Jihad is seen as an ideology of hatred and subversion.

Jihad is seen as an ideology of hatred and subversion. Only a few scholars, one of whom is Daniel Pipes, a renowned critic of “Islamic jihad”understand the dissension that has occurred between jihad as prescribed by Islamic law and the jihad that is propagated and practiced by some Muslims today.

He says; “militant Islam derives from Islam but is a misanthropic, misogynist,millenarian,anti-modern,anti-christian, anti-semitic, terrorist, jihadist and suicidal version of it” The misconception that Muslims fight jihad in order to force all those they have conquered into accepting the religion of Islam is just that, a misconception. Islam is not just a religion but a way of life.

Jihad is not “war” but a struggle to establish societies where the people are governed by an Islamic way of life which ensures freedom from oppression and establishing the collective well-being of such peoples. 2.1 The Position of Suicide in Islam Suicide is defined as the act of killing oneself intentionally. Under secular law, suicide is not a crime though aiding and abetting a person to commit suicide may be actionable[^22] . Under Islamic law, suicide is regarded as one of the major sins.

Allah SWT provides in suratul An’am;[^23] “and do not kill yourselves indeed Allah is ever merciful to you and the one who does so in enmity and injustice, we shall cast him into the Fire and that is easy for Allah” A number of scholars interpreted this verse to mean that Muslims should not kill one another. But it was reported by Abu Mansoor Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Mansoori that Amr bin al-’As narrated thus: I had a wet dream during a cold night On the battlefield of Dhat al-Salasil.

I was afraid that if I did ghusl I would die. I therefore did tayyammum and prayed the morning prayers with others. I mentioned this to the Prophet SAW who remarked ‘0 Amr! You prayed with others while in a major state of defilement.I informed him about what had prevented me from doing the Ghusl and recited the verse ‘and do not kill yourselves.

Indeed Allah is ever merciful to you’ the Prophet then laughed and did not say anything” In another hadith, Junaid bin Abdullah reported the Prophet SAW as saying; “a man who had been wounded in the battlefield became impatient with his pain and killed himself and Allah SWT said ‘my servant has hastened his own death himself, and I forbid him the Garden’.