Dr T
February 2nd 2004, 10:05 AM
http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=93061&list=/home.php&
The True Meaning Of Jihad
Jan 31, 2004
By Sidik Aucbur
Jihad has been on the agenda of the Western nations for decades. The West fears the meaning of Jihad for no reason other than the fact that this word is an explanation of what makes Islam a force in the world. So, it should not surprise anyone that the West will try its utmost to distort the meaning of Jihad from the minds of the Muslims.
There is no doubt that the effort to distort the true meaning of Jihad intensifies during a crusade against a Muslim nation. The styles vary, whether it is from Tony Blair who says, “Islam is a religion of Peace”, or whether it comes from his followers in the Muslim Council of Britain who argue that “Jihad is only about struggling against our desires.”
The West has also used the style of scare tactics. Mosque committees up and down the country are fearful of their Mosques being closed down on the basis of discussing Jihad, similar to that of Finsbury Park Mosque, in London. Muslims have questioned their Imams and committees as to why they are not talking about Jihad and the response of Muslims in this war, the reply being, “we don’t want our Mosque to be closed down.” Whichever style it takes, it is clear that there is a concerted effort made by the Kuffar to destroy the true meaning of Jihad. All in all this line of discussion is a red herring, placed there by the Western governments in order to divert the Islamic agenda of discussion.
Let’s face it, war is an inevitability in life. The Western nations are very experienced in using force in order to achieve their goals, the crusade in Iraq being a clear example of this. So it is hypocritical of the Western Governments to force Muslims to say that Islam does not use force; this is a tactic used in order to weaken the mindset of the Muslims so crusades and invasion become all that easier.
So why is war inevitable?
It should be understood that what makes a nation are the ideas it upholds as sovereign. In the West the ‘maximising of the pleasure’ is the predominant idea, whereas in Islam the ‘worship of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala)’ is the most prominent and fundamental idea.
In order for these nations to defend and propagate this idea, force is necessary, internally using the Police force and the secret service apparatus, externally using the Army. It comes as no surprise that the biggest allocation in the budget of any nation is allocated to defence from an external threat. So for the humanists who argue that force is not necessary, they are really miscalculating reality as without force, chaos will prevail. Consequently, the correct debate should be upon what the reason for war is and if this reason is correct.
The Muslims should be careful in how they debate this subject as the Socialist/Humanists and the like by using their same argument of “no war (full stop)” upon Islam, thus distorting Islam by inferring that Islam does not have concepts dealing with the subject of war.
“O you who believe, fight those who encircle you (close to you geographically) of the disbelievers and let them find harshness in you” [TMQ At-Tauba: 123]
The Prophet Muhammad (SalAllahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
“I was commanded to fight the people until they say ‘There is no god but Allah’.”
It is a consensus from the scholars of Islam that Jihad is, “fighting the kuffar to remove the obstacles in the way of making Allah’s (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) word the highest”, note here that there are two distinct points, the action is “Fighting the kuffar to remove the obstacles”, the reason “making Allah’s (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) word the highest”.
Indeed all ideologies will have fighting and killing as part of its method of defending and propagating its way of life. In the West the objective of war is defined by material interests. Thus it could be defined as “fighting to remove the obstacles in the way of the acquisition of material interests.” Note once again, there are two distinct points, the action: “Fighting to remove the obstacles” and the reason: “in the way of acquisition of material interests”.
So by drawing a comparison between the actions of Western Capitalist states and the actions of the Islamic State, there is no difference as both use force in their actions. However there is a clear distinction in the reason, as Islam makes the propagation of its ideas the reason, whereas Capitalism makes the acquisition of material benefit its reason. So consequently, Muslims must be aware of this distinction and not fall in to the trap laid out by the kuffar.
Definitely when the western nations seek to change the whole concept of Jihad, to mean nothing but struggling against one’s own inner desires, this will invariably give them a distinct advantage as it will render the Muslims defenceless.
Is Jihad just fighting our inner desires?
This questions needs to be answered from the Shari’ah of Islam, as this argument is usually thrown into a discussion with very little evidence from the Shari’ah. It should be understood that there is a difference between the linguistic meaning and Shari’ah meaning of Jihad.
The linguistic meaning of Jihad is “to strive or struggle”,
“But if they strive to make thee join in worship with me things of which thou hast no knowledge obey them not” [TMQ Luqman: 15]
“And if any strive (with might and main), they do so for their own souls. For Allah is free of all needs from creation” [TMQ Al-Ankabut: 6]
“We have enjoined man kindness to parents: but if they (either of them) strive (to force) thee to join with Me (in worship) anything of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not.” [TMQ 29:8]
“And those who strive in Our cause we will certainly guide them to our paths for verily Allah is with those who do right.” [TMQ Al-Ankabut: 9]
It must be noted that the Linguistic meaning of Jihad was only used in the above four ayat which were all ayat Makki; i.e. revealed in Makkah.
The context of these verses is clearly nothing to do with fighting and killing, so to attribute the opinion that these verses mean to fight is incorrect.
However, there are over 120 verses of the Qur’an that use the Shari’ meaning of Jihad to mean fighting and killing.
“Not equal are those Believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons, Allah has granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight” [TMQ An-Nisa: 95]
“Go ye forth (whether equipped) lightly or heavily and strive and struggle with your goods and your persons in the cause of Allah, this is best for you if ye but knew.” [TMQ At-Tauba: 41]
“That ye believe in Allah and his messenger, and that you strive (your utmost) in the cause of Allah with your property and your persons; that will be best for you if ye but knew” [TMQ As-Saff: 11]
It is clear from the above verses that the meaning is to fight and to attribute the linguistic meaning in this context is incorrect.
It has been agreed upon by the classical scholars that the Shari'ah meaning of Jihad is to fight and kill the kuffar:
· Hanafi school in the book “Badiia as Saniia”
· Maliki school in the book “Manhal Jaleel”
· Shaffi school in the book “al Iqnaa”
· Hanbali school in the book “al Mughni”
Some will go further and place the Shari'ah meaning, i.e. fighting and killing lower than that of the linguistic meaning i.e. struggling against ones desires. They quote the following hadith:
“I have returned from the small Jihad (Jihad Asghar) to the big Jihad (Jihad Akbar)” the Sahaba enquired “what is the big Jihad?” the Prophet (SalAllahu Alaihi Wasallam) said “the Jihad al nafs (inner desires).”
We cannot accept this hadith as it is a fabricated one. Ibn Hajr the great Hadith master, stated that this was actually a saying of Ibrahim b. Abi 'Ablah. Also for the following reasons we can see an error in the meaning:
1. The saying goes against definite (qata’i) text which place Jihad as the highest action,
“Not equal are those Believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons, Allah has granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight” [TMQ An-Nisaa: 95]
2. The Linguistic meaning is general (amm) and includes fighting the nafs and fighting kuffar, while Shari’ah meaning is just fighting kuffar.
3. The context of this saying was nothing to do with a decision of fighting or not, it is a mere informative hadith and carries no indication of an abrogation of fighting.
Moreover some will say that Jihad was only defensive; this is incorrect. A quick study of the Life of the Prophet (SalAllahu Alaihi Wasallam) shows us something different:
The Battle of Mut’ah was instigated by the Muslims against the Romans the Muslims were 3,000 faced against a Roman army of 200,000.
The Battle of Hunayn was inevitable shortly of the Muslims had conquered Makkah.
The Battle of Tabuk was also instigated to finally destroy the Romans.
We see from the ijmaa (Consensus) of Sahaba, that they too instigated Jihad, through As-Sham, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and North Africa. Moreover, the status of Martyr in Islam is of the highest, so how can it be that Jihad is reduced to anything lower that that.
After the careful invitation to Islam, the Muslims are forbidden from forcing the non-Muslim to embrace Islam as Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) said “there is no compulsion in the deen”. However, Islam came to ensure people live under the system of Islam as the dominance of Islam is the purpose of Jihad, without it, Islam would perish, as Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) states,
“It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance And the religion of Truth, so that it may dominate over all Religions even though the Pagans detest it.” [TMQ As-Saff: 9]
The Muslims should be strong in defending Islam against the Kuffar and their agents amongst us who try to change Islam. As Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) says,
"Who is better in speech than one who calls (other people) to Allah, works righteous, and declares that he is from the Muslims." [TMQ 41:33]
Citing that much copyrighted text is against our Plagarism and Copyright rules (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/faq.php?faq=campus_decorum#faq_campus_decorum_copyright).
The True Meaning Of Jihad
Jan 31, 2004
By Sidik Aucbur
Jihad has been on the agenda of the Western nations for decades. The West fears the meaning of Jihad for no reason other than the fact that this word is an explanation of what makes Islam a force in the world. So, it should not surprise anyone that the West will try its utmost to distort the meaning of Jihad from the minds of the Muslims.
There is no doubt that the effort to distort the true meaning of Jihad intensifies during a crusade against a Muslim nation. The styles vary, whether it is from Tony Blair who says, “Islam is a religion of Peace”, or whether it comes from his followers in the Muslim Council of Britain who argue that “Jihad is only about struggling against our desires.”
The West has also used the style of scare tactics. Mosque committees up and down the country are fearful of their Mosques being closed down on the basis of discussing Jihad, similar to that of Finsbury Park Mosque, in London. Muslims have questioned their Imams and committees as to why they are not talking about Jihad and the response of Muslims in this war, the reply being, “we don’t want our Mosque to be closed down.” Whichever style it takes, it is clear that there is a concerted effort made by the Kuffar to destroy the true meaning of Jihad. All in all this line of discussion is a red herring, placed there by the Western governments in order to divert the Islamic agenda of discussion.
Let’s face it, war is an inevitability in life. The Western nations are very experienced in using force in order to achieve their goals, the crusade in Iraq being a clear example of this. So it is hypocritical of the Western Governments to force Muslims to say that Islam does not use force; this is a tactic used in order to weaken the mindset of the Muslims so crusades and invasion become all that easier.
So why is war inevitable?
It should be understood that what makes a nation are the ideas it upholds as sovereign. In the West the ‘maximising of the pleasure’ is the predominant idea, whereas in Islam the ‘worship of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala)’ is the most prominent and fundamental idea.
In order for these nations to defend and propagate this idea, force is necessary, internally using the Police force and the secret service apparatus, externally using the Army. It comes as no surprise that the biggest allocation in the budget of any nation is allocated to defence from an external threat. So for the humanists who argue that force is not necessary, they are really miscalculating reality as without force, chaos will prevail. Consequently, the correct debate should be upon what the reason for war is and if this reason is correct.
The Muslims should be careful in how they debate this subject as the Socialist/Humanists and the like by using their same argument of “no war (full stop)” upon Islam, thus distorting Islam by inferring that Islam does not have concepts dealing with the subject of war.
“O you who believe, fight those who encircle you (close to you geographically) of the disbelievers and let them find harshness in you” [TMQ At-Tauba: 123]
The Prophet Muhammad (SalAllahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
“I was commanded to fight the people until they say ‘There is no god but Allah’.”
It is a consensus from the scholars of Islam that Jihad is, “fighting the kuffar to remove the obstacles in the way of making Allah’s (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) word the highest”, note here that there are two distinct points, the action is “Fighting the kuffar to remove the obstacles”, the reason “making Allah’s (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) word the highest”.
Indeed all ideologies will have fighting and killing as part of its method of defending and propagating its way of life. In the West the objective of war is defined by material interests. Thus it could be defined as “fighting to remove the obstacles in the way of the acquisition of material interests.” Note once again, there are two distinct points, the action: “Fighting to remove the obstacles” and the reason: “in the way of acquisition of material interests”.
So by drawing a comparison between the actions of Western Capitalist states and the actions of the Islamic State, there is no difference as both use force in their actions. However there is a clear distinction in the reason, as Islam makes the propagation of its ideas the reason, whereas Capitalism makes the acquisition of material benefit its reason. So consequently, Muslims must be aware of this distinction and not fall in to the trap laid out by the kuffar.
Definitely when the western nations seek to change the whole concept of Jihad, to mean nothing but struggling against one’s own inner desires, this will invariably give them a distinct advantage as it will render the Muslims defenceless.
Is Jihad just fighting our inner desires?
This questions needs to be answered from the Shari’ah of Islam, as this argument is usually thrown into a discussion with very little evidence from the Shari’ah. It should be understood that there is a difference between the linguistic meaning and Shari’ah meaning of Jihad.
The linguistic meaning of Jihad is “to strive or struggle”,
“But if they strive to make thee join in worship with me things of which thou hast no knowledge obey them not” [TMQ Luqman: 15]
“And if any strive (with might and main), they do so for their own souls. For Allah is free of all needs from creation” [TMQ Al-Ankabut: 6]
“We have enjoined man kindness to parents: but if they (either of them) strive (to force) thee to join with Me (in worship) anything of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not.” [TMQ 29:8]
“And those who strive in Our cause we will certainly guide them to our paths for verily Allah is with those who do right.” [TMQ Al-Ankabut: 9]
It must be noted that the Linguistic meaning of Jihad was only used in the above four ayat which were all ayat Makki; i.e. revealed in Makkah.
The context of these verses is clearly nothing to do with fighting and killing, so to attribute the opinion that these verses mean to fight is incorrect.
However, there are over 120 verses of the Qur’an that use the Shari’ meaning of Jihad to mean fighting and killing.
“Not equal are those Believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons, Allah has granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight” [TMQ An-Nisa: 95]
“Go ye forth (whether equipped) lightly or heavily and strive and struggle with your goods and your persons in the cause of Allah, this is best for you if ye but knew.” [TMQ At-Tauba: 41]
“That ye believe in Allah and his messenger, and that you strive (your utmost) in the cause of Allah with your property and your persons; that will be best for you if ye but knew” [TMQ As-Saff: 11]
It is clear from the above verses that the meaning is to fight and to attribute the linguistic meaning in this context is incorrect.
It has been agreed upon by the classical scholars that the Shari'ah meaning of Jihad is to fight and kill the kuffar:
· Hanafi school in the book “Badiia as Saniia”
· Maliki school in the book “Manhal Jaleel”
· Shaffi school in the book “al Iqnaa”
· Hanbali school in the book “al Mughni”
Some will go further and place the Shari'ah meaning, i.e. fighting and killing lower than that of the linguistic meaning i.e. struggling against ones desires. They quote the following hadith:
“I have returned from the small Jihad (Jihad Asghar) to the big Jihad (Jihad Akbar)” the Sahaba enquired “what is the big Jihad?” the Prophet (SalAllahu Alaihi Wasallam) said “the Jihad al nafs (inner desires).”
We cannot accept this hadith as it is a fabricated one. Ibn Hajr the great Hadith master, stated that this was actually a saying of Ibrahim b. Abi 'Ablah. Also for the following reasons we can see an error in the meaning:
1. The saying goes against definite (qata’i) text which place Jihad as the highest action,
“Not equal are those Believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons, Allah has granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight” [TMQ An-Nisaa: 95]
2. The Linguistic meaning is general (amm) and includes fighting the nafs and fighting kuffar, while Shari’ah meaning is just fighting kuffar.
3. The context of this saying was nothing to do with a decision of fighting or not, it is a mere informative hadith and carries no indication of an abrogation of fighting.
Moreover some will say that Jihad was only defensive; this is incorrect. A quick study of the Life of the Prophet (SalAllahu Alaihi Wasallam) shows us something different:
The Battle of Mut’ah was instigated by the Muslims against the Romans the Muslims were 3,000 faced against a Roman army of 200,000.
The Battle of Hunayn was inevitable shortly of the Muslims had conquered Makkah.
The Battle of Tabuk was also instigated to finally destroy the Romans.
We see from the ijmaa (Consensus) of Sahaba, that they too instigated Jihad, through As-Sham, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and North Africa. Moreover, the status of Martyr in Islam is of the highest, so how can it be that Jihad is reduced to anything lower that that.
After the careful invitation to Islam, the Muslims are forbidden from forcing the non-Muslim to embrace Islam as Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) said “there is no compulsion in the deen”. However, Islam came to ensure people live under the system of Islam as the dominance of Islam is the purpose of Jihad, without it, Islam would perish, as Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) states,
“It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance And the religion of Truth, so that it may dominate over all Religions even though the Pagans detest it.” [TMQ As-Saff: 9]
The Muslims should be strong in defending Islam against the Kuffar and their agents amongst us who try to change Islam. As Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) says,
"Who is better in speech than one who calls (other people) to Allah, works righteous, and declares that he is from the Muslims." [TMQ 41:33]
Citing that much copyrighted text is against our Plagarism and Copyright rules (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/faq.php?faq=campus_decorum#faq_campus_decorum_copyright).