By Badruddoja
Razvi Misbahi, New Age Islam
1 May 2021
(Translated from
Urdu by Newageislam.com)
Explaining
the Verses of Jihad (2:191, 4:89, 9:1, 9:14) out of 26 Verses Presented by
Wasim Rizvi in Supreme Court
Main
points discussed in part 7
1.
The
verses of Jihad refer to defensive war and not to aggressive one
2.
Understanding
these verses out of context might create confusion and misunderstanding
3.
Verse
2:191 commands the believers to fight in defense against the aggression of
enemies and not to fight in aggression
4.
Verse
4:89 denote fighting the hypocrites who betrayed to join the enemies
5.
Most
verses of Jihad as mentioned in Surah Tawbah refer to fighting those infidels
and polytheists who had broken the peace-treaty and initiated war against the
Muslims. They don’t encourage to fight the brothers of the homeland.
(8) “And kill
them wherever you find them and drive them out from where they drove you out,
and their mischief is worse than killing, and do not fight them near the Sacred
Mosque until they fight you there and if they fight you, kill them. That is the
recompense of the disbelievers. (2:191)
(9) “They wish
that you should disbelieve, as they disbelieved, so that you may all be one. So
do not take anyone as a friend until they leave the house in the way of Allah.
If they turn away, then seize them and kill them and do not take any of them as
a friend or helper.” (4:89)
(10) “Verily,
Allah has bought from the Muslims their property and their lives in exchange
for Paradise for them. they fight in the cause of Allah, they kill and die. The
true promise is upon His mercy in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who
will fulfil the most than Allah? Rejoice in the bargain which you have made
with Him, and that is the great attainment. (9:1)
(11) “So fight
them, Allah will chastise them with your hands and disgrace them and will help
you against them and will cool the hearts of the believers.” (9:14)
The
aforementioned four verses are also blamed for inciting violence and hatred
(may Allah protect us from such blaming). The command of fighting is mentioned
in these four verses, therefore, we have included these verses together in the
contents of this part.
Before discussing
these verses, let us make it clear to the non-Muslim brothers of the country
and followers of Islam that if you ponder, with honesty, over the meaning,
denotation, cause of revelation and context of these verses, deviating from
prejudice, it will become clear to you that these verses denote the meaning of
defensive war and teaching a lesson to the disbelievers and polytheists as a
result of their violation of the treaty. None of these verses commands or
allows the believers to take aggressive and unlawful actions against their
rivals.
There are many
verses in the Holy Qur'an that are so deeply connected with their preceding and
following verses and contexts that unless they are taken into account, it is
very difficult to understand their meaning. Many verses, if not connected with
their preceding and following verses, might stand completely as opposed to the
intended meaning. For the comprehension of this interpretative rule, let us see
a clear example;
Who does not know
that prayer (salah)
is obligatory on every sane and mature Muslim? This has been emphatically
enjoined in the Qur'an and Hadith,
for example,
“And establish
prayer” (2:43)
“Establish
prayer” (17:78)
“Maintain with
care the [obligatory] prayers” (2:238)
In the same way,
the virtue and usefulness of Namaz (prayer/salah) have been
highlighted in the Ahadith (plural
of hadith)
to such an extent that it has been declared one of the significant pillars of
Islam. Now, declaring war against the Quran, if people like Wasim Rizvi say
that it (commanding the believers to establish prayer) is wrong as the message
of Allah cannot be of two kinds, and hence these verses should be deleted from
the Qur'an because the Qur'an clearly says, “O believers! Do not approach the
prayer” (4:43). So will the brothers of the homeland or the supreme court of
our country not understand the clever trick of Wasim Rizvi?
Will they blindly
believe his trick and announce the decision that Muslims should not go near the
prayers from today? Will they not disclose the cunning veil of Wasim Rizvi by
declaring that Wasim Rizvi is throwing dust in the eyes of the world? Will they
not reveal that he has cunningly ignored the part of the verse “while you are
intoxicated” that comes after the words “do not approach prayer” and that the
full verse is as follows;
“O you who have
believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what
you are saying….” (4:43)
Understanding the
Qur'an is not easy work. This requires divine help and blessing.
You must have
understood from what I have said that the willful meaning has been forged here
with great skill and dishonesty. There was needed to present the full context
of the verse, but the act of pruning was demonstrated with great ingenuity,
which strictly violates the requirement of honesty. After such an explanation,
now we will present to you the true meaning of these verses with the context in
the light of authentic commentaries so that the brothers of the homeland can
remove their confusion or misunderstanding about these verses, if they have,
though a little bit.
The verse (2:191)
mentioned first at the beginning of this seventh part is contextually related
to its previous verse 2:190. The meaning of verse 2:191 cannot be understood
properly unless verse 2:190 is considered carefully. Therefore, to make you
understand the meaning of verse 2:191, we are presenting to you verse 2:190
with its meaning and cause of revelation.
The Quranic verse
which comes before verse 2:191 “And kills them wherever you find them…” is as
follows;
“And fight in the
cause of Allah those who fight against you, and do not exceed the limits. For
Allah does not like those who exceed the limits” (2:190)
Now if you read
verse 2:191 along with verse 2:190, the confusion that Wasim Rizvi is creating
will automatically go away and it will become clear to you that this verse does
not command aggression against the enemy, but rather the believers are
commanded to defend themselves against the aggression of the enemy, as it is
clearly stated in this verse that “you should fight those who fight you in the
cause of Allah” and at the same time, they are being warned that “you should
not exceed the limits”, that is, you should not violate human rights by
initiating war, killing any Mu’ahid (peaceful
non-Muslim living under the treaty of peace), or by waging a surprise attack,
or by mutilating the enemy’s body in the state of war, or by killing those
whose killing is forbidden in Islam, such as women, children, old and monks
etc. And then the believers are warned that they should keep in their minds
that ‘Allah does not like the transgressors, as the author of Tafsir-e-Abi Saud writes in
the commentary of the verse “fight those who fight you in the cause of Allah”:
“It means to
fight those who are showing enmity by waging war against you and those who are
expected to attack you. It does not mean that you should fight against those
who don’t fight you, such as old, children, monks and women”.
The author
further writes in the commentary of “la
ta’taddu (do not exceed the limits)”:
“And do not
exceed the limits by initiating war or killing the mu’ahid, or by
surprise attack or mutilation and by killing those whose killing is forbidden,
such as women, children and so on” (Tafsir-e-Abi Saud, vol. 1,
p.204)
And the same
interpretation has been done in a popular classical commentary of the Quran “Tafsir-e-Madarik”.
Then Allah says that if your enemies initiate the war against you, break the
covenant after accepting it, then you can “kill them wherever you find them” in
your defence and expel them from their homes as they drove you out of your
homes (Makkah).
It has become
clear that Muslims are commanded in this verse to fight and defend themselves
against human-rights violators and aggressors. The right to defence is a right
given to everyone even in today's world and all the governments of the world
teach the same lesson.
And let me also
tell you that the revelation of verses 190 and 191 of chapter 2 (Surah Baqarah) took place
after the peace treaty signed in 6 AH between the Holy Prophet (peace be upon
him) and the polytheists of Makkah at
the place of Hudaybiyah which
is now called "Shamesi"
located at a distance of 22 or 23 kilometres from Makkah.
Historically this treaty is known as “Suleh
Hudaybiyyah” (peace treaty of Hudaybiyyah). Following this treaty,
the Muslims returned to Madinah from Hudaybiyyah (Shamesi) without
performing Umrah.
When as per the treaty they were ready to come to Makkah for Umrah next
year, they feared that the polytheists of Makkah would not abide by this
agreement and would fight the Muslims in the Haram in the Sacred City, which
was displeasing to the Muslims. Then this verse was revealed and Allah
permitted the believers that if the polytheists of Makkah don’t
abide by the peace-treaty and initiate war, then “kill them wherever you find
them” whether the fighting occurs inside or outside the Haram and
after victory “drive them out from where they drove you out” but remember that
you should not fight in the Haram as
long as they don’t fight you therein.
(In verse 2:191,
the glad tidings of Fath-e-Makkah (victory
of Makkah)
has also been given indirectly)
You must have
understood after such an explanation that in this verse, Muslims are not
commanded to kill or fight the brothers of the homeland wherever they find them
without any reason, nor are they commanded to drive them out of their homes and
country, as Wasim Rizvi or anti-Islamic elements are trying to set the country
on fire by stating the wrong meaning of this verse.
Now let us ponder
over the ninth verse that was presented in the PIL of Wasim Rizvi.
(9) Allah
Almighty says, “They wish that you should disbelieve, as they disbelieved, so
that you may all be one. So do not take anyone as a friend until they leave the
house in the way of Allah. Then if they turn away, seize them and kill them and
do not take any of them as a friend or helper.” (4:89)
This verse
of Surah Nisa (4:89)
is also related to its preceding verse 4:88, which is as follows;
“So what is the
matter with you that you got divided into two groups concerning the hypocrites,
whereas Allah has inverted them because of their misdeeds? Do you wish to guide
one whom Allah has sent astray? And for one whom Allah sends astray, you will
not find a way.” (4:88)
The cause of
revelation of this verse (4:89) is that a group of hypocrites went out for
jihad with the permission of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him). But on the way, they betrayed the Prophet and joined the
polytheists. Then there was a difference of opinion among Muslims about them.
Some of them said that they were disbelievers and some said they were
believers. At that time verse 88 of Surah
An-Nisa was revealed in which the Muslims were warned not to
disagree about them. Due to their betrayal, apostasy and joining with the
infidels and polytheists, Allah has sent them astray, as it is mentioned
in Tafsir-e-Madarik:
“Undoubtedly this
was a group of hypocrites who sought permission from the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) for going to Makkah to
buy merchandise. When they went, they joined the polytheists. Then there arose
a difference of opinion among Muslims. Some said that they were disbelievers
and some said that they were Muslims” (Tafsir-e-Madarik,
vol.1, p.241, published by Asahhul
Matabi’, Mumbai)
Immediately after
this, in verse 89 of Surah
An-Nisa, Allah Almighty tells about the hypocrites that “they wish
that you [the believers] should disbelieve, as they [the hypocrites]
disbelieved, so that you may all be one [i.e. so that the believers and
hypocrites may all be equal in their disbelief]”. It was their hypocrisy and
treachery that Allah Almighty commanded the Muslims in this verse that they
should not “take any one of them like a friend until they emigrate for the
cause of Allah” and prove that their faith is for the pleasure of Allah and His
Messenger (peace be upon him) and not for the worldly benefits; and “if they
turn away [from emigration and choose to remain on their betrayal] “then seize
them and kill them” and if they claim to be your friends and get ready for
helping you against your enemies, then “do not take any of them as a friend or
helper” because they too are your enemies. (Ruhul
Bayan, commentary of the Quran, Surah Nisa Verse 89 and Tafsir-e-Khazin; Surah
Nisa verse 89)
In this verse,
Muslims are commanded to fight the hypocrites pushing daggers in their backs.
Even today the entire world is following the same command. Those who betray the
nation and country are severely punished or hanged to death.
(10) Let us now
understand verse 111 of Surah
Tawbah. In this verse, Allah Almighty has eloquently encouraged
Muslims to wage Jihad and has described the lives and property of Muslims
as Mabi’ (the
things that are sold) and the Paradise as price. Showing a great kindness to
the Muslims, Allah Almighty has described Muslims as seller and Himself as a
buyer – a buyer of something that He has created. He Almighty commands the
Muslims to “rejoice in the bargain which they have made with Him” because they
have sold the mortal thing for the immortal thing.
And the part of
the verse “The true promise is upon His mercy in the Torah and the Gospel and
the Quran” indicates that jihad for the exaltation of the true words is not
only prescribed in this Shari'ah but
also the previous Shari'ahs.
(11) “So fight
them, Allah will chastise them with your hands and disgrace them and will help
you against them and will cool the hearts of the believers.” (9:14)
In this verse
of Surah Tawbah,
Allah Almighty has commanded the Muslims to fight the infidels and polytheists
of Arabs who broke their covenant, as its preceding verse refers to this fact,
“Would you not fight a people who broke their covenants and determined to expel
the Messenger, and they had begun [the attack upon] you the first time? Do you
fear them? But Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are
[truly] believers.” (9:13)
It has been
repeatedly explained in the previous parts of the article that in most of the
verses of Surah
Tawbah, the Muslims are commanded to fight those infidels, Jews and
polytheists who had broken the peace treaty. They don’t command to fight those
who are common infidels and polytheists.
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Maulana Badruddoja Razvi Misbahi, Principal of Madrasa Arabia
Ashrafia Zia-ul-Uloom Khairabad, District Mau, UP (India) is a Sufi-minded,
well-mannered, classical Islamic scholar, an expert teacher, an excellent
writer, a good poet and orator. He has authored numerous books, some of which
are as follows: 1) Fazilat-e-Ramazan, 2) Zad-ul-Haramain, 3) Mukhzin-e-Tib, 4)
Tauzeehat-e-Ahsan, the commentary on the
well-known logical book “Mulla Hasan” 5) Muhazarat fi Halle Qutbi Tasawwurat,
6) Tahzib al-Faraid commentary on “Sharh al-Aqaid”, 7) Atayib al-Tahani fi
Halle Mukhtasar al-Ma’ani, 8) Commentary on Sahih Muslim
Other Parts
of the Articles:
The Verses of Jihad: Meaning, Denotation, Reason of Revelation
and Background- Part 1
The Verses of Jihad: Meaning, Denotation, Reason of
Revelation and Background- Part 2
The Verses of Jihad: Meaning, Denotation, Reason of
Revelation and Background- Part 3
The Verses of Jihad- Meaning, Denotation, Reason of
Revelation and Background- Part 4
The Verses of Jihad in The Quran - Meaning,
Denotation, Reason of Revelation and Background - Part 5
The Verses of Jihad in The Quran - Meaning,
Denotation, Reason of Revelation and Background - Part 6
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