Islam Its Belief and Practices - Radical Truth

HOLY WAR 91
CHAPTER IV.
Holy War.
Jihad, The Religious War.
J~had, lit. an effort or striving. It is the calling on
unbehevers to accept the true religion and fighting those
who do not accept it. Its object is either to win them
over to Islam, or to subdue and exterminate them in case
they r~fuse to become Muslims and cause IsIam to spread
and tn~mph over ~ll other religions. It is a religious duty
extendIng to all tImes and is laid down in the Qur'- .
th f II . . an m
e 0 owmg verses: 9: 5,6,29; 4: 76-79; 2: 186 214 215.
8: 39-42. . , .
Muttammad used to say: "Paradise is under the shade
of the ~words... "War is permanently established until the
d~y of Judgment." "One day of fighting is of greater value
wIth God than fasting a whole month."
. It is. ~emarkable that all the verses in the Qur'an.
whIch enJom the religious War, are in the MedIna Suras
At. ~he beginning of his career Muttammad propagated hi~
religIOn by means of teaching and preaching and never had
re~o~rse to force. There was to be no compulsion in
religI~n (see Sura 2 :257 and 109 : 5), but no sooner had he
est~~lished himself in MedIna as a ruler, and was in a
pOSItIon to dictate terms to his enemies, than he gave out
that God had allowed him and his followers to defend
themselves against the infidels, and finally he proclaimed
that he had Divine sanction even to attack them and
destroy idolatry and set up the true faith by the sword.
The pass~gesof the Qur'an sanctioning the use of the sword
are conSIdered by Muslim divines as abrogating (nasikh)
those passages which recommend peaceful means and which
are then called abrogated (mansukh). This progress from
peaceful means to compulsion is thus stated by the Muslim
theologians themselves: "Know thou that the command of
the fighting was revealed by degrees, for the prophet was at
first commanded to deliver his message, then to discuss and
dispute and endeavour to convince the unbelievers by
arguments. Then believers were permitted to fight, then
they were commanded at first at any time, except the
sacred months, then absolutely, without any exception."
Mu\tammad himself gave the example to his followers.
In course of less than ten years the number of battles
(!;Thazwat, singular @aza) fought under his order is
twenty-seven; and that of the smaller warlike expedition
(Saraya, singular 'sarrlya) is forty-six.
The Nature Of Its Obligation.
The injunction concerning war is sufficiently observed
when it is carried on by any one party or tribe of Muslims.
But where there is a general summons (that is, where the
infidels invade a Muslim territory and the Imam issues a
general proclamation requiring all persons to go forth to
fight), then it becomes a positive injunction with respect
to the whole of the inhabitants. If the people of that
territory be unable to repulse the infidels, then war
becomes a Prescribed duty with respect to all in that
neighbourhood, and if these also do not suffice, then
it becomes a Prescribed injunction with respect to the
next neighbours ; and in the same manner with respect to
all the Muslim from east to west.
Slaves and Women Exempted From Fighting.
It is not incumbent upon slaves and women to make
war, as the rights of the master or of the husband have
precedence; nor is it so upon the blind. the maimed, or the