In the name of Allāh,
the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Peace and Blessings of Allāh on Mohammad.
DEDICATED TO
Allāh–the Glorious and the High,
Lord of the worlds
AND TO
Mohammad–who brought the world
to our feet and eternity to our arms.
*
JIHAD & JIHAD WATCH
Jihad does not mean “religious war” or “holy war” in the sense of taking up arms and killing non-Muslims; it is “holy war” in the sense of striving against all forms of evil. Jihad is the noble struggle against all forms of injustice.
Jihad means to “strive” or exert one’s self in the way of freedom, truth, and justice:
- to strive against our low desires (such as greed, selfishness, covetousness, jealousy, vanity, pride)
- to strive against evil temptations (such as to commit a sin or a wrong against someone)
- to speak out against an injustice
- to finance or take up arms against occupation, oppression/ persecution, exploitation, and usurpation (Muslims are allowed to fight only in self-defense; when he is not the aggressor. In Islam, to defend one’s self, property, and family, and even others who are wronged, is a God-given right)
- to strive with the Qur’an against false worship. This form of Jihad is known as “Jihad kabiran”–the mighty striving–(Qur’an 25:52); perhaps because the worst form of bondage is bondage of the intellect.
The lesser Jihad, which is the armed struggle, liberates man physically; and the greater Jihad, which is the ideological struggle– propagating the Qur’anic Message of Allah God– liberates man morally, intellectually and spiritually. Islam strives to liberate man physically, morally, intellectually and spiritually. Islam liberates man:
(a) physically–in that it gives one freedom of religion, movement and expression.
(b) morally–in that it impresses on us to be modest and moderate; and that the exacting of one’s rights is governed by the instituting of the rights of others
(c) intellectually–in that it frees man from the degradation of worship of other humans and of nature and idols; and makes man the equal of man, and the master of nature; and instills in man that the only existence greater than himself is Allāh, God;
(d) spiritually–in that it enjoins man to entomb his lower desires; and to robe himself in the garments of prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage and Divine Attributes–which will give him success in this life and in the life to come.
Islam strives to both liberate and captivate the mind of man–it strives to liberate us from the base and ephemeral, and to captivate us with the virtuous and eternal. There is no better source to be held captive by than Allāh, God, and His everlasting grandeur.
It would be unreasonable to cerebrate that the God Who enjoined His believers to swing the steel against the aggressor, oppressor, occupier, usurper, and the destroyers of shrines would condone such actions by His believers themselves. The permission to use the sword is limited to against those who first take up the sword to fight Muslims:
“Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom
war is made because they are oppressed”
“And fight in the way of Allah against those
who fight against you but be not aggressive.
Surely Allah loves not the aggressors.”
(Qur’an 22:39; 2:190)
Fighting for the propagation of Islam is no where mentioned in the Qur’an.
“And fight them until there is no persecution,
and religion is only for Allah. But if they desist,
then there should be no hostility except against
the oppressors.”
(Qur’an 2:193)
“Those who are driven from their homes without a just
cause except that they say: Our Lord is Allah.
And if Allah did not repel some people by others, cloisters
and churches, and synagogues and mosques in which Allah’s
name is much remembered, would have been pulled down.
And surely Allah will help him who helps Him.
Surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.”
(Qur’an 22:40).
“The religious freedom which was established by Islam thirteen hundred years ago has not yet been surpassed by the most civilized and tolerant of nations. It deserves to be noted that the lives of Muslims are to be sacrificed not only to stop their own persecution by their opponents and to save their own mosques, but to save churches, synagogues and cloisters as well–in fact, to establish perfect religious freedom. The mosques, though they are the places where the name of Allah is remembered most of all, come in for their share of protection even after the churches and the synagogues. Early Muslims closely followed these directions, and every commander of an army had express orders to respect all houses of worship, and even the cloisters of monks, along with their inmates.”(M. Ali, comm. # 1698).
While there is no injunction in the Qur’an or in the Tradition of the Prophet to spread Islam by the sword, there is a clear injunction to propagate Islam with the Qur’an: “So obey not the disbelievers, and strive against them a mighty striving with it (the Qur’an)”–(Qur’an 25:52).
Muslims are also required to undertake jihad on behalf of non-Muslims who are oppressed–(Qur’an 4:75).
(One Christian commentator said that Muslims have their jihad and Christians have the crusade. If this is meant to equate the crusade with jihad, there is no comparison. Jihad is a Divinely instituted office for championing truth and justice, whereas the crusade is aggression and man-made).
JIHAD WATCH
According to the Internet there is an association called Jihad Watch. This is so amusing –man is watching, and maybe even plotting against the precept of, Allah.
If man would give to others the rights he exact for himself there would be no need for Jihad Watch or for “Islamic terrorism.” And billions, which could be uti-lized for the welfare of society, would not be blown battling “terrorism.”
But even in the short time that he has man is ever bent on doing evil. Till he comes to the graves. When there is no respite. He has had his chance.
The Jihad Watchers need to “watch” that they are not impaling their souls on the flames of Hell. The mag-nificence of it is, in the Court of Allāh, God, there is no diplomatic immunity, no legal technicality, no hung-jury/no mistrial; no bribery; no one to “pressure” or bring “coercion and duress” on; and no godfather to shield behind his coat –in fact, the godfather would be hustling for a skirt for himself to hide behind– you did the crime, or was involved in it, you toast the time. And considering that one Divine day is equal to a thousand human years, even if the maximum time spent in Hell is twelve months, in Divine terms that would be 365,000 human years. You’re well crisped!
The atheist can deny the existence of God; the atheist cannot disprove the existence of God. Allāh has established His existence through His Qur’an –see QUR’AN-SCIENCE and QUR’AN-PROPHECIES).
It is NOT “Islamicism” that poses any threat to the West; it is the West’s injustice against “Islamicism” that poses a threat to the West.