Why Jihad, In the Sense of Qital, is Not Taking Place in India? Jihad in Islamic Jurisprudence in Indian Context - Part 3
By
Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam
26
September 2022
A
Community Of Another Country Entering Into A Treaty With The Head Of State Of
One Country Is Equivalent To Two Heads Of State Entering Into A Treaty. Since
Our Forefathers Signed An Agreement Then And We Renew It Every Five Years, Our
Obligation Is To Live As If Both People Have Equal Rights Without Seeing That
All The Other People Of This Country Are Outside Or They Are The Only Ones
Inside
-----
(This
article discusses the jurisprudential discussions on Jihad according to Shafi
School of law and Tafsir Razi and other prominent Seerah literature)
Part 1
The
question arises in the mind of many people why Jihad, in the sense of Qital, is
not taking place in India. This article aims to find the answer.
Ibn Hajar
(may Allah be pleased with him) states the early ruling of Jihad in Al-Tuhfa
Volume IX, Chapter 212. “In the early days of Islam, before the Hijra, Jihad
was a taboo. Till fourteen years after Nubuwwat and advent of Islam, i.e. 13
years in Makkah and one year in Madinah, Jihad was prohibited through more than
70 verses of the Qur'an.”
See
al-Baqarah 190. "The call is to fight those who fight you.' It is
very clear that only those who fight you are meant.
In the
second stage Jihad was permitted during the months when fighting was
prohibited. And that too only to the belligerent deniers intent on destroying
Islam and the Muslims.
This
permission was given for any level of Jihad against the aforementioned enemies
after the conquest of Makkah. Jihad is permitted by the 41st verse of the Surah
Tawbah. From this it is clear that during the lifetime of the Messenger of
Allah (PBUH) the fate of Jihad was in three stages.
Let us move
through Surah Anfal and Surah Taubah with the aim of recitation. We should not
try to derive the rules of Jihad from Tawbah or Anfal because we are not
capable of it. We must follow the rulings that the previous scholars who were
able to determine the rules of Jihad, have carefully examined the chapter of
Tawbah, the chapter of Anfal, and similar verses and determined from it. Only
that can be followed. Just as we have no authority to judge directly from the
Qur'an and Hadith on matters of prayer or fasting, neither do we have authority
on Jihad. Online self-proclaimed tutors on Islam following literal
understanding of religion should be exposed.
Allah has
divided people into two levels. Those who are capable of making judgments and
those who are not. Among the scholars who were able to determine the rulings,
those who codified it accurately were Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi'i, Imam
Hambali and Imam Maliki. There are scholars other than these who are capable of
determining rulings but we have no authority to follow them as they are not
codified. What we should follow is how the scholars who have defined and
codified have looked at the Anfal chapter and the Tawbah chapter.
The
question of why Muslims are waiting is not answered when Anfal chapter and
Taubah chapter encourage Jihad so much? Remember that none of the above applies
to the Indian situation. We will talk about that later.
The
Problem of Text & Context
Some
writers and speakers quote the Qur’anic verses out of context and try to blame
Islam for promoting violence and terrorism. They take a “text” and use it
outside its “context”.
It is just
like someone searches through the Bible and picks the following words or
sentences to prove that the Bible promotes violence:
Chapter 9
(Surah at-Tawbah), verse 12:
“Fight
the leaders of unbelief” (9:12).
This is
just part of the whole passage where God talks about the Muslims in Medina and
their truce agreement with the unbelievers of Mecca. See verses 12 to 14:
“And if
they break their oaths after their agreement and revile your religion, then
fight the leaders of unbelief –surely their oaths are of no value– so that they
may desist” (9:12).
“What is
the matter with you that you do not fight a people who broke their oaths and
aimed at the expulsion of the Prophet [from Mecca], and they attacked you
first? Do you fear them? But God is most deserving that you should fear Him, if
you are believers” (9:13).
“Fight
them; God will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace, and assist
you against them, heal the hearts of a believing people, remove the rage of
their hearts, and God turns (mercifully) to whom He pleases, and Allah is
Knowing, Wise” (9:14).
The context
clearly gives the right of defense to the Muslim but, in no way, does it
promote aggression.
Chapter 9
(Surah at-Tawbah), verse 36:
“Fight
the polytheists all together” (9:36).
In reality,
this sentence is part of an entire verse in which God talks about the
sacredness of four of the twelve months in which fighting is forbidden. Then it
says:
“And
fight the polytheists all together as they fight you all together; and know
that God is with those who guard (evil)” (9:36).
The
theological and historical documents also support this argument. Seerah of
Tabari and Ibn Sa’d’s Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir also points to the ephemeral
nature of the verse. Tafseer Jalalyni has also mentioned this fact.
Those who
like to take this Qur’anic verse out of its context conveniently miss out the
part “as they fight you all together”. As you see, this verse is also
responding to the aggression started by the polytheists against the Muslims; it
does not talk about initiating a war.
From these
examples, it is quite clear that Islam is not talking about the minor jihad for
the sake of aggression; rather it is allowing the Muslims to physically defend
their lives, properties, and lands against any aggression, and also to fight
for ending tyranny against the oppressed men, women and children. (Tafseer
Razi)
But
contemporaries interpret jihad as simply war. It is completely misleading. As
part of this interpretation, many assumed that Jihad was incarnated as a
religious law in Madinah. This perception needs to be corrected.
Just as the
verses dealing with Jihad were revealed in Madinah, so were such verses
revealed in Makkah. The greatest Jihad is the Jihad carried out by the Prophet
at the time of the emergence of Islam. It is patience. Jihad is of three types.
One is Jihad in the heart. By two tongues. Or, Jihad through Speech. Jihad
through three wars.
It is
through Surat al-Furqan that the Qur'an asks the Holy Prophet to perform Jihad
in Makkah. (This Surah was completely revealed in Makkah). 'Do not obey the
infidels. Wage a mighty Jihad against them. Most Tafseer scholars also say that
this surah is in Makkah. Prominent among them are Ibn Zubair, Hasanul Baswari,
Ikrima, Atwa and Jabir (ra). (According to Ibn Abbas, verses 95, 96, 97 of this
surah are not in Makkah.) Jihad is mentioned here in the Makkah verse.
The
interest of the Hijra mentioned in this verse is about the Hijra who went to
Habsinia. In the context of these verses, the Jihad that should be given the
most importance is the Jihad carried out by the Prophet and his Companions in
the early stages of Islam. It is the feeling towards the Makkah polytheists. It
is to invite them to the path of truth.
Prophet’s
Jihad in Mecca was a most distinguished preaching mission to show the futility
of the religious beliefs their forefathers preached. Therefore, the word of
truth is the most essential type of Jihad. Allah described this Jihad as Jihad
ul Kabira. Or it means to wage Jihad against them with the Qur'an and the
intellectual precepts put forward by the Qur'an.
This
Qur'anic document is supported by a verse. The best Jihad is to speak
truthfully to an oppressive king. It can be seen in another Hadees. Jihad
against one's own soul in the cause of Allah is the best Jihad. The Sahabah
raised this question when he was in Madinah (Which is the best Jihad?) The
Jihad of telling the truth, living with patience, and fighting against the soul
can be likened to food, and Jihad by war to medicine. Because medicine becomes
necessary only when disease occurs. So is war jihad.
But among
contemporaries, when they say Jihad, they understand that it is a strategy of
war. There is jihad based on war. Jihud al-Qital is Jihad when many
conditions are met. It is very clear in the Hadees. Despite saying that the
best Jihad is to speak the truth, many people widely misapply Jihad as an act
of war without any authentic evidence. There was no militant jihad in Makkah.
Umar's raising his sword when he left for Hijra cannot be counted as part of
Jihad. It is part of the ‘sial’. Or fighting for self-preservation.
This form
of Jihad existed when the Holy Prophet reached Madinah. In other words, the
core elements of Jihad remained unchanged in His life in Madinah. An Islamic
social atmosphere becomes present in the Madinah life. Moreover, a system was
established in Madinah that made the very existence of Muslims possible.
Muslims are obliged to protect it.
Jihad Is
Internal Struggle for Purification
Jihad is
commanded only against those who fight with you or those who are of that state
of mind. Then the Dhimmi Kafir (disbelievers who are friends with
Muslims) will not be included in this. A belligerent disbeliever who has been
given refuge by a Muslim or nation, known as a 'Musta'min', cannot wage
Jihad until the end of the period of refuge granted. Then they too will not
fall into this fate. This does not include a citizen of a nation that entered
into a non-combat truce, known as a "Mu'ahid". Once a truce is
made, it is obligatory for all the people of the nation to keep that truce with
each other. The difference between a Musta'min and a Mu'ahid is that
even a mere citizen of a Muslim country can give refuge to a Musta'min.
Even after
the Prophet's (PBUH) daughter Zainab (RA) became a Muslim, the wife's husband
remained hostile to the Muslims. He came to Madinah in the sixth year of Hijra
for a purpose. At that time Zainab Biwi announced that I had given shelter. It
was announced by a woman who is a citizen of a Muslim country. The moment
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) heard this, he said: If a person of
our nation, be it a man or a woman, gives shelter, it is incumbent on everyone
to follow it. But truce (Ahd) can be made only by a head of state. The
Prophet (PBUH) had made peace with the polytheists before the declaration of
deliverance from the polytheists and those who entered into a covenant. At that
time, Muslims used to travel in Makkah and polytheists in Madinah. (Tafsir
Razi)
Come to
think of it, Jihad is not something that humans can do on their own like prayer
or fasting. It should be done very carefully looking at the terms. Farz Kifaya
comes only if we stand in our country and the polytheists in their country and
we do not make peace with them and fall within the scope of the
"disbelievers who are belligerent to you" and our membership reaches
exactly half of their membership.
Part 2
Indian
Situation
If you look
at the Indian situation, it is not a place where Muslims and non-Muslims stand
as two nations. In 1947, Mountbatten divided India into two countries, Pakistan
and the Indian Union. Mountbatten declared that due to the many communal riots,
India was divided into two and those who liked could choose the place they
liked.
Almost 100
percent of the Muslims in Pakistan stayed in Pakistan. At the same time, the
Muslims in India divided into two groups, one group went to Pakistan, mainly
Karachi, and the other remained in India. Leaders like Abul Kalam Azad, Fakhruddin
Ali Ahmad, Muhammad Ismail Sahib and Ansari who belonged to the Muslim
community at that time saw Nehru as the representative of all the Indian people
including Muslims and assured them that they would stay here and fully accept
the government. At that time, Nehru replied, "We intend to take this
country in a socialist manner. Here no one gets preference on account of
religion. No one should take the law into their own hands here. Everyone should
follow the rules here. The Muslim leaders promised to comply with all this.
The first
Lok Sabha elections were between those who supported and those who did not
support the constitution drafted under the leadership of Ambedkar. The
supporters were represented by Nehru and the non-supporters were represented by
the Hindu Mahasabha. In the first election in 1951, our forefathers, the
Muslims, voted for the candidates who were fielded by Nehru-led Congress. That
vote does not mean that I supported that candidate, it means my support for the
constitution. It means that the constitution can be supported by following the
laws of this country. The Lok Sabha elections are renewed every five years
after the agreement of mandate was made then. It is ostensibly a vote for a
candidate, but in reality it is a vote for the Constitution.
A community
of another country entering into a treaty with the head of state of one country
is equivalent to two heads of state entering into a treaty. Since our
forefathers signed an agreement then and we renew it every five years, our
obligation is to live as if both people have equal rights without seeing that
all the other people of this country are outside or they are the only ones
inside. This is how Allah's Messenger (PBUH) lived with the Jews for the first
six years after he arrived in Madinah. Madinah then belonged to both Muslims
and Jews. After the Battle of Ahzab, the Jews committed treason and broke away
from that covenant.
Our present
responsibility is to fulfil our personal, social and international covenants.
So our responsibility is to abide by the agreement that our forefathers
accepted the constitution. This means and that even if some aggressors take the
law into their hands, we will not take the law into our own hands. In many
places in the Qur'an, it is said that it is our responsibility to keep the
covenant.
If we ask
why Jamaat-e-Islami or their zealous Brotherhood or those who follow their path
are working against all this, it is like this: we do not need Fiqh to
find out the Farz and condition of prayer. They do not need Fiqh
to judge Jihad as they have decided that only Quran and Sunnah are sufficient.
They fell into the mistake of believing that the translation of the Tawbah
chapter and the Anfal chapter was enough. We cannot accept that.
We should
only follow the Imams who are able to judge by looking at the Qur'an and the
Sunnah and come forward with their results. And no one should join the ranks of
those who form new parties and hold secret meetings at night.
Inapplicability
of wartime instructions after the war is over. In every war, defensive or for
some reason offensive, instructions are given to kill the adversary. But these
instructions become infructuous once the war is over. These are contextual, not
universal.
That is why
Shaan e Nozool or context of all verses is taught in madrasas.
-----
A
regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic
Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist.
Part One of the Article: What is Jihad? How has it got conflated with the Christian
concept of Crusade or Holy War? - Part 1
Part Two
of the Article: Jihad Is Not Holy War: Allah Asked the Prophet to
Perform Jihad through Preaching Quran - Part 2
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