It is true that jihad is one of the
most important teachings of Islam. But jihad is not synonymous with war. In Islam
another word is used for war and fighting. This word is ‘qital.’ When the
Qur’an refers to war or fighting, it uses the word qital and not jihad.
Jihad literally means to strive or to
struggle. So jihad actually means peaceful struggle, especially for Da’wah
work. The Qur’an says: Do great jihad with the help of the Qur’an. (25:52)
The Qur’an is simply a book, and not a
sword, “so do great jihad with the Qur’an” means ‘do great jihad with the
ideological power of the Qur’an. In fact, jihad is only another name for
peaceful activism. And peaceful activism is the only weapon by which Islam
wants to achieve all its aims and objectives. The Qur’an has this to say of the
mission of the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him: We have not sent you
forth but as a mercy to mankind. (21:107)
In the Qur’an and the Hadith, there
are many such references which go to prove that Islam is a religion of peace,
love and human brotherhood. However, it is also a fact that in later times the
image of Islam has altered drastically. Now Islam has come to be regarded as a
religion of violence rather than as a religion of peace. This transformation in
the image of Islam has not simply been produced by the media. The responsibility
for this falls on latter-day Muslims, who have failed to maintain the original
image of Islam.
In actual fact, the mission of all the
prophets right from Adam to Christ was one and the same—of establishing the
ideology of monotheism in the world, so that man might worship one God alone.
As we know, there came a large number of prophets in ancient times, but the
message of monotheism remained at the initial stage; it could not culminate in
revolution. This state continued up till the time of Christ, the last but one
Prophet. The reason being that in ancient times, the system of monarchy was
entrenched throughout the world. The kings, in order to secure their political
interests, adopted the course of religious persecution. These kings suppressed
all religious movements, which were different from the state religion. They
would nip all apostasy in the bud, since they saw religion as a matter of
affirming one’s loyalty to the state. If a person adhered to a religion other
than the state religion, he was regarded as a rebel.
That is why in ancient times prophetic
movements could go no further ahead than the stage of Da’wah. No sooner would a
movement based on monotheism arise than the coercive political system would be
activated to pull it out by its roots. The reason for the absence of any
historical record of prophets (besides the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon
him) in antiquity is traceable to the intense opposition of these coercive
political systems. All the Prophets of ancient times, historically speaking,
were like mythical beings, rather than real human beings accepted as historical
figures. The Prophet Jesus was the last link in the chain of these persecutions
faced by the preachers of monotheism. Then God decreed the abolition of this
coercive political system, even if it entailed the use of force in order that
the age of religious persecution might be brought to an end forever, and replaced
by the age of religious freedom. This divine plan was brought to completion
through the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, and his companions. This
is the command given in the Qur’an:
“Fight them until there be no
persecution and religion be wholly God’s” (8:39).
Therefore the Prophet Muhammad, may
peace be upon him, received special divine succour in the form of a powerful
team consisting of one hundred thousand individuals. Equipped with this team
the Prophet waged war to end this coercive system of religious persecution, and
it was in Arabia that it was first of all overthrown. Then within a very short
span of time, they advanced to abolish the coercive system established by the
Sassanid and Byzantine empires. In the wake of this Islamic action, the
coercive system was abolished forever in the major part of the inhabited world
of the time. This war waged by the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, and
his companions was not a war as is commonly understood, but rather a divine
operation, which was carried out by a people who possessed a high standard of
moral character.
However, this operation was certainly
only temporary in nature. Its goal was to put an end to the age of religious
persecution and usher in the age of religious freedom. This end was fully
achieved during the early period of Islam, the age of the pious Caliphs.
Afterwards the time came to keep the sword in its sheath and engage in Da’wah
work, that is, the call to God, which was the real and permanent goal of Islam.
According to the explicit command of the Qur’an, the call to God is the true
and eternal mission of Islam, whereas war is only temporary and allowed only in
exceptional cases.
Here it would be pertinent to refer to
a great companion of the Prophet. After the period of the pious Caliphate, a
group of Muslims once again engaged in war. At that time some senior Companions
were present in Makkah and Madinah. But they did not join these wars, one
prominent name being that of Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Khattab. He did not approve
of these wars, therefore he remained away from them. Some of those involved in
these wars came to him and said: God has commanded us in the Qur’an to fight
against Fitna (persecution). Then why do you not join with us in these wars?
Abdullah ibn Umar replied that “the command of the Qur’an to fight against Fitna
is not what you hold to be Fitna. Fitna meant religious persecution and we have
already fought and put an end to this Fitna (qad fa‘alna). Therefore now after
the removal of this obstacle, we have to engage ourselves in peaceful Da’wah
work, rather than initiating hostilities and creating new Fitna once again,
which is akin to creating new obstacles for peaceful Islamic Da’wah
(al-Bukhari, Sahih, Kitab at-Tafsir, under al-Baqarah and al-Anfal).
Abdullah ibn Umar had made an
extremely pertinent point at the most appropriate time, but this point of view
was not forcefully taken up by others. Afterwards when the Islamic sciences
were developed, this important point made by Abdullah ibn Umar could not be
highlighted, with the result that history took the course of wars and
conquests, while in terms of the real teachings of Islam, history should have
taken the course of Da’wah and the propagation of Islam.
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Humanity, Religion, Culture, Ethics, Science, Spirituality & Peace
http://PeaceForumNet.blogspot.com
http://AftabKhan-net.blogspot.com
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