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Causes and Conditions of al-qit§lpolitical islam 441We have said that there are three aims of fighting in God’s way.This means that such fights are caused by specific conditions andare led under specific circumstances. We propose to unconditionallydisallow the possibility of calling any fight that has not been markedby these causes and conditions a fight in God’s way.There are three legitimate causes of a fight in God’s way:1. The occurrence of injustice ( al-íulm)—in accordance with verse22:39, ‘to those against whom war is made, permission is given(to fight)…’ ( Al-\ajj 22:39).2. A humanitarian crisis in which hundreds of people have beenexpelled from their houses—in accordance with verse 22:40,‘(they are) those who have been expelled from their homes indefiance of right…’ ( Al-\ajj 22:40).3. An external or internal attack against people’s life, property,and dignity; and a flagrant violation of human rights (the rightto work, the right to move and to travel freely, freedom ofexpression, freedom of religious conviction, and freedom ofritual practices)—in accordance with verse 2:194, ‘…[there isthe law of equality]. If then anyone transgresses the prohibitionagainst you, transgress you likewise against him. But fear God,and know that God is with those who restrain themselves’( Al-Baqara 2:194).Let us begin by dealing with the first aim. Most importantly, we haveto define what injustice ( al-íulm) means. First, it literally means ‘outof place’, that is, ‘improperly (ad-)justed’ or, in a more technicalsense, it refers to a device (e.g., a computer) that has not yet been‘justified’. In the Book it means a digression from fairness and justice.We are told: ‘…God means no injustice (íulm an ) to any of His creatures’($l #Imr§n 3:108). Injustice implies failure, total loss, andinade quacy: ‘each of those gardens brought forth its produce, andfailed not (lam taílim) in the least therein…’ ( Al-Kahf 18:33). Second,íulm means an aggression against the limits of Allah: ‘…these arethe limits ordained by God; so do not transgress them. If any dotransgress the limits ordained by God, such persons wrong themselvesas well as others ( al-í§limån)’ ( Al-Baqara 2:229). It is an aggressionthat leads to rebellion against God and to a refusal to obey His