Jihad Renegotiated

Interpretations of the Related Sunnah; A Revision

It is a fact that the Prophet (pbuh) was a man of peace, and some of the battles he had to wage were forced on him, like Uhud and Khandaq. While some people may have thought of these battles as being instigated by the Prophet (pbuh), if they had pondered the issue they would have seen that these battles were defensive-preventive in nature.

Two types of examples that reveal the misinterpretation of the concept of jihad in Islam will be put forth, (these examples were taken from the work of the contemporary historian Ahmad Zaki Pasha, also known as Sheikh Al-Aruba) followed by the refutation of eminent scholars.

The first was given by the learned sheikh `Abdullah ibn Zayd Al- Mahmoud, the head of the spiritual courts and of religious affairs in Qatar, to a book written about jihad by the Saudi Sheikh Al- Lahidan. Sheikh Al-Mahmoud wrote in his book Al-Jihad Al-Mashru` fil Islam (The Legitimate Jihad in Islam) that the strangest opinion he had come across concerning the legitimate jihad in Islam was that professed by Sheikh Al-Lahidan in his book, Al-Jihad fil Islam bayn Ad-Difa` wa At-Talab (Jihad in Islam between Defense and Offense).

Sheikh Al-Lahidan claimed that the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions were not defending themselves in Badr; on the contrary they launched the assault. He also added that in the combat against Hawazin, the siege of Ta’if, as well as all the other battles, the Prophet’s main aim was to propagate the new religion by force. His fighting against these tribes was not out of self defense; they did not ask for war and seldom did they engage in it. 

Al-Mahmoud reiterated that the sheikh’s statement was a big mistake due to a flaw in the knowledge and defect in the understanding of Sheikh Al-Lahidan, who wrote his own opinion without basing it on either authentic tradition or knowledge; he is a novice in the area of the Qur’anic covenants. An understanding of the covenants would have clarified this issue without a shadow of a doubt as to who was the instigator of these battles. It is only natural that every time there is a failure in comprehending the Qur’an there will be a shortcoming in reasoning.

And whoever claims that the Prophet (pbuh) was a hostile warrior has lied. The danger lies in these libels being spread to others who may confuse them for the truth, and in reality they are slanders.

The proofs we are about to present are unquestionably clear, so there will be no doubt left. The first category of proofs is from the glorious Qur’an.

These verses prove that the unbelievers were the first to attack the new converts. The Muslims were subjected to all types of torture and humiliation to force them to give up their new religion and revert to the old one: They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel his people thence, is a greater transgression with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can. And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of the Fire: they will abide there in (Al-Baqarah 2: 217).

The Companions of the Prophet used to come to him beaten up and injured. Sumayah the mother of `Ammar died while she was being tortured, as did her husband Yasir. When the Prophet (pbuh) would see how firmly they clung to their faith under the most difficult of circumstances, he would tell them, “Patience, family of Yasir! Paradise awaits you.” In the case of Bilal, they used to place hot heavy stones on his bare abdomen and ask him to invoke the gods Lat and Uzzah, but he would reply, “He is One, the only One.”

The Qur’an says, (Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged; and Allah is indeed Able to give them victory; those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is Allah) (Al-Hajj 22:39 -40). This proves the oppression and the torture that the pious were subjected to was only because they declared that their God is Allah and His chosen Prophet is Muhammad. Over 80 of the Prophet’s Companions were forced to forsake their homes and emigrate, some even going on foot, till they reached the coast and then sailed to Abyssinia, while others went to Madinah fleeing the oppression.

The Prophet himself (pbuh) fled incognito. Looking back at Makkah he said, “You are the dearest place to me and if my people had not forced me to leave I would have never left.”

The people of Makkah confiscated the emigrants’ property unless one belonged to a strong tribe that could protect his wealth. All of Suhayb’s wealth was confiscated. On this occasion this verse was revealed: (And of mankind is he who would sell himself, seeking the pleasure of Allah; and Allah hath compassion on (His) bondmen) (Al-Baqarah 2:207). The Companions then said, “Suhayb made a better deal; he invested his money in Allah and he came out ahead.” And also there is this verse: (And (it [booty] is) for the poor fugitives who have been driven out from their homes and their belongings, who seek bounty from Allah and help Allah and His Messenger. They are the loyal) (Al-Hashr 59:8).

Here again is another proof that the unbelievers chased the feeble, powerless and frail out of their homes and confiscated their belongings for no other reason than that they believed in Allah and his Prophet. Allah says, (If they have the upper hand of you, they will be your foes, and will stretch out their hands and their tongues toward you with evil (intent), and they long for you to disbelieve) (Al-Mumtahana 60:2).

The Qur’an asserts over and over again the physical and psychological torments the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions were subjected to.

Allah says, (Will ye not fight a folk who broke their solemn pledges, and purposed to drive out the messenger and did attack you first? What! Fear ye them? Now Allah hath more right that ye should fear Him, if ye are believers. Fight them! Allah will chastise them at your hands, and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will heal the breasts of folk who are believers. And He will remove the anger of their hearts) (At-Tawbah 9:13-15). Not only did the unbelievers start the wars, but they breached all the covenants signed with the Prophet (pbuh) such as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.

When the Prophet (pbuh) was besieged with his uncle Abu Talib in Ash-Shu`ab, and the unbelievers asked Abu Talib to hand over the Prophet so that they could kill him, Abu Talib declared, “By the name of Allah, they will not dare touch you as long as I live.”

After Abu Talib’s death, the unbelievers conspired to assassinate the Prophet (pbuh) in his bed and chose the best young men from different tribes to carry out this mission. Thus the Quraysh would be unable to call for revenge. But Allah is All-Knower; He told His Prophet of the plot and gave him permission to emigrate, and then He revealed these verses: (O ye who believe! Choose not My enemy and your enemy for friends. Do ye give them friendship when they disbelieve in that truth which hath come unto you, driving out the Messenger and you because ye believe in Allah, your Lord?) (Al-Mumtahana 60:1) and (And when those who disbelieve plot against thee (O Muhammad) to wound thee fatally, or to kill thee or to drive thee forth; they plot, but Allah (also) plotteth; and Allah is the best of plotters) (Al-Anfal 8:30). Not only does the Qur’an prove that the unbelievers were the instigators of aggression, but it also reveals the animosity they felt toward Allah, the Prophet (pbuh), and his Companions. 

The pious were forbidden to show any kindness to the unbelievers, who had forced the Prophet to leave Makkah afraid and incognito. His Companions also fled in order to safeguard their lives and the new religion. Allah says, (Allah forbiddeth you only those who warred against you on account of religion and have driven you out from your homes and helped to drive you out, that ye make friends of them. Whosoever maketh friends of them (All) such are wrong doers) (Al-Mumtahanah 60:9). Allah exposes the continuous belligerence of the unbelievers toward the Muslims in their effort to make them relinquish the true path and revert to idolatry.

All these Qur’anic verses are self-expressed, with no place for abrogation, replacement or claiming that they relate to a specific incident. It is not for anybody to change or add anything to them. Likewise, there is no place for an opinion that contradicts their content.

The second category of proof comes from knowledge of the Prophet’s biography (seerah), which asserts that if the Prophet did fight it was for the aim of protecting the religion and preventing any aggression against his followers, and this is not a conjecture but a certitude.

The third category of proof is the meticulous correction and interpretation of the contemporary scholars on the subject of jihad. They have invested more time and effort than the preceding scholars, clarifying the issue beyond the shadow of a doubt, thus eliminating controversies. It was unanimously agreed that all the Prophet’s forays were only for the purpose of self protection and in order to safeguard the religion, and this is not a conjecture but a certitude.

The Prophet’s forays and the reasons behind them

Badr

The Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions went after the Quraysh’s caravan. The Quraysh were the Muslims’ worst enemy. They tortured the converts, confiscated their property, and expelled them from Makkah. Intercepting the Quraysh’s caravan was one way the Prophet could bargain with his enemy to stop the war against the Muslims and also take back part of what had been taken from them. This can be looked at as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and the instigator is a wrong doer. Allah says, (If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient) (An-Nahl 16:126); and (The guerdon of an ill deed is an ill the like thereof. But whosoever pardoneth and amendeth, his wage is the affair of Allah. Lo! He loveth not wrong doers. And whoso defendeth himself after he hath suffered wrong for such, there is no way (of blame) against them) (Ash-Shura 42:40-41).

The Battle of Badr was neither expected nor wanted; it was even hated. Abu Bakhtari declared that he was going to spoil the Prophet’s source of drinking water, and actually tried, only to be met with Hamzah’s sword, which cut off his leg. When the two armies faced each other in Badr, a town near Madinah, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “This is a combat to stop their aggression.” It was a defensive jihad and not what Sheikh Al-Lahidan claimed, that Muhammad used his sword to propagate his new religion. He did not in any way instigate it; on the contrary, he was the victim. 

Al-Ahzab

The unbelievers of Makkah united forces with the Arabs of Hijaz and  Najd. The Jews breached their covenant with the Prophet (pbuh) and joined in this war. They were followed by the Jews of Banu Qurayzhah, who thought that this battle would be the coup de grâce to eradicate the Prophet and his Companions once and for all. The Prophet (pbuh) and his followers dug a trench all around Madinah, wide enough that a horse could not jump over it. The fear had reached its peak in the Prophet’s camp when Allah revealed the verses that mean: (O ye who believe! Remember Allah's favor unto you when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a great wind and hosts ye could not see. And Allah is ever Seer of what ye do. When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when eyes grew wild and hearts reached to the throats, and ye were imagining vain thoughts concerning Allah) (Al-Ahzab 33:9-10); (And Allah repulsed the unbelievers in their wrath; they gained no good. Allah averted their attack from the believers. Allah is Strong, Mighty. And He brought those of the People of the Scripture who supported them down from their strongholds, and cast panic into their hearts. Some ye slew, and ye made captive some) (Al-Ahzab 33:25-26); (If they have the upper hand of you, they will be your foes, and will stretch out their hands and their tongues toward you with evil (intent), and they long for you to disbelieve) (Al-Mumtahanah 60:2).

How can the Prophet and his Companions be accused when the unbelievers did not respect the covenants between them?

The Hawazin issue

The author Sheikh Al-Lahidan claimed that the issue of Hawazin and the siege of Ta’if were the Prophet’s doing to propagate his message and it was not war of self defense.

Ibn Mahmoud replied: Sheikh Al-Lahidan (may Allah have mercy on him) deals with the issue according to his whims and fantasy without referring to the source, which is the Prophetic tradition and history books. Because of this we see the confusion and lack of vision in his writing. He turned the wrong right and the right wrong. I was told that his book was not worth commenting on. But I replied that we were asked to clarify the ambiguous and we were forbidden to conceal the truth, so it is my duty to set things right in order to prevent any misconception and confusion.

Regarding Hawazin, Allah revealed the verses that mean: (Allah hath given you victory on many fields and on the day of Hunayn, when ye exulted in your multitude but it availed you naught, and the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for you; then ye turned back in flight; then Allah sent His peace of reassurance down upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and sent down hosts ye could not see, and punished those who disbelieved. Such is the reward of unbelievers) (At-Tawbah 9:25 -26).

Ibn Ishaq and others reported that when Allah honored the Muslims with the fall of Makkah, Hawazin heard about it and they choked on the news out of hatred and rage against the Prophet and his Companions and due to their love and allegiance to the Quraysh. Their king, Malik ibn `Awf An-Nudari, gathered them, and they were joined by the tribes of Thaqeef, Nudr, Jashm, by Sa`d ibn Bakr and some men from Banu Hilal, and others from different tribes from Hijaz and Najd. They brought with them as a military expert Dareed ibn As-Sumah, whom they carried in a howdah due to his old age. The tribes marched with their families toward Asfan between Makkah and Ta’if. When the Prophet (pbuh) heard, he proceeded to meet them in the early morning just ten days after the conquest of Makkah.

The Prophet and his Companions were ambushed by Hawazin. The Companions wanted to flee, but the Prophet (pbuh) stood and said, “Come to me. I am the Messenger of Allah.” The Companions stood their ground. Hawazin dispersed, Thaqeef fled. Is it conceivable that the Prophet was the one who had started the war against Hawazin?

The siege of Ta’if

The entire tribe of Thaqeef joined Hawazin in their war against the Prophet (pbuh), and when Allah conferred victory upon the Muslims, Thaqeef fled and fortified themselves in their home town. They deserved to be killed for the following three reasons: First, they joined in the war against the Prophet. Allah says what means: (If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient) (An-Nahl 16:126); (And whoso defendeth himself after he hath suffered wrong for such, there is no way (of blame) against them) (Ash-Shura 42:41).

Second, when the Prophet (pbuh) went to them before his emigration asking their protection, he stayed ten days among them; but when they saw that some people started to believe in his message, they sent some insolents to chase him out of town, pelting him with stones and laughing at him, calling him liar and fool.

Third, when the Prophet (pbuh) finished with Hawazin, he went to them and ask them to let him spread the word of Allah, but they rebelled against him and fought him. Seven of the Companions were killed, and the Prophet left disappointed until Allah guided them to the right path and they all came voluntarily to him.

The Battle of Tabuk

When the Prophet (pbuh) heard that the warriors of Balakh, Juzam, and Ghassan had gathered in Tabuk and were preparing an assault against him and his followers, he marched at the head of an army of 30,000 men. It was the ninth year of Hijrah, the year of hardship [starvation]. When he reached the town of Tabuk, he found that his enemies were nowhere in sight, so he returned victorious.

The following are some excerpts from Sheikh Al-Lahidan’s book. For more details, see the original book. 

The scholar Ibn Mahmoud commented on Al-Lahidan’s saying, “Jihad is the answer for disbelief (kufr); therefore we should fight all unbelievers (kufar) till they adopt Islam.” The objective of Ibn Mahmoud’s book was to rectify this line of thinking.

Ibn Mahmoud added that this statement was misused by the priests and the Christian missionaries. They use it to alienate Islam and to advocate hatred. We say anyone agreeing with Al-Lahidan is joining the priests in harming Islam.

Al-Lahidan wrote:

I wonder at the Islamic jurists who came forth and explained jihad as preventive jihad, they were running after imitating the enemies; and they—and only Allah knows—perceive the falsehood in this opinion which is far from being right and far from the evidence in the rulings….I have developed this opinion after having read more than 20 theses probing into the concept of jihad with different points of view and contemporary writers, historians, and writers of the Prophetic biography who supported the idea of preventive jihad, such as `Abbas Al-Aqqad, `Azzam, `Abdul Hamid Goudah As-Sahhar, Ahmad Amin, Muhammad Hussayn Haikil, Ash-Sharqawi, Al-Hakim, and all of them are not to be taken seriously.

He added to his already long list eminent scholars and Islamic jurists such as Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (Al-Halal wa Al-Haram), Muhammad Nassir Al-Albani (Hijab Al-Mar’ah Al-Muslimah). According to Al-Lahidan, these eminent scholars should return to the truth and follow the path of the pious.

The eminent Sheikh Al-Mahmoud refuted him by saying that the legitimate jihad in Islam is to defend the religion, to prevent any harm to the pious. Islam is a religion of peace; it fights only its aggressors or whoever prevents the propagation of its message. This is not a conjecture but a certitude, proven in the Qur’an and the Prophetic tradition. Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiah said in his As- Siyassah Ash-Shari`yah, “The unbelievers who did not prevent the propagation of Islam, the harm of disbelief will only fall on them.”[1]

The reply of Sheikh al-Ghazali to some contemporary writers on the subject of jihad.

Now we come to the comments of the second eminent scholar, Sheikh Al-Ghazali, in his refutation of the interpretation of some contemporary writers regarding the Prophetic biography, the wars the Prophet and his Companions had to fight, and in particular the Battle of Mu’tah, and their depiction of the Prophet (pbuh) as a hawk waging war against people who did not ask for it. He also answered the claims of Hizb Al-Tahrir concerning jihad. This party brainwashes its members and molds them to accept everything without question.

The danger of these parties is that they are closed, inflexible and are unwilling to accept the others’ opinion; thus their followers adopt the party’s ideology as the truth and nothing but the truth. These people are prisoners of their ideas, and not until they are free to compare what they have and what the other offers will they be able to chose their way independently. And that is what the Egyptian Al-Jama`ah Al-Islamiah did; their leaders re-evaluated their stand on jihad. They had an open and free discussion, after which they have decided to relinquish their old ideas.

In his book Jihad Ad-Da`wah bayn `Ajz Ad-Dakhil wa Kayd Al-Kharij (Jihad of Da`wah between Internal Impotency and External Machination), he said that some of the people who are thought of as Islamic or belonging to the Islamic movement have been throwing false ideas without caring whom they are going to hurt by them. This is the manifestation of internal impotency.

Sheikh Al-Ghazali answered those whom he called “the ignorant friends of Islam” in some of his writings under the title “Bad Illusion”: “I read their writing in which they advocate that Islam is a religion of war, its tactics are those of wars, not peace. I felt I should deal with these claims point by point.”

The Prophet (pbuh) sent a messenger to one of the Ghassasin princes, a close ally to the Roman, inviting him to adopt Islam. This arrogant prince threw away the letter and killed the messenger; the Romans backed up the Ghassasin prince. The Prophet had no option and they fought mercilessly. The Muslims lost three of their commanders, and the Muslim army under the leadership of Khalid ibn Al-Walid retreated to minimize the losses. I am not a historian writing a chronology of the Battle of Mu’tah, but is it really important to find a reason for every battle the Muslims were engaged in. It is sufficient to know the expansionist nature of Islam to know the reason behind it.

The idea of expansionism in Islam does not depend on waging wars; rather its roots are well entrenched in free thought. The war against the old Roman Empire was the most honorable deed known to humanity in order to free the oppressed nations behind the walls and in the prisons of this great empire.

If we permit ourselves as Muslims to write about the Prophetic biography in this manner, what should we expect of the orientalists and missionaries? When you introduce a message such as the message of Muhammad to the ignorant, don’t expect to be received with open arms. You will find people who may be astonished or opposing; they may fight you or even surprise you and adopt Islam.

As Islam is the true religion, da`wah is a long term project that needs patience when met with indignation, and serenity when provoked. Today the da`wah is burdened. Some call for the form rather than the content, the optional Prayers take precedence over the obligatory ones, the subsidiary over the general rule. They call for war when ill prepared, and when things become clear one finds himself unfortunately defeated on the spiritual as well as on the worldly level.

Rebuttal Concerning Hizb Al-Tahrir

The Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions were expelled from Makkah after 13 years of hardship, pain, and sorrow. As if this was not enough, the Quraysh did not stop after the emigration of the Prophet. They fought the Muslims relentlessly. The weak and helpless invoked Allah: (Our Lord! Bring us forth from out this town of which the people are oppressors! Oh, give us from Thy presence some protecting friend! Oh, give us from Thy presence some defender!) (An-Nisaa’ 4:75).

The Romans spread in Asia and Africa like locusts. They were the worst occupiers known for their brutality and arrogance. They adopted Christianity but spoiled it and led it toward idolatry; all the orthodox churches were destroyed. With the advent of Islam, they intercepted it and attacked it in the northern part of the Arab Peninsula to eradicate it.

Are refusing to bend to the vain Roman Empire, breaking the yoke of submissiveness, and wanting to spread the word of Allah

the shortcomings of Islam? And for these reasons Islam is being reproached and stands accused of being a religion using the sword on its dissidents.

Sheikh An-Nabahani [the head of Hizb Al-Tahrir] states:

The sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) are proof that he started jihad against the unbelievers in order to spread and propagate the word of Allah….The Prophet marched on Badr to confiscate the Qurraysh’s caravan was an act of war. The Quraysh was a tribe that neither declared war on Muhammad nor invaded Madinah. The Prophet was the one who commenced fighting them.

To fantasize reality in such a manner is pure buffoonery. The sheikh goes on saying, “Sending an army to Mu’tah to fight the Romans is another act of war demonstrating who is the assailant.” This is not only a stunning analysis but it borders on the ridiculous. To stretch this line of thought, the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and the uprising of the Palestinians against the Jewish state would be, according to him, acts of civil disobedience.

What Islam needs is a free atmosphere for it to spread. It does not force the adherence of his followers and with absolute justice Islam solves its differences with others, with total impartiality.

(Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve) (Al-Kahf 18:29). If the two great powers of Rome and Persia had had any respect for freedom, justice, and human rights, we would not have fought them.

Brothers and sisters, you were ordered to carry the torch of da`wah: (And there may spring from you a nation who invite to goodness, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency. Such are they who are successful) (Al `Imran 3:104). What did you do to carry on this responsibility? The art of da`wah needs intelligent pious people capable of capturing hearts and convincing minds, and strong to stop the extremists among us with the power of logic and not with the sword.[2]