Defensive jihad

Main articles: Jihad and Jihadism

Defensive jihad, in contrast with offensive jihad, is the defense of Muslim communities. Islamic tradition holds that when Muslims are attacked, then it becomes obligatory for all Muslims of that land to defend against the attack..[1] At least one verse in the Qur'an mention defense: (“Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you..." 2:19)

Background

The notion of "defensive Jihad" is derived from certain passages in the Qur'an, among others Al-Baqarah verses 190-193.

"Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress, for Allah loves not the transgressor. Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers." (Al-Baqarah 190-193)

In his famous fatwa "Defence of the Muslim Land, The First Obligation After Iman",[2] Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1979) made the distinction of "offensive jihad", which at the very least requires "the sending of an army at least once a year to terrorise the enemies of Allah", from "defensive jihad", involving the "expelling the Kuffar from our land", considered compulsory for every Muslim.[2]

By contrast, in liberal Islam it is sometimes argued that the Quranic obligation to fight the unbelievers "must take into account the historical circumstances" of the text's "revelation".[3]

Origins

The beginnings of Jihad are traced back to the words and actions of Muhammad and the Quran.[4] This encourages the use of Jihad against non-Muslims.[5] The Quran, however, never uses the term Jihad for fighting and combat in the name of Allah; qital is used to mean “fighting.” According to Jonathan Berkey, jihad in the Quran was may originally intended against Muhammad's local enemies, the pagans of Mecca or the Jews of Medina, but the Quranic statements supporting jihad could be redirected once new enemies appeared.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Khadduri, Majid (1955). "5. Doctrine of Jihad". War and Peace in the Law of Islam (PDF). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. p. 60. Retrieved October 26, 2015. [Unlike the five pillars of Islam, jihad was to be enforced by the state.] ... unless the Muslim community is subjected to a sudden attack and therefore all believers, including women and children are under the obligation to fight -- [jihad of the sword] is regarded by all jurists, with almost no exception, as a collective obligation of the whole Muslim community," meaning that "if the duty is fulfilled by a part of the community it ceases to be obligatory on others.
  2. 1 2 DEFENCE OF THE MUSLIM LANDS The First Obligation After Iman
    ... the Ulama [pious scholars] of the four Mathhabs (Maliki, Hanafi, Shaffie and Hanbali), the Muhadditheen, and the Tafseer commentators [classical Muslim commentators of the Qur'an], are agreed that in all Islamic ages, Jihad under this condition becomes Fard Ayn [personal religious obligation] upon the Muslims of the land which the Kuffar [infidels] have attacked and upon the Muslims close by, where the children will march forth without the permission of the parents, the wife without the permission of her husband and the debtor without the permission of the creditor. And, if the Muslims of this land cannot expel the Kuffar because of lack of forces, because they slacken, are indolent or simply do not act, then the Fard Ayn obligation spreads in the shape of a circle from the nearest to the next nearest. If they too slacken or there is again a shortage of manpower, then it is upon the people behind them, and on the people behind them, to march forward. This process continues until it becomes Fard Ayn [a personal religious obligation] upon the whole world.
  3. ↑ Does the Quran Really Sanction Violence Against 'Unbelievers'? by Shaikh Kabir Helminski, The Huffington Post
  4. ↑ Rudolph Peters, Jihād (The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World); Oxfordislamicstudies. . Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  5. ↑ Jonathon P. Berkey, The Formation of Islam; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2003
  6. ↑ Berkey, Jonathan Porter (2003). The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-521-58813-3. The Koran is not a squeamish document, and exhort the believers to jihad. Verses such as "Do not follow the unbelievers, but struggle against them mightily" (25.52) and "fight [those who have been given a revelation] who do not believe in God and the last day" (9.29) may originally have been directed against Muhammad's local enemies, the pagans of Mecca or the Jews of Medina, but could be redirected once a new set of enemies appeared.
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