ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Jihad The Holy War of Islam and Its Legitimacy in the Quran Lecture one: Questions about Jihad In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jiziyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

(9:29) This Qur’anic verse concerns the People of the Book, meaning those non-Muslims followers of one of the Holy Books: namely, the Jews, Christians and perhaps, the Zoroastrians. Although the verse is one of war with the People of the Book, it does not tell us to fight them. It tells us to fight only those of them who have no faith in God, in the Hereafter, and who do not abide by the rule of God.

They are those who allow what He has forbidden and who are not religious according to the religion of truth. It is these People of the Book whom we are to fight until they pay the Jiziyah (tribute). When they have humbled themselves before us and submit to paying the Jiziyah, we are to fight no more. This verse gives rise to many questions which remain to be answered through a study of those Qur’anic verses pertaining to jihad, which we will set apart and review.

The first question that arises is what exactly is meant by the words: « Fight those who believe not in Allah» Does the verse mean that we are to abandon our lives and begin fighting them immediately, or does it mean that we must fight them once they have gone beyond their territory, encroaching upon ours?

In the terms of the learned of Islam, the ulama’, this is an unconditional verse such that, if there are similar verses that are conditional, this verse too must be interpreted as being conditional. A- Conditional Verses and Unconditional Verses This term is a very important one, and I wish to explain it to you, for otherwise it will be difficult for you to grasp the full meaning of the verse under discussion. Any command, even a human command, can be given in one of two ways.

In one instance, it can be given with no conditions, and in another, may have a condition attached to it. We immediately realize that whoever issues that command and introduced that law, intended the same meaning in both instances. Now, having realized this, what are we to do?