Jihad dan Pemahamannya

Jihad and Spreading Islam by Force

By Sheikh Abdullah ibn Bayyah

Director of the Global Center for Renewal & Guidance

Saturday, 12 July 2014 00:00

Many false accusations have been said about Islam. In this article, I discuss and refute misconceptions about Jihad in Islam.

Forcing Islam on People
Embracing Islam  under compulsion is unacceptable. Islamic Shari`ah  is all based on free choice, and when free choice is lacking, one’s conducts shall have no effect, whether in beliefs, contracts, commitments, etc. This is substantiated  in numerous texts in the Glorious Qur’an and Prophetic hadiths.
Allah says,

{Let there be no compulsion in religion} (Al-Baqarah 2:256)

This is a self-evident verse from the above mentioned surah, which was sent down in Medinah, where Muslims were gaining more and more power — contrary to the Pope’s claim that it was sent down when Muslims were weak. It is a regretful, ill-founded claim. The truth is, a number of youths from Al-Ansar (Madinan supporters of the Prophet) were raised among Jews, and their families wanted to force them to embrace their religion. Then, Allah forbade them, asserting the rule of noncompulsion.
Also, in Surat Yunus, Allah says,

{Had your Lord so willed, all who are on the earth would have believed altogether. Will you, then, (be the one to) compel people so that they become believers?} (Yunus 10: 99)

He also says, in Surat Al-Kahf,

{And say,The truth is from your Lord. So, whoever wills let him believe. And whoever wills let him disbelieve.} (Al-Kahf 18:29)

And in Surat Al-Ghashiyah, Allah says,

{So, remind (people). You are but a reminder. You are not over them domineering} (Al-Ghashiyah 88: 21-22)

Similarly, when someone renounces Islam due to coercion, this renunciation shall have no effect. Allah says,

{...except for one who has been compelled (to renounce his faith) while his heart remains at peace with faith} (An-Nahl 16:106)

In Islamic jurisprudence, coercion is an unbearable pressure that renders contracts and commitments made thereunder null and void. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was reported to have said,

“Allah has pardoned my Ummah for mistakes, forgetfulness, and that which they are forced to do” (Ibn Majah)

Concept of Jihad
Jihad is a beautiful concept that has been misused, whether by extremist adherence or by utter negligence. What does Jihad mean linguistically and technically? And why is it legislated in the Qur’an?
In Arabic usage, Jihad is the “exertion of the utmost effort to achieve something that is probably desirable”.
Religiously, Jihad has three types, as identified by Ar-Raghib in Al-Mufradat: (1) Jihad against an express enemy, (2) Jihad against Satan, and  (3)  Jihad against one’s own self.
The last two meanings are stated  in several hadiths. For example, Imam  Ahmad in his Musnad and Abu Dawud in his Sunan reported Fudalah Ibn `Ubayd  as  narrating that the Prophet said: 

“A true mujahid is the one who strives against his own self in obedience to Allah” (Authinticated by Al-Albani)

Jihad is not synonymous to fighting alone, rather it means to preach and defend what is right.

In a weak hadith reported by Al-Bayhaqi, Jabir narrated that, upon return from his last battle at Tabuk, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him said) said, “We have returned from the minor Jihad to the major Jihad” He interpreted it as meaning to combat one’s whims.
In fact, taking care of one’s parents is a sort of Jihad. The Prophet said,

"Then let your taking care of them be your Jihad." (Al-Bukhari)

Ibn Taymiyyah defined Jihad saying,

“It encompasses all sorts of worship, whether inward or outward, including love of Allah, devotion to Him, reliance on Him, submission of one’s soul and property to Him, patience, asceticism, and continuing remembrance of Him. It takes all possible forms — physical, spiritual, mental, verbal, etc.”

The first meaning, Jihad or fighting against hostile non-Muslims, is the most common. Many Qur’anic verses and Prophetic hadiths detailed its merits, conditions, and guidelines. History reveals significant instances and practices of it between Muslims and non-Muslims, which have ever been an object of large-scale attention and  heated debate, wavering between glorification and condemnation, over enthusiasm and neglect.
Jihad in Islam is not necessarily synonymous to fighting; it has a much broader sense. Basically, it means to preach and defend what is right. In Surah Al-Furqan, Allah says,

{And strive against them (i.e., advocates of falsehood) by means of it  (i.e., the Qur’an), with the utmost strife.} (Al-Furqan 25:52) 

That is, refute false claims with every possible evidence. Obviously, recitation of the Qur’an has nothing to do with military actions. Therefore, not every Jihad should be fighting, and not every fighting should be Jihad. In its essence, Jihad is a call for freedom.
Not every Jihad is a military action, nor is every military action Jihad. Ibn Khaldun divided warfare into four types, depending on the motive. He wrote,

The origin of all wars is revengefulness. Two wars are unjust: war of expansion and war of aggression. And two wars are just: war in defence of religion (Jihad) and war against rebels (sovereignty protection war, as he called it).

References

Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyah is a great Mauritanian scholar of fiqh and Shari`ah. He is Director of the Global Center for Renewal & Guidance, UK and a member of the European Research & Fatwa Council, Ireland.