The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis Read Free Book Online
Authors: Bernard Lewis
Tags: nonfiction
promulgated in Medina, where the Prophet headed the state and commanded its army, it usually has a more explicitly practical connotation. In many, the military meaning is unequivocal. A good example is IV, 95: “Those of the believers who stay at home, other than the disabled, are not equal to those who strive in the path of God with their goods and their persons. God has placed those who struggle with their goods and their persons on a higher level than those who stay at home. God has promised reward to all who believe but He distinguishes those who fight, above those who stay at home, with a mighty reward.” Similar sentiments will be found in VIII, 72; IX, 41, 81, 88; LXVI, 9 et cetera.
Some modern Muslims, particularly when addressing the outside world, explain the duty of jihad in a spiritual and moral sense. The overwhelming majority of early authorities, citing the relevant passages in the Qur’an, the commentaries, and the traditions of the Prophet, discuss jihad in military terms. According to Islamic law, it is lawful to wage war against four types of enemies: infidels, apostates, rebels, and bandits. Although all four types of wars are legitimate, only the first two count as jihad. Jihad is thus a religious obligation. In discussing the obligation of the holy war, the classical Muslim jurists distinguish between offensive and defensive warfare. In offense, jihad is an obligation of the Muslim community as a whole, and may therefore be discharged by volunteers and professionals. In a defensive war, it becomes an obligation of every able-bodied individual. It is this principle that Usama bin Ladin invoked in his declaration of war against the United States.
For most of the fourteen centuries of recorded Muslim history, jihad was most commonly interpreted to mean armed struggle for the defense or advancement of Muslim power. In Muslim tradition, the world is divided into two houses: the House of Islam (
D
r al-Isl
m
), in which Muslim governments rule and Muslim law prevails, and the House of War (
D
r al-Harb
), the rest of the world, still inhabited and, more important, ruled by infidels. The presumption is that the duty of jihad will continue, interrupted only by truces, until all the world either adopts the Muslim faith or submits to Muslim rule. Those who fight in the jihad qualify for rewards in both worlds—booty in this one, paradise in the next.
In this as in so many other matters, the guidance of the Qur’an is amplified and elaborated in the
had
ths,
that is to say traditions concerning the actions and utterances of the Prophet. Many of these deal with holy war. The following are a few samples.
Jihad is your duty under any ruler, be he godly or wicked.
A day and a night of fighting on the frontier is better than a month of fasting and prayer.
The nip of an ant hurts a martyr more than the thrust of a weapon, for these are more welcome to him than sweet, cold water on a hot summer day.
He who dies without having taken part in a campaign dies in a kind of unbelief.
God marvels at people [those to whom Islam is brought by conquest] who are dragged to Paradise in chains.
Learn to shoot, for the space between the mark and the archer is one of the gardens of Paradise.
Paradise is in the shadow of swords.
The traditions also lay down some rules of warfare for the conduct of jihad:
Be advised to treat prisoners well.
Looting is no more lawful than carrion.
God has forbidden the killing of women and children.
Muslims are bound by their agreements, provided that these are lawful. 1
The standard juristic treatises on shari‘a normally contain a chapter on jihad, understood in the military sense as regular warfare against infidels and apostates. But these treatises prescribe correct behavior and respect for the rules of war in matters such as the opening and termination of hostilities and the treatment of noncombatants and of prisoners, not to speak of diplomatic envoys.
For most of the recorded history
Some modern Muslims, particularly when addressing the outside world, explain the duty of jihad in a spiritual and moral sense. The overwhelming majority of early authorities, citing the relevant passages in the Qur’an, the commentaries, and the traditions of the Prophet, discuss jihad in military terms. According to Islamic law, it is lawful to wage war against four types of enemies: infidels, apostates, rebels, and bandits. Although all four types of wars are legitimate, only the first two count as jihad. Jihad is thus a religious obligation. In discussing the obligation of the holy war, the classical Muslim jurists distinguish between offensive and defensive warfare. In offense, jihad is an obligation of the Muslim community as a whole, and may therefore be discharged by volunteers and professionals. In a defensive war, it becomes an obligation of every able-bodied individual. It is this principle that Usama bin Ladin invoked in his declaration of war against the United States.
For most of the fourteen centuries of recorded Muslim history, jihad was most commonly interpreted to mean armed struggle for the defense or advancement of Muslim power. In Muslim tradition, the world is divided into two houses: the House of Islam (
D
r al-Isl
m
), in which Muslim governments rule and Muslim law prevails, and the House of War (
D
r al-Harb
), the rest of the world, still inhabited and, more important, ruled by infidels. The presumption is that the duty of jihad will continue, interrupted only by truces, until all the world either adopts the Muslim faith or submits to Muslim rule. Those who fight in the jihad qualify for rewards in both worlds—booty in this one, paradise in the next.
In this as in so many other matters, the guidance of the Qur’an is amplified and elaborated in the
had
ths,
that is to say traditions concerning the actions and utterances of the Prophet. Many of these deal with holy war. The following are a few samples.
Jihad is your duty under any ruler, be he godly or wicked.
A day and a night of fighting on the frontier is better than a month of fasting and prayer.
The nip of an ant hurts a martyr more than the thrust of a weapon, for these are more welcome to him than sweet, cold water on a hot summer day.
He who dies without having taken part in a campaign dies in a kind of unbelief.
God marvels at people [those to whom Islam is brought by conquest] who are dragged to Paradise in chains.
Learn to shoot, for the space between the mark and the archer is one of the gardens of Paradise.
Paradise is in the shadow of swords.
The traditions also lay down some rules of warfare for the conduct of jihad:
Be advised to treat prisoners well.
Looting is no more lawful than carrion.
God has forbidden the killing of women and children.
Muslims are bound by their agreements, provided that these are lawful. 1
The standard juristic treatises on shari‘a normally contain a chapter on jihad, understood in the military sense as regular warfare against infidels and apostates. But these treatises prescribe correct behavior and respect for the rules of war in matters such as the opening and termination of hostilities and the treatment of noncombatants and of prisoners, not to speak of diplomatic envoys.
For most of the recorded history
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