu Ya,lamu Wa-antum La Ta,lamoon
“(Offensive) fighting is obligatory for you, though it is hateful to you. But you may hate a thing although it is good for you, and may love a thing although it is evil for you. Allah knows, and you do not.”
Holy Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqara (2), Verse 216
Definition: Jihad is the Arabic for what can be variously translated as “struggle” or “effort,” or “to strive,” “to exert,” “to fight,” depending on the context. In the West, the word is generally understood to mean “holy war,” and the terms are given, inaccurately, exclusively military connotations. The Qur'an does call for “jihad” as a military struggle on behalf of Islam. But the Qur'an also refers to jihad as an internal, individual, spiritual struggle toward self-improvement, moral cleansing and intellectual effort. It is said that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) considered the armed-struggle version of holy war “the little jihad” but considered the spiritual, individual version of holy war - the war within oneself - as “the great jihad.” Including the “jihad” as one of the five pillars of Islam is another common Western misunderstanding. Jihad is not among the five pillars of Islam (the profession of faith, prayer five times a day, fasting during Ramadan, alms for the poor and performance of the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Makkah, at least once in each Muslim's lifetime). Still, “jihad” is considered to be every Muslim's duty - be it the struggle to improve society, preventing the exploitation of the poor or vulnerable, or improving oneself before the Day of Judgement.
Question: What is Jihad? The word Jihad stems from the Arabic root word J-H-D, which means “strive.” Other words derived from this root include “effort,” “labour,” and “fatigue.” Essentially Jihad is an effort to practice religion in the face of oppression and persecution. The effort may come in fighting the evil in your own heart, or in standing up to a dictator. Military effort is included as an option, but as a last resort and not “to spread Islam by the sword” as the stereotype would have one believe.
Answer: The Qur'an describes Jihad as a system of checks and balances, as a way that Allah (swt) set up to “check one people by means of another.” When one person or group transgresses their limits and violates the rights of others, Muslims have the right and the duty to “check” them and bring them back into line. There are several verses of the Qur'an that describe jihad in this manner. One example:
“And did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, the Earth would indeed be full of mischief; but Allah is full of Bounty to all the worlds” (Qur'an 2:251)
Islam never tolerates unprovoked aggression from its own side; Muslims are commanded in the Qur'an not to begin hostilities, embark on any act of aggression, violate the rights of others, or harm the innocent. Even hurting or destroying animals or trees is forbidden. War is waged only to defend the religious community against oppression and persecution, because the Qur'an says that “persecution is worse than slaughter” and “let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression” (Qur'an 2:190-193). Therefore, if non-Muslims are peaceful or indifferent to Islam, there is no justified reason to declare war on them.
The Qur'an describes those people who are permitted to fight:
“They are those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right, for no cause except that they say, “Our Lord is Allah.” Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of God is commemorated in abundant measure...” (Qur'an 22:40)
Note that the verse specifically commands the protection of all houses of worship. Finally, the Qur'an also says, “Let there be no compulsion in religion” (Qur'an 2:256). Forcing someone at the point of a sword to choose death or Islam is an idea that is foreign to Islam in spirit and in historical practice. There is absolutely no question of waging a “holy war” to “spread the faith” and compel people to embrace Islam; that would be an unholy war and the people's forced conversions would not be sincere.
The word Jihad represents a concept which is much misunderstood in the West. The concept is explained nicely by the Christian scholar Ira 6. Zepp, Jr. in his book entitled “A Muslim Primer”, on pages 133-135, who says the following:
“The essential meaning of Jihad is the spiritual, psychological, and physical effort we exert to be close to God and thus achieve a just and harmonious society. Jihad literally means “striving” or “struggle” and is shorthand for Jihad fi Sabeel Allah (struggle for God's cause). In a sense, every Muslim is a Mujahid, one who strives for God and justice.”
Al-Ghazali captured the essence of Jihad when he said: “The real Jihad is the warfare against (one's own) passions. Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi calls Jihad “the execution of effort against evil in the self and every manifestation of evil in society.” In a way, Jihad is the Muslim's purest sacrifice: A struggle to live a perfect life and completely submit to God.
Another form of Jihad is the striving to translate the Word of God into action. If one has experienced God and received guidance from the Qur'an, one struggles to apply that guidance in daily life. So the larger, more prevalent meaning of Jihad is the spiritual struggle of the soul. In this case, Jihad is always present for the believer whether there is an external enemy or not. We should never reduce Jihad to violence.
A third level of Jihad is popularly known as “holy war.” The classic passage is found in the Qur'an:
“Fight in the way of Allah those who fight against you, but transgress not the limits. Truly Allah likes not the transgressors.” (Qur'an 2:190)
It is crucial to note here that what is condoned is defensive warfare; Islam cannot justify aggressive war. Muhammad (pbuh) and the Tradition are also against killing non-combatants, torturing of prisoners, the destruction of crops, animals and homes. Adapted from Ira 6. Zepp, Jr., A Muslim Primer (1992, Wakefield Editions, US) pages 133-135.
Robert Ellwood of the University of Southern California has the following to say about the Muslim concept of Jihad:
“Out of the community ideal of Islam comes the concept of jihad, or holy war, which is designed to defend Islam and allow its social practice, though not to force individual conversions, which is forbidden. Since Islam in principle is a community as well as a religion, presumably only an absolute pacifist would be able to reject the theory of jihad out of hand, since other communities also fight to defend or expand their ways of life.” (Many Peoples, Many Faiths by Robert S. Ellwood, 4th edition, Simon & Schuster, US, 1982, page 346).
Believing in something to avoid punishment is punishable.
Discuss.