Jihad (Struggle, effort, endeavour) - Part 5

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('Jihad' - Struggle, effort, endeavour. [Muhammad Prophet For Our Time Glossary

pg. 217].)

 

 

Jihad - Part 5

 

(p.136) Constantly the Qur'an insists upon the importance of mercy and

forgiveness, even during armed conflict. [16] While engaged in hostilities,

Muslims must fight with courage and steadfastness in order to bring the conflict

to an end as quickly as possible. But the moment the enemy asks for peace,

Muslims must lay down their arms. [17] They must accept any offer of truce,

whatever conditions are imposed, even if they suspect the enemy of

double-dealing. And although it is important to fight persecution and

oppression, the Qur'an constantly reminds Muslims that it is much better to sit

down and solve the problem by courteous discussion. [18] True, God permitted

retaliation in the Torah--eye for eye, tooth for tooth-- " but he who shall forgo

it out of charity will atone better for some of his past sins. " [19] Retaliation

would be strictly confined to those who had actually perpetrated the atrocity, a

great advance on the law of vendetta, which permitted revenge against any member

of the killer's tribe. The Qur'an reminded the Muslims that they were not

fighting the whole tribe of Quraysh; those who had remained neutral throughout

the conflict and those Muslims who had chosen to remain in Mecca must not be

attacked or injured in any way. [20]

 

Muhammad was not a pacifist. He believed that warfare was sometimes inevitable

and even necessary. After the battle of Badr, the Muslims knew that it was only

a matter of time before Mecca took her revenge, and they dedicated themselves to

a long, gruelling 'jihad'. But the primary meaning of that word, which we hear

so often today, is not " holy war " but the " effort " or " struggle " necessary to

put the will of God into practice. Muslims are exhorted to strive in this

endeavor on all fronts: intellectual, social, economic, spiritual, and domestic.

Sometimes they would have to fight, but this was not their chief duty. On their

way home from Badr, Muhammad uttered an important and oft-quoted maxim: " We are

returning from the Lesser Jihad (the battle) and going to the Greater

Jihad, " --the immeasurably more important and difficult struggle to reform their

own society and their own hearts.

 

Badr had given Muhammad a far higher profile in the oasis. As they prepared for

the inevitable Qurayshan riposte, a covenant was drawn up between the Prophet

and the Arab and Jewish tribes of Medina, who agreed to live peaceably beside

the Muslims and promised not to make a separate treaty with Mecca. All the

inhabitants were required to defend the oasis against attack. The new

constitution was careful to guarantee the religious freedom of the Jewish clans,

but expected them to provide aid to " whosoever wars against the people of this

document. " [21] Muhammad needed to know who was on his side and some of those

who were unwilling to accept the terms of this treaty left the oasis. (p.138)

They included several of the hanifs [pre-Islamic monotheists/followers of the

pure religion of Abraham], whose devotion to the Kabah required them to remain

loyal to the Quraysh. Muhammad was still a controversial figure, but as a result

of his victory at Badr, some of the Bedouin tribes were willing to become allies

of Medina in the forthcoming struggle.

 

Muhammad (Prophet For Our Time)

Chapter 4, 'Jihad', p. 136-138

Karen Armstrong

Harper Perennial - London, New York, Toronto and Sydney

ISBN-13 978-0-00-723248-2

ISBN-10 0-00-723248-9

 

Notes:

 

[16] Qur'an 3:147-48, 8:16-17, 61:5.

 

[17] Qur'an 2:193-194.

 

[18] Qur'an 8:62-63.

 

[19] Qur'an 5:45, Asad translation.

 

[20] Qur'an 4:90.

 

[21] Reza Aslan, 'No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam'

(New York and London, 2005), 89-90; Watt, 'Muhammad at Medina', 225-43.