In Islam, Jihad is a broad term and it encompasses academic, diplomatic and moral support and contribution to the righteous causes. In the specific meaning of armed struggle, the Quran says that Jihad in the meaning of armed struggle can only be undertaken for the sake of eliminating injustice and persecution (Hajj: 39-40). The translation of the verse is as follows:
“Permission to fight is granted to those who are attacked, because they have been wronged-God indeed has the power to help them. They are those who have been driven out of their homes unjustly, only because they said, ‘Our Lord is God’. If God did not repel the aggression of some people by means of others, monasteries, and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of God is much invoked, would surely be destroyed. God will surely help him who helps His cause – God is indeed powerful and mighty.”
Thus, it is not a fight against non-Muslims. It is a fight against injustice and persecution. It can only be undertaken as a last resort to eliminate injustice and persecution. It can only be undertaken by the government and cannot be done privately. Jihad cannot be undertaken for the expansion of the state, against innocents, against non-combatants, and against the contract of peace if it has been signed.
According to the Islamic worldview, Allah sent His messengers to invite mankind towards Tawheed (the belief in only one Creator), belief in accountability in the afterlife, and the adoption of morally righteous conduct in all spheres of life. Some of these messengers were sent as Rasool, who could not be subjugated or rejected without consequences (Al- Mujadilah: 21).
The mission of these messengers, sent as Rasool, progresses through several stages: i) propagation, ii) the conclusive establishment of truth (Itmam-e-Hujjat), and iii) divine appraisal.
Itmam-e-Hujjat refers to the situation where truth is explained in its complete sense and whereby, further denial of the truth could only remain due to prejudice, pride or communal interests. After Itmam-e-Hujjat, the direct recipients have to accept the message received. If they refuse the truth, then they have to face divine appraisal in this world.
According to the Islamic worldview, this world is a place for a test where the objective of the creation of humans is obedience to Allah. Those who disbelieve without any reason and remain disobedient and thankless to their Creator, they will not be successful in the afterlife. Those who remain obedient, steadfast, and morally upright, they will succeed and be rewarded in the afterlife.
The direct recipients get the message of truth first-hand, so if they deny the truth after Itmam-e- Hujjat, they get the divine appraisal in this very world. The establishment of this divine justice serves as a lesson for all future generations, reminding them that they will face accountability in the afterlife for all their actions.
This scheme of providing divine appraisal in this world as an experimental proof was not just specific with progeny of Prophet Ismail (pbuh), but also happened consistently with the nations of Noah, Aad, Thamud, Lut, Shoaib, Younus, Moses and Jesus before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Non-believers of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) were also dealt in the same way by Allah. The only difference was that in the case of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the divine punishment for the deniers of truth came in the form of the defeat of non-believers in the armed struggles with the believers. It is because in the case of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), there were enough followers and these armed battles also became a way to distinguish true believers from Munafiqun (hypocrites) (Al- Anfal:17).
As a matter of fact, less than 800 non-believer combatants died altogether who fought in actual wars with the believers in the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). In the Hudaybiah treatise, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) accepted even those unfair terms which were one-sided against Muslims in order to welcome and ensure peace. At the time of entering Makkah as the victor, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) forgave all those who persecuted Muslims and who banished Muslims from their native lands.
At various times, messengers of Allah came to their nations with undeniable signs. When a nation chose not to accept the message, despite receiving it directly and conclusively with clear signs, Allah punished the disbelievers. This punishment took the form of natural calamities when the believers were few in number, or through the triumph of believers over disbelievers, as in the case of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
The specific verses in the Quran referring to Jihad as an armed struggle against the disbelievers of that time are clearly contextualized as part of the divine scheme of justice explained above. This history is a shared heritage of all Abrahamic religions, which collectively represent nearly two-thirds of the world’s population. However, these Quranic verses about Jihad are often misunderstood, both by the West and by some minority Muslim groups, when they are generalized out of their original context.
In the twentieth century alone, more than 200 million people lost their lives in wars, which means an average of 5,500 people died each day due to conflict. This is comparable to a pandemic like the Coronavirus, causing over 5,000 deaths every day, year after year, throughout the entire century. Some estimates suggest that communist regimes in the twentieth century were responsible for around 100 million deaths. In this current century, we have witnessed the colossal persecution of Muslims in Myanmar, Kashmir, Palestine, and Xinjiang.
Yet, Sam Harris who apparently denies free will still has this to say about a community of 1.6 billion Muslims and about Islam in his 2004 book ‘End of Faith’ (p. 31):
“While it would be comforting to believe that our dialogue with the Muslim world has, as one of its possible outcomes, a future of mutual tolerance, nothing guarantees this result– least of all tenets of Islam. Given the constraints of Muslim orthodoxy, given the penalties within Islam for radical (and reasonable) adaption to modernity, I think it is clear that Islam must find some way to revise itself, peacefully or otherwise. What this will mean is not all obvious. What is obvious, however, is that the West must win the argument or win the war. All else will be bondage.”
And in specific reference to the Afghan war, Harris adds (End of Faith, p.53):
“There is in fact no talking to some people. If they cannot be captured, and they often cannot, otherwise tolerant people may be justified killing them in self-defence. This is what the United States attempted in Afghanistan, and it is what we and other Western powers are bound to attempt, at an even greater cost to ourselves and to innocents abroad, elsewhere in the Muslim world. We will continue to spill blood in what is, at bottom, a war of ideas.1”
He further goes on to say in public that “if an Islamist government acquired nuclear weapons, then ‘a nuclear first strike of our own’ may be ‘the only course of action available to us’”.
With such extreme and fundamentalist position, Atheism, the way it is presented by New Atheists appears very much like a religion. In political landscape, Atheism has shown tremendous atrocities in communist regimes. The imperialism by secular democracies to wage transnational and proxy wars since the dawn of twenty first century has also jeopardised world peace. As an example of political assertiveness in atheistic worldview, Article 37 of the Albanian constitution of 1976 stated: “The State recognizes no religion, and supports and carries out atheistic propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialistic world outlook in people.”
It is deeply saddening that from a community of 1.6 billion people spreading in 7 continents of the world, individual instances from a small minority of deviants are picked in an effort to embarrass and tease peaceful mainstream Muslims. Close to 100 million Muslims now live in developed countries alone. There has to be acknowledgement and understanding of this fact that Islam and Muslims are two different things.
There can be a difference of opinion, but selectively picking particular types of arguments, people and actions and generalizing over 1.6 billion people is unjustified. The primary objective of the religion of Islam is not its political enforcement. The basic thesis of religion is to inform people about their role and relation with the Creator and what moral attitudes, behaviour and actions can lead them to success in the life hereafter.
Faith must never be studied from the followers’ actions. Christianity is not to be studied in the light of holocaust, colonization, slavery in Africa and crusades. In the light of the teachings of Jesus (pbuh), these events were wrong and in contradiction with the true teachings of Jesus (pbuh).
Likewise, we shall not judge liberal democracy or secular humanism based on world wars, invasions, transnational wars, undue sanctions, embargoes, political interference to topple democratic governments elsewhere, advancement in race to produce ever more destructive weapons of mass destruction, and paying lip service to thousands of people suffering from persecution in Myanmar, Gaza,Kashmir and at other places. Indeed, these actions by the particular authorities do not represent the aspirations, values and views of a common man in the West.
The Quran states that there is no compulsion in religion (Al-Baqarah: 256), which reflects the universal stance of Islam in the contemporary world. Islam does not promote hate or violence; rather, it is a source of spiritual contentment and fulfillment for a quarter of the world’s population. It teaches believers to refrain from causing harm—whether by words or actions— regardless of the presence or enforcement of laws. According to the Islamic worldview, all people will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment for their intentions and actions.
There are several misconceptions about the rights of non-Muslims within an Islamic socio- political framework. Non-Muslims are free to worship in their places of worship, and the government is responsible for safeguarding these religious sites. No non-Muslim can ever be forcibly converted to Islam. In fact, Muslims believe in all Prophets sent by Allah, including Ibrahim (pbuh), Moses (pbuh), and Jesus (pbuh).
In Muslim Spain, Christians and Jews coexisted peacefully. The advent of Islam made it possible for people to retain their beliefs, even when they differed from the state religion. Islam, therefore, opposes all forms of religious and socio-political persecution and discrimination.
During the early Islamic period, non-Muslims were active participants in the socio-economic life of society, owning property and engaging in business. Those unable to earn a livelihood received financial assistance from the Bayt-ul-Maal (national treasury) and had access to services provided by Islamic public endowments.
In its interactions with people of different beliefs, the Qur’an instructs Muslims to present its message with wisdom and kindness. As it states: ‘Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good advice, and debate with them in the most respectful manner’ (Al-Nahl: 125).
Thus, it is clear that armed struggles led by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had a particular context and scope in connection with Allah’s principle of establishing divine justice in the presence of Rasool on his nation. The universal scope of Jihad for now is limited to ending persecution and injustice and it is not a war with non-Muslims to force them to convert to Islam.