RENAISSANCE NOVEMBER 2019

Reflections 34 Monthly Renaissance November 2019 permitted to take up arms. Jesus (sws) and other messengers faced severe persecution by the most wicked, but there was no question of retaliation. Thus, no matter how noble a cause may be, the religion of God never allows any armed struggle without a legitimate government, with full control over its army. Such a government is needed to decide, as a true representative of believers, when and when not to fight as per the injunctions of God; maintain discipline within its army; keep a check on war crimes; ensure respect of treaties, non-combatants, and prisoners of war; avoid anarchy, and so on (See “Isl ā mi Inqil ā b” in [20], pp. 296-309). The Prophet, therefore, said: إﻧَﻤَﺎ ﻵﻺﻣَﺎم ﺟﻨَﺔٌ، ﻘَﺎﺗَﻞ E ْ ﻣﻦ ﻪ Œَ وَر وَﻳﺘَﻘَﻰ ﺑﻪ . ) ﻟﺒﺨﺎري، رﻗﻢ ٢٩٥٧ ( Indeed, the ruler [of Muslims] is their shield. An armed struggle is only launched under him, and in him refuge is taken [during that]. ([3], no. 2957) Let us now come to the prevalence of Islam over all other religions, as mentioned in 61:9: Some time after permitting jih ā d for self-defence, God made fighting an obligation for the state of Medina for two purposes: a) to eradicate religious oppression and persecution, and b) to punish those who obstinately rejected the call of Muhammad (sws), even after fully recognising him as an ambassador of God (Qur’ ā n 2:190-194). For the first cause, Muslims of all times can and, sometimes, must take up arms under a legitimate ruler. The second cause, however, is specific to messengers ( rusul ) and their companions: When a messenger ( ras ū l ) of God makes truth plain to the extent that his addressees are left with no excuse to reject it, the rejecters are severely punished right in this world. It is an invariable law of God, which manifests towards the end of a ras ū l’s career. Thus, the people of Noah, Hud, Ṣā li ḥ , Lot, Shu ʿ ayb (sws), and Pharaoh, for example, were destroyed through natural forces. Similarly, the persistent Polytheists and the People of the Book in and around Arabia were punished at the hands of God’s last Ras ū l and his Companions. 3 A different following the divine destruction of the pharaoh, jihad was rendered obligatory for them in the Torah (See Deuteronomy). 3. See Chapter 9 of the Quran, esp. 9:3-5, 9:14 & 9:29.