[Reader-list] Making A Mockery Of Jihad

[Javed]

Making A Mockery Of Jihad
7 Oct 2008, 0003 hrs IST,
Asghar Ali Engineer

The terror attacks in India as well as abroad have created an
impression that jihad is central to Quranic teaching. First of all, as
we have asser
ted repeatedly, jihad does not mean war in the Quran as there are
other words for it like qital and harb. Jihad has been used in the
Quran in its root meaning i.e. to strive and to strive for betterment
of society, to spread goodness (maruf) and contain evil (munkar).

But supposing jihad means war, as some Muslims believe, even then it
isn't central to Quranic teachings. The word jihad occurs in the Quran
41 times though not a single verse uses it in the sense of war. There
are four most fundamental values in the Quran i.e. justice ('adl),
benevolence (ihsan), compassion (rahmah) and wisdom (hikmah). Thus,
the Quran is an embodiment of these values and a Muslim is duty-bound
to practise them above all. One who fails to practise these values can
hardly claim to be a true Muslim. Jihad is not even obligatory in
Islamic jurisprudence whereas these values are indicative of a
Muslim's character and hence quite important. It would be seen that
compassion is most central to Quranic teachings. The words
"compassion" and "mercy" in their various forms occur in the Quran 335
times as against only 41 for jihad.

There is great emphasis in the Quran on justice in all social and
political matters and it uses three words for justice — 'adl, qist and
hakama. These three words occur 244 times in the Quran. To seek
revenge is human weakness, not strength. Thus, a devout Muslim tends
to forgive like Allah who forgives his servants if they sincerely
repent. Those who are waging jihad in the form of terror attacks are
bent upon seeking revenge whereas a good Muslim would tend to forgive
just as Allah does.

In Shariah law, jihad can be declared only by the state or those
empowered by it. Terror attacks, on the other hand, are planned and
executed by a few individuals unrepresentative of any state or state
institution. So their attacks cannot be legitimate by any Islamic or
Shariah law. That is nothing but committing murder of innocent people.
Also, according to Islamic laws, in jihad no non-combatant can be
attacked, much less women, children and old persons and no civilian
property can be destroyed unless it is being used for military
purposes or for purposes of combat.

It can be seen that the rules laid down for war by Islamic laws are no
different from modern laws of warfare or the Geneva conventions. But
terror attacks are a gross violation of all these Islamic rules and
there is no way these attacks can be characterised as jihad. The
terrorists are described by the media as jihadis. This is a gross
misuse of the word as there is no word like jihadi in the Arabic
language. It is in fact 'mujahid' and it is used in a laudatory sense
— one who devotes oneself to a good cause like fighting against social
evils.

The Quran advises Muslims: "And cast not yourselves to destruction
with your own hands and do good (to others). Surely Allah loves the
doers of good." This advice of the Quran not to throw oneself to
destruction with one's own hands is important and relevant even today.
What did the 9/11 attack result in? Did al-Qaeda not invite great
disaster to the entire Islamic world, especially in Afghanistan and
Iraq? Did they not throw themselves into perdition with their own
hands? What good did that attack do to anyone ? Was there any wisdom
in that rash and ruthless attack?

Revenge only satisfies our ego and injures the ego of the enemy and
thus the war of attrition continues. What terrorists are doing is
seeking revenge and that too from a weaker position. Every attack
brings nothing but disaster for themselves and others. Various verses
quoted to justify jihad are generally taken in a literal sense and
ignore the value system of the Quran. It is a well-known fact that be
it al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organisation, they do not represent
any government or larger Muslim organisation. They succeed in
mobilising some angry youth who are carried away by 'Islamic' rhetoric
and commit terrorist attacks taking lives of innocent people. These
attacks violate all Quranic values.

Seventh century Arabia cannot be compared to conditions in the
contemporary world. Today's world is radically different from that
period and we should go more by Quranic ethics than injunctions about
war. There are several institutions now available for arbitration,
reconciliation and solving disputes. One should not rush to resort to
violence.

In the Indian context, one cannot avenge communal violence by
terrorist attacks on innocent Hindus and Muslims in marketplaces. It
is the same sin which communal forces committed against innocent
Muslims. Wisdom requires that one should patiently mobilise public
opinion through democratic means, win over the hearts of common people
and expose communal and fascist forces.

One hopes that the misguided Muslim youth resorting to violent actions
will realise the futility of terror attacks and renounce such sinful
and criminal acts, concentrating instead on excelling in learning and
acquiring a superior moral character. Did not the Prophet say that the
"ink of a scholar is superior to the blood of the martyr"?

The writer is with the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai.

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