By Musrin Ma�rof

Islam is a religion of Peace for all mankind. But although one of the world�s major religions, the concept of Jihad is much misunderstood, even amongst Muslims � it is often depicted as a divine injunction for cruel aggressions and bloody killings to attain political assertions This is a prejudicial view which is partly propagated by the media. What then is the essence of Jihad and the implications of it in our lives?

 WHAT IS JIHAD?

 Jihad in Islamic terminology means to make an effort to endeavour and strive in a noble way. Over the centuries however, this meaning has increasingly been diluted to the extent that it is often associated with an image of a marching band of religious fanatics with savage beards and fiery eyes, brandishing swords and attacking the infidels. The critical juncture in the Islamic world requires reviving the true and pristine meaning of Jihad. Jihad can be divided into two broad categories:

 1. Jihad Akbar (Big). This is Jihad against one�s own person sinful inclinations � purification of self. This is the most difficult and ultimate form of Jihad and hence, in terms of rewards and blessings, is the highest category of Jihad.

 2. Jihad Asghar (Small). This is Jihad of the sword. This is communal Jihad and presupposes certain specific conditions. The Quran speaks of fighting only against those who first attack Muslims and this is the very condition laid down in other verses of the Holy Qur�an as well.

 The so-called verse of the sword in the Islamic scripture is often taken out of context as if it inculcates an indiscriminate massacre of all unbelievers. The Qur�anic injunction applies only to unprovoked wars and battles; to interpret the relevant verses in any other manner would be a travesty to the lofty ideals of Islam. There is not a single instance in the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad salla�llahu �alahi wa sallam where he offered the alternative of the sword to Islam to anyone.

Modern day terrorism is contrary to the purview of the real spirit of the Islamic Jihad. The presentation of Islam as a barbaric religion which gives itself the right to cause unwarranted suffering under the guise of Divine authority is not the kind of Islam we find in the Qur�an and in the precepts of the Prophet s.a.w.

 Islam means the establishment of peace on one hand and the surrender to the commandments of Allah subhana�llahu wa ta�ala on the other. Centered on a strict monotheism, Islam fostered a humanism of its own. Mankind is seen as the Creation of one God Who had sent different messengers to different peoples.

 Islam therefore does not put itself in a position of conflict towards any other religions - the idea of the coercive spread of religion is non-existent Not only this, the Qur�an warns against exercising coercion in matters of religion. The spread of Islam, ultimately, is not based on how many people it had succeeded in converting to Islam, but rather, it is about the propagation of truth, righteousness and absolute happiness to all.

 "And if God had pleased, all those who are in the earth would have believed, all of them. Wilt thou then force people till they become believers?" (Al-An�am 6:25)

"And abused not those, whom they call upon besides Allah, lest, exceeding the limits, they abuse Allah through ignorance." (Al-An�am 6:109)

In fact, according to the Qur�an, the diversities of colours and languages are signs of the greatness of God to be cherished. This is a post-modernist attitude which the West now adopts.

Islam permits fighting in self-defense, in defense of religion, or on the part of those who have been expelled forcibly form their homes, It lays down strict rules of combat that include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees and livestock. For example, in the raid of Mu�tah, a town in the southern Arabian peninsula, the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. instructed his men, while about to set on, to never kill a woman, a weak infant, or a debilitated old person; nor burn palms, uproot trees, or pull down houses!

Another salient example of Islamic tolerance and mercy in times of war is the capitulation agreement between the Arab commander and the Visigothic prince of Murcia, on the surrender of the city of Orihuela executed in 713 C.E.. Thomson in his book; "Islam in Andalus" (1996) has elaborated on the implementation of the capitulation clauses:

1. The Christians were allowed to keep their churches and their monasteries, and the Jews their synagogues.
2. They retained most of their personal possessions.
3. The slaves were for the most part set free, either by accepting Islam � no Christian or Jew was allowed to have a Muslim for a slave � or by gradually buying themselves free, something that had not been permitted under the earlier Visigothic laws.
4. They also had their own leader, bishops, or �counts� (committees), who represented them in the Muslim government.

As Muslims see it, injustice would be triumphant in the world if good people were not prepared to risk their lives in a righteous cause.

"And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for God. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers." (Al-Baqarah 2:193)

"If they seek peace, then you seek peace. And trust in God for He is the One who hears and knows all things." (Al-Anfal 8:61)

War is therefore the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law. The often misunderstood and overused term, Jihad, actually means �struggle� and not �holy war� (a term not found anywhere in the Qur�an). Jihad as an Islamic concept can be on a personal level - inner struggle against evil within oneself as well as a struggle for decency and goodness on the social level.

It is reported that the Prophet s.a.w. once said to his followers after they had returned from a great battle, "Welcome back from the small Jihad to a bigger Jihad that all of you will be facing." The Prophet�s followers were puzzled by his remark for they have never gone through a fiercer Jihad. They asked, "Which Jihad is greater, O Prophet of God?" The Prophet s.a.w. replied, "It is the Jihad of going against one�s evil desires." And that, in Islam, is the greatest war of all!

Muslims who are morally upright, protectors of the weak, generous in helping the poor, filial and respectful to the elderly and good neighbours in society are also performing Jihad of which is the inner struggle of doing good to all God�s creations and restraining form doing evil and destruction. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said. "Fear God wherever you are, follow evil with righteousness, for righteousness will destroy evil and interact among yourselves with good behaviour."

It is unfortunate that Islam, the religion of peace, hope, harmony, goodwill and brotherhood has been badly tarnished by the perpetrators of various terrorist acts and barbarism in the wake of theocratic revolutions in some Muslim countries and civil and military strife in others. The practice of extremists in kidnapping, taking hostages by over-zealous elements and other such criminal and uncivilized acts to gain political ends is most deplorable and contrary to the sublime teachings of Islam.

All religions produce extremists willing to twist religious law to suit their own personal vendettas. Yet many people single out Islam as a religion composed of extremists. Certainly there are Islamic extremists. The recent suicide bombings in Israel are proof of their existence. Yet people ignore the large number of Muslims in the world who are moderate, law-abiding citizens.

Part of the problem is the fact that the media by its nature strive on sensational news. Rarely does a headline read, "Millions of Muslims went to work today and obeyed the law." Even if it were printed few would read the article. People are more interested in reading about a recent Hamas bombing or another purge by Saddam Hussein. And indeed, for many of us, our knowledge of Islam is limited to what we see on the news or in the movies.

By treating the violence of a few Islamic extremists as religiously mandated or accepted, we make the mistake of being prejudicial. These few extremists are to be treated as the fanatics they are and punished � although it is must be acknowledged that our perception and judgement of them is necessarily limited by our own knowledge of their actual circumstances. The large majority of Muslims however, are moral, law-abiding citizens and ought not be subjected to ignorant defamatory generalisations.

In the West too there are many scholars, sociologists and political scientists who have great admiration for Islam. Robert N. Bellah, a noted sociologist of religion, observes about Islam: "The effort of modern Muslims to depict the early community as a type of egalitarian participant nationalism is by no means an unhistorical ideological fabrication. In a way, the failure of the early community, the relapse into pre-Islamic principles of social organisation, is an added proof of the modernity of early experience. It was too modern to succeed. The necessary social infrastructure did not yet exist to sustain it." [Robert N Bellah, ed. �Beyond Belief� (New York, 1976, pp150-151)]

The Islamic world need not be unnecessarily reactionary to the onslaught of negative portrayals of Islam. What is important however, is for the Islamic world is to liberalise and democratise in their constitutions, the real essence of Islamic teachings. Islam�s concern for human fellowship, compassion, equality, peace and pluralism should be accentuated and reemphasized in the practices of Muslims.

Such exemplary measures of reform will inadvertently distinguish the fiery accusations that Islam is a religion to be feared. I leave you with a statement from Mahatma Gandhi, published in �Young India,� 1924:

Reference:

1. The Eternal Message of Muhammad by Abd-El-Rahman�Azman; Quartet Books 1979
2. Introduction to the History of Islam by A. Izzati; Ahluldayt May 1994
3. Asghar Ali Engineer, Aliran Monthy 1997: 17 (10) pg. 27
4. http://www.erols.com/gmqm/tolerant.html
5. The Holy Qur�an" Text, Translation and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1943. (Latest publisher: Amana Publications, Beltsville, MD, USA; Title: "The Meaning of the Holy Qur�an" 1992). Includes subject index.