Does Islam Preach Jihad?

Does Islam Preach Jihad?

This discussion is hot today, even in Western media: to what extent Islamic Jihadism and terrorism, is rooted in Islamic teachings?

Many so-called moderate Muslims, both in academia and outside of it, are confidently assured that their counterparts that make the likes of al-Qaeda, Taliban, and ISIS Jihadist terrorist acts have absolutely nothing to do with Islam. Many even claim Islam to be a religion of peace.

At this point, it is worth mentioning that the real question is not how Jihadism and terrorism formed in Islam theology (because this phenomenon was not formed later, it was there in the first place), but how can a Muslim Jihadist legitimize his/her actions by referring to Islamic teachings?

How can we answer these questions? The easiest way is to refer to the judgments and authoritative Islamic sources. Qur’an, Sira, and Hadiths are three important sources for finding the answers to these questions, and it is natural that we should see what the notion of Jihad in these sources is. From these three sources, the text of the Qur’an is the most important of all despite being more uncertain, but not about Jihad. Not only can you find verses in the Quran recommending Muslims to do Jihad, but there are direct orders from Allah, especially in the verses revealed to Muhammad when he was living in Madinah. (These verses are called Madani verses). For instance, let’s have a look at Surah Al-Tawba;

“And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakat, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [9:5]

According to the Qur’an, there is no doubt that Jihad is one of the important pillars of Islam. Sira and Hadiths also confirm and validate this. After the migration from Mecca to Madina, Muhammad began looting pagan caravans and promised Jannah for those killed in Allah’s way (wars with infidels, Islam preaching, looting… etc.). Wars, looting pagans, killing infidels, and taking their women as slaves turned out to be Muhammad’s permanent occupation in Yathrib (Currently, the city is called Madina). Muhammad was the schema of good amongst Muslims, and if Muhammad had done so, Muslims had every right to do so and act accordingly.

One of the funniest justifications of some academic moderate Muslims, which they properly use the unawareness of the West about Islam and Jihad, is that Jihad means to strive for the cause of Allah, not war. But they forget that the Qur’an, Hadiths, and Sira lie in complete denial of such a proposition. Others believe that Muhammad’s fighting, looting, and banditries had a defensive aspect. Of course, this is a lie, and all of Muhammad’s wars, except the Ahzab war, were all aggressive. There is no way to justify all those wars, especially the Khaibar war, by claiming that they had defensive aspects. Banu Qurayza genocide was based on total retaliation and revenge, and Badr war started when Muhammad and his followers tried to loot a caravan belonging to Quraish city.

But as the third largest source of authoritative Islamic sources, Hadiths, above all, insist on jihad and fighting the infidels and looting and taking their wives as slaves. In these narratives, the most rewarding and the highest deed a Muslim can accomplish in the eyes of Allah is to do Jihad, and if killed during Jihad, he/she is called a martyr, and if survived, he/she is called Ghazi. Both are promised the highest pleasure in Jannah. There are more than a hundred Hadith narrators, and Muslims believe the six to be accurate and authentic. Among these six, Sahih Al-Bukhari comes first. Now, let us pay attention and go through Sahih Al-Bukhari and see what this narrator has to narrate about Jihad.

The Prophet said, “Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah (in the Hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah’s Cause).” Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 53

Allah’s Messenger said, “Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords.” Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 73

On the day of the Conquest (of Mecca), the Prophet said, “There is no emigration after the Conquest but Jihad and intentions. When you are called (by the Muslim ruler) for fighting, go forth immediately.” Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 79

Can Muslims do Jihad against each other? Yes. And both the killer and the killed are promised Jannah.

“Allah’s Messenger said, “Allah welcomes two men with a smile; one of whom kills the other, and both of them enter Paradise. One fights for Allah’s Cause and gets killed. Later on, Allah forgives the ‘killer who also gets martyred (In Allah’s Cause).” Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 80

This Jihad thing gets more and more disgusting when you go through all those verses from the Quran and narrations from Hadiths. There is no doubt that Islamic resources legitimate, justify, and even consider it necessary to do Jihad in Allah’s cause. Considering all these resources and their legitimation of Jihad, saying that Islam is a religion of peace or wars conducted by Muhammad had a defensive aspect and were compulsory. There is no basis for that. But does this mean that the Jihad carried out by ISIS, Taliban, or other terror groups in the name of Islam and Allah is legitimate and carries the same quality and features from back then, when Muhammad used to carry out Jihad? If we look into the details, there are several things in common: booty gaining, killing infidels, slave girls, burnings, and beheadings. These actions are being carried out on exact measures by these terror groups the same way Muhammad did back in the 7th Century. However, ISIS is committing genocide on Shia, which didn’t exist at the time of Muhammad and is impossible to compare. In the eyes of ISIS, Shias are thought to be infidels and apostates who need to be wiped out from the face of the earth. In terms of technological terror and suicide attacks, it was not possible at that time, but had it been, they would have conducted it happily.

The final conclusion is that ISIS can greatly justify their terror actions based on main Islamic resources, and they will continue doing Jihad till the whole world turns to be Muslims, as commanded by the Qur’an and Hadiths. However, some ISIS barbaric acts, such as suicide attacks and killing of captives, are not comparable directly by reference to the actions and sayings of Muhammad, but if the general doctrine of doing Jihad is to form an Islamic state, ISIS is doing a fine job by exact bases on Allah’s and Muhammad’s teachings.