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Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam – Islamic Propagation
By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America), Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Source: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/
Jihad and Islamic Propagation
God says in the Qur’an, “Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.” [16:125]
Calling people to Islam and making them acquainted with it in all its aspects through dialogue and kind persuasion is the first type of Jihad in Islam, in contrast to the imagined belief that Jihad is only of the combative form. This is referred to in the Qur’an where Allah I says, “so obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them (by preaching) with the utmost endeavor with it (the Qur’an)” [25:52]. Here the word “strive”
<jaahidu>, is used to mean struggle by means of the tongue—preaching and exhortation—and to persevere despite the obstinate resistance of some unbelievers to the beliefs and ideals of Islam.
Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam – Forced Conversion?
By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America), Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Source: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/
Forced Conversion?
So the foundation of Jihad is Islamic propagation (da’wah). The question often asked is whether Islam condones and teaches the forced and armed conversion of non-Muslims. This is the image sometimes projected by Western scholars and as any Muslim scholar will tell you, is seriously flawed. The Qur’an clearly states “There is no compulsion in religion, the path of guidance stands out clear from error” [2:256] and [60:8]. In this verse, the word “rushd” or “path of guidance” refers to the entire domain of human life, not just to the rites and theology of Islam.
Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam – Conditions for Combative Jihad
By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America), Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Source: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/
Conditions for Combative Jihad
The ruler, the Imam, is completely answerable to the people and their legal apparatus, the most important representatives of whom are the scholars. The position of the law is that only at such a time when it can be reasonably proven that; there are aggressive designs against Islam; and,thereare concerted efforts to eject Muslims from their legally acquired property; and, that military campaigns are being launched to eradicate them.
Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam – Islamic Terms of Ratifying Peace
By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America), Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Source: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/
Islamic Terms of Ratifying Peace
Allah said, “Enter into peace completely and do not follow the steps of Satan.” [2:208] The Prophet (saws) said, after establishing the Islamic state in Madina, that the way of the Muslims is one. No single group can autonomously declare war or fight, nor can any one group make peace by itself, but the entire Muslim nation must make peace. A peace treaty can be made by the nations’ leader and all subjects of the nation are bound by that decision, regardless of whether the leader was appointed or elected. The final decision is up to the ruler after his consultation with others.
Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam – Between Muslims
By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America), Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Source: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/
Jihad Between Muslims
Properly speaking Jihad, in the case of internal dissension, only occurs when these two conditions—a just Imam fighting unjustifiable insurrection—are met and the Muslims fight in support of the Imam against the offending parties. In Islam allegiance and obedience to a just authority is obligatory. It must be noted also that rebellions against authority and especially political authority simply for the sake of rebellion have no place in the concept of Jihad. In this age of relativism, the spirit of rebellion seems to have penetrated every layer of society. However, Islam and its principles cannot be made subservient to these cultural trends.
In some of the contemporary “Islamic” groups, Jihad has been adapted to a virtually Marxist or Socialist concept of class revolt aimed at overthrowing the authority of the state. In the often fervently materialistic milieu of contemporary political and revolutionary ideologies, Islam is inevitably reduced to nothing more than a social philosophy. This reductionism simply amounts to an abysmal misunderstanding of the essential function of Islam, which is to turn the “face” of the human receptacle away from the world of disharmony and illusion to the tranquillity and silence of Divine awareness and vision. Inward Jihad, as we alluded to at the beginning of this essay, has a key role to play in this respect.
Dhikr: the Remembrance of God
By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America), Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Source: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/
Dhikr: the Remembrance of God
The Prophet peace be upon him said: “Shall I tell you something that is the best of all deeds, constitutes the best act of piety in the eyes of your Lord, elevates your rank in the hereafter, and carries more virtue than the spending of gold and silver in the service of Allah, or taking part in Jihad and slaying or being slain in the path of Allah?” They said: “Yes!” He said: “Remembrance of Allah.”21
Thus one finds the principles of the spiritual Jihad are based on eliminating the ugly, selfish and ferocious characteristics of the ego through spiritual training and mastery of dhikr, the Remembrance of God.
This remembrance takes many forms: each school of Sufism focuses on a different form of ritual dhikr to enable the seeker to approach the Divine Presence, varying from individual silent recitation and chanting to vocal group sessions. It is this spiritual struggle that raises humankind and instills in him the sense of relationship with His Creator, and the proper perspective in relating to all creation, always calling for love between humanity and striving in Allah’s Way for better understanding between various communities of all faiths. Through this spiritual Jihad the effect of the selfish ego on the soul of the seeker will be removed, uplifting his state from depression, anxiety and loneliness to one of joy, satisfaction and companionship with the Most High.
Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam – Rebellion Against Rulers
By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America), Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Source: islamicsupremecouncil.org
Rebellion Against Rulers
The scholar Ibn Nujaym said “it is not permitted for there to be more than one state leader (Imam) in a time period. There may be many judges, even in one state, but the leader is one.” Al-Bahjouri said “It is an obligation to obey the leader, even if he is not fair or trustworthy or even if he committed sins or mistakes.” Abu Hanifa’s school says that the head of the state, the Imam, cannot be expelled for being a corrupt person (fasiq). Hudhaifa bin al-Yaman narrated a hadith in which he said, “The Prophet (saws) said, ‘there will be after me leaders who do not follow my guidance and do not follow my sunna, and there will be among them men whose hearts are like those of satan in the body of a human being.’ And I asked the Prophet (saws), ‘What I should do at that time if I reach it?’ He said, ‘listen and obey the ruler, even if he lashed your back and took your money, listen and obey.’”
In another narration, Auf bin Malik t said, “O Prophet of Allah, do you recommend that we fight them?” He said, “No, don’t fight them as long as they do not prevent you from your prayers. And if you see from them something that you dislike, dislike their acts, do not dislike them. And do not take your hand out from obedience to them.” Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Abdullah ibn al-Abbas, “if someone dislikes his ruler, he must be patient, because if he comes against the ruler in a rebellious or destructive manner by only a handspan and dies, he dies in a state of pre-Islamic ignorance (jahiliyyah) and sin.”
Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam – What Jihad is, and is not
By: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America), Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Source: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/
WHAT JIHAD IS
- The Arabic word “jihad” is often translated as “holy war,” but in a purely linguistic sense, the word ” jihad” means struggling or striving.
- The arabic word for war is: “al-harb”.
- In a religious sense, as described by the Quran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (s), “jihad” has many meanings. It can refer to internal as well as external efforts to be a good Muslims or believer, as well as working to inform people about the faith of Islam.
- If military jihad is required to protect the faith against others, it can be performed using anything from legal, diplomatic and economic to political means. If there is no peaceful alternative, Islam also allows the use of force, but there are strict rules of engagement. Innocents – such as women, children, or invalids – must never be harmed, and any peaceful overtures from the enemy must be accepted.
- Military action is therefore only one means of jihad, and is very rare. To highlight this point, the Prophet Mohammed told his followers returning from a military campaign: “This day we have returned from the minor jihad to the major jihad,” which he said meant returning from armed battle to the peaceful battle for self-control and betterment.
- In case military action appears necessary, not everyone can declare jihad. The religious military campaign has to be declared by a proper authority, advised by scholars, who say the religion and people are under threat and violence is imperative to defend them. The concept of “just war” is very important.
- The concept of jihad has been hijacked by many political and religious groups over the ages in a bid to justify various forms of violence. In most cases, Islamic splinter groups invoked jihad to fight against the established Islamic order. Scholars say this misuse of jihad contradicts Islam.
- Examples of sanctioned military jihad include the Muslims’ defensive battles against the Crusaders in medieval times, and before that some responses by Muslims against Byzantine and Persian attacks during the period of the early Islamic conquests.
WHAT JIHAD IS NOT
- Jihad is not a violent concept.
- Jihad is not a declaration of war against other religions. It is worth noting that the Koran specifically refers to Jews and Christians as “people of the book” who should be protected and respected. All three faiths worship the same God. Allah is just the Arabic word for God, and is used by Christian Arabs as well as Muslims.
- Military action in the name of Islam has not been common in the history of Islam. Scholars says most calls for violent jihad are not sanctioned by Islam.
- Warfare in the name of God is not unique to Islam. Other faiths throughout the world have waged wars with religious justifications
PASS THE KNOWLEDGE (LIGHT & LIFE) 