By Justin Elias
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his followers altogether.
The teachings of Islam on war have been misconstrued by both opponents of Islam and extremist Muslims. To clarify common misconceptions, an authoritative explanation of Islamic teachings about war was published by Shaykh Mahmud Shaltut in 1948. Shaykh Mahmud Shaltut served as Shaykh al-Azhar, the rector of Al-Azhar University, the Sunni Islamic community’s premier academic institution. He was a prolific author on many Islamic topics, especially Islamic law and the interpretation of the Qur’an.
His treatise “Quran and Fighting” was translated into English by Rudolph Peters and published in 1996 as part of the compilation, “Jihad in classical and modern Islam.” Peters notes that Shaykh Shaltut’s explanation of Jihad expresses peace as the normative relationship between nations and is representative of the vast majority of mainstream established Islamic universities throughout the world.
The following is an analysis of Shaykh Shaltut’s explanation with additional commentary for the purpose of instructing Muslims in the correct understanding of this important Islamic teaching.
The Exemplary Method of Quran Interpretation
In this section, the Shaykh discusses two methods of Quran interpretation. The first method, which was widely practiced in the classical period, interprets each verse one by one in their traditional order. The Shaykh criticizes this method, claiming it obscures the divine guidance and often explains verses contrary to their intended meaning. For this reason, many commentators of the past wrongly claimed numerous peaceful verses of the Quran were abrogated when they had no proof to say so. He says some commentators applied the doctrine of abrogation so haphazardly that it “created an intellectual anarchy and an aversion to the Quran and its interpreters.”
The second method, supported by the Shaykh, involves bringing together all the different verses on a given topic and analyzing how they relate to each other. By doing so, he shows that the wisdom of the Quran’s teaching about war is found in “its desire for peace and its aversion against bloodshed and killing for the sake of the vanities of this world and out of sheer greediness or lust.”
I say; this second method is the correct way to understand the Quran. The first principle of interpreting the Quran is that the Quran explains itself. Verses in one place will explain those in another. By viewing verses in isolation, extremists of both the Muslim and anti-Muslim camps are able to construct a false picture of the Quran’s message. It opens the door for anyone to abrogate verses they do not wish to follow, thus resembling those who said, “Bring us a different Qurʾan, or change it.” (10:15). In contrast, by harmonizing between the different verses of the Quran, the believers will resemble those who said, “We believe in it. It is all from our Lord.” (3:7).
The Nature of the Islamic Mission
In this section, the Shaykh demonstrates that Islam has forbidden religious conversion by force and instead encourages human beings to accept Islam on the basis of reasoned arguments. Islam, the religion of nature and nature’s God, is clear, self-evident, and easy to understand. Therefore, to force others into Islam “would be an insult to it, would make it revolting, and would put obstacles in its way.” He further explains, “The Quran instructs us clearly that God did not wish people to become believers by way of force and compulsion, but only by way of study, reflection, and contemplation.” To prove this point he cites the following verses.
Had your Lord willed, all the people on earth would have believed. So can you [Prophet] compel people to believe? (10:99)
If your Lord had pleased, He would have made all people a single community, but they continue to have their differences… (11:118)
If you find rejection by the disbelievers so hard to bear, then seek a tunnel into the ground or a ladder into the sky, if you can, and bring them a sign: God could bring them all to guidance if it were His will, so do not join the ignorant. (6:35)
Next, the Shaykh points to the stories of the Prophets in the Quran. Each Prophet is shown to have called his people to Islam not by compulsion but rather with beautiful preaching and reasoned arguments. He cites the example of Noah:
He said, ‘My people, think: if I did have a clear sign from my Lord, and He had given me grace of His own, though it was hidden from you, could we force you to accept it against your will? (11:28)
Then he cites the example of Abraham when he called his father to Islam using reason. Abraham said:
Father, knowledge that has not reached you has come to me, so follow me: I will guide you to an even path. Father, do not worship Satan—Satan has rebelled against the Lord of Mercy. Father, I fear that a punishment from the Lord of Mercy may afflict you and that you may become Satan's companion [in Hell].’ His father answered, ‘Abraham, do you reject my gods? I will stone you if you do not stop this. Keep out of my way!’ Abraham said, ‘Peace be with you: I will beg my Lord to forgive you—He is always gracious to me. (19:43-47)
The Shaykh says that the method of beautiful preaching and reasoned argument is the basic rule Prophet Muhammad and his companions used to spread Islam. He cites the following verse:
Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good teaching. Argue with them in the most courteous way, for your Lord knows best who has strayed from His way and who is rightly guided. (16:125)
Say, “This is my way: based on clear evidence, I, and all who follow me, call to God—glory be to God!—I do not join others with Him.” (12:108)
The Shaykh cites more verses to prove this point:
There is no compulsion in religion: true guidance has become distinct from error, so whoever rejects false gods and believes in God has grasped the firmest hand-hold, one that will never break. God is all hearing and all knowing. (2:256)
This is a message for all people; for those who wish to take the straight path.(81:27-28)
So warn them: your only task is to give warning, you are not there to control them. (88:21-22)
I will add the following verses as additional proof:
The messenger's only duty is to give clear warning. (29:18)
We know best what the disbelievers say. You [Prophet] are not there to force them, so remind, with this Qurʾan, those who fear My warning. (50:45)
The Shaykh notes that this message is consistent throughout the Medinan chapters as well:
Say, ‘Obey God; obey the Messenger. If you turn away, [know that] he is responsible for the duty placed uponhim, and you are responsible for the duty placed upon you. If you obey him, you will be rightly guided, but the Messenger's duty is only to deliver the message clearly.’ (24:54)
Finally, the Shaykh summarizes this section with the following points:
- In the nature of the Islamic mission there is no complexity, obscurity, or unintelligibility that would require the use of manifest or secret compulsion.
- The Islamic legislation, on the strength of the Book of God, is not in conflict with God’s principle of creation, which accounts for the fact that some people believe whereas others do not. This principle consists in leaving people free to choose for themselves the basis of examination and conviction.
- The Islamic legislation, on the strength of the Book of God, rejects in plain and unambiguous words the use of compulsion as a means to propagate religion.
- The Prophet of Islam was responsible towards his Lord only in so far as his missionary task was concerned. This task has been expounded in both the Meccan and Medinan parts of the Quran. It consisted in communicating the mission and admonition. He was not responsible for the conversion of people which might have induced compulsion and the use of force.
- The Book of God, the source of the Islamic mission, does not respect faith brought about by compulsion, and it denies its having any consequence on the Day of Resurrection. How then can it enjoin compulsion or allow the use of it as a means to conversion?
Therefore, religious freedom is paramount in Islam because God can only be truly worshipped by people who freely choose Him. After establishing this important principle, the Shaykh moves on to discuss the consistency of this principle with the verses of fighting.
Understanding the Verses of Fighting
The Shaykh provides the context of the verses that discuss fighting non-Muslims, “In Mecca, the Muslims suffered for several years under the worst kinds of punishment, oppressed in their religious freedom, persecuted for the sake of the creed in which they found reassurance and terrorized with regard to their property and personal safety. For all these reasons they were compelled to emigrate. They left their dwellings and settled in Medina, patiently submitting to God’s orders and gladly accepting His authority.”
He notes that the Muslims at first were forbidden to fight against their oppressors and the Prophet used to hold them back, saying, “I have not been ordered to fight.” Finally, in Medina, the following verses were revealed giving the Muslims permission to defend themselves:
God will defend the believers; God does not love the unfaithful or the ungrateful. Those who have been attacked are permitted to take up arms because they have been wronged—God has the power to help them—those who have been driven unjustly from their homes only for saying, ‘Our Lord is God.’ If God did not repel some people by means of others, many monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where God's name is much invoked, would have been destroyed. God is sure to help those who help His cause—God is strong and —those who, when We establish them in the land, keep up the prayer, pay the prescribed alms, command what is right, and forbid what is wrong: God controls the outcome of all events. (22:38-41)
The Shaykh explains, “This permission (to fight) was motivated by the fact that the Muslims suffered injustice and were forced to emigrate and to leave their dwellings without justification.”
I say; these verses begin with God’s promise to “defend” the believers, indicating that what is discussed here is the law of self-defense. The right of self-defense is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 12:
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
The Shaykh points out that the right of self-defense belong not only to Muslims but to all people, as mentioned in the verse, “If God did not repel some people by means of others, many monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where God's name is much invoked, would have been destroyed.” As such, Jews, Christians, and other people have the right to defend themselves if Muslims transgress by unlawfully attacking them.
The next verses discussed by the Shaykh are the following:
Fight in God's cause against those who fight you, but do not transgress: God does not love those who transgress. Kill them wherever you encounter them, and drive them out from where they drove you out, for persecution is more serious than killing. Do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque unless they fight you there. If they do fight you, kill them—this is what such disbelievers deserve—but if they stop, then God is most forgiving and merciful. Fight them until there is no more persecution, and worship is devoted to God. If they cease hostilities, there can be no [further] hostility except towards aggressors. A sacred month for a sacred month: violation of sanctity [calls for] fair retribution. So if anyone commits aggression against you, attack him as he attacked you, but be mindful of God, and know that He is with those who are mindful of Him. (2:190-194)
About these verses the Shaykh says, “They prohibit the provocation of hostility and this prohibition is reinforced by God’s repugnance of aggression and by his dislike of those who provoke hostility. Then they point out that expelling people from their homes, frightening them while they are safe, and preventing them from living peacefully without fear for their lives or possessions is persecution worse than persecution by means of murder and bloodshed.”
I say; this is how the verse was understood by the companions of the Prophet, the earliest Muslims, and popular classical authorities of Islam, as shown by the following reports:
Ibn Abbas said: “Do not kill women, children, old men, or anyone who meets you with peace restraining his hand from fighting. If you did that, then indeed you would have committed transgression.”
[Tafsir al-Tabari, verse 2:190]
Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that transgression, "includes mutilating the dead, theft, killing women, children and old people who do not participate in warfare, killing priests and residents of houses of worship, burning down trees and killing animals without real benefit.''
[Tafsir Ibn Kathir, verse 2:190]
Some opponents of Islam cite the phrase, “Fight them until there is no more persecution, and worship is devoted to God,” also repeated in verse 8:39, as a prescription for conquest, but as the Shaykh makes clear, this verse was revealed “so that people obtain religious freedom and are not oppressed or tortured because of their religion.” This is proven by the phrase immediately following it, “If they cease hostilities, there can be no [further] hostility except towards aggressors.”
The Shaykh reminds us, “In these verses and the principle they contain with regard to the reason and aim of fighting, there is not a single trace to be found of any idea of conversion by force. On the contrary, these verses, like the previous ones, say in plain and distinct words that the reason for which Muslims have been ordered to fight is the aggression directed against them, expulsion from their dwellings, violation of God’s sacred institutions, and attempts to persecute people for what they believe. At the same time they say that the aim upon the attainment of which Muslims must cease fighting is the termination of aggression and establishment of religious freedom devoted to God and free from any pressure or force.”
The Shaykh cites more verses that confirm this basic principle:
Why should you not fight in God's cause and for those oppressed men, women, and children who cry out, ‘Lord, rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors! By Your grace, give us a protector and give us a helper!’? (4:75)
But as for those who seek refuge with people with whom you have a treaty, or who come over to you because their hearts shrink from fighting against you or against their own people, God could have given them power over you, and they would have fought you. So if they withdraw and do not fight you, and offer you peace, then God gives you no way against them. You will find others who wish to be safe from you, and from their own people, but whenever they are back in a situation where they are tempted [to fight you], they succumb to it. So if they neither withdraw, nor offer you peace, nor restrain themselves from fighting you, seize and kill them wherever you encounter them: We give you clear authority against such people. (4:90-91)
If one reads these verses carefully, the Shaykh says, “then you will realize that these verses were revealed with regard to people lawlessly practicing persecution, amongst whom the elements of depravation were so deeply rooted that they did not respect pledges anymore and that virtue became meaningless to them. There is no doubt that to fight these people, to purify the earth from them, and to put an end to their persecution is to serve the commonwealth and benefaction of mankind as a whole.”
Finally, the Shaykh explains two verses which are commonly misunderstood. In these examples, we see the importance of interpreting the Quran as a complete book rather than interpreting verses in isolation.
The first verse reads:
Fight those of the People of the Book who do not [truly] believe in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, who do not obey the rule of justice, until they pay the tax and agree to submit. (9:29)
The Shaykh points out that this chapter previously stated that those groups mentioned here are aggressors, namely the Byzantine Romans, who did not honor peace treaties with the Muslims:
But if they break their oath after having made an agreement with you, if they revile your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief—oaths mean nothing to them—so that they may stop. How could you not fight a people who have broken their oaths, who tried to drive the Messenger out, who attacked you first? Do you fear them? It is God you should fear if you are true believers. (9:12-13)
Therefore, he says, “this verse does not say that the quality of being a disbeliever constitutes a sufficient reason for fighting them.” I add; this has always been the majority position of the four orthodox Sunni schools of law:
Among the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence only one, the Shafi‘ee school, contains the view that a person’s belief can be a reason for fighting against them. This view, however, is mitigated by the fact that an opposite view, in agreement with the majority, is also attributed to Shafi‘ee.
[Jihad and the Islamic Law of War, Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, p. 36]
The prescribed tax was the method used to pacify opponents subdued in war or to ally with those who wished to be protected by the Muslim armies. The Shaykh explains, “The poll-tax is not as some people think, a sum paid in return for the right to refuse conversion to Islam or in return for their lives. It is, as we have said, a symbol of their submission (to the law) and for their desistance from fighting and impeding the Islamic mission, and a token of their participation in the affairs of the state, which grants them protection of their lives and properties.”
He proves this by citing Hanafi scholar Abu Yusuf in his Book of Taxes (Kitab al-Kharaj): “After Abu Ubayda had concluded a peace treaty with the people of Syria and had collected the poll-tax and land-tax from them, he was informed that the Romans were raising troops against him and that the situation had become critical for him and the Muslims. He then wrote to the governors of those cities with which he had concluded a treaty that they must return the poll-tax and land-tax they had collected and say to them: We return to you your property since we have been informed that troops are being raised against us. You have stipulated that we should protect you, whereas we are now unable to do so. We now return what we have taken from you, but we will abide by the stipulation and what has been written down, if God grants us victory over them.”
In this example, the Muslim leader returned the taxes he collected when he discovered he was no longer able to protect the people of Syria from the Byzantine Romans. So rather than an instrument of theft or oppression, this tax was intended to be a fair contractual relationship that Muslims were obligated to honor. In this respect, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz said, “God did not send Muhammad as a tax collector, but rather as a guide for humanity.”
The second misunderstood verse reads:
You who believe, fight the disbelievers near you and let them find you standing firm: be aware that God is with those who are mindful of Him. (9:123)
The Shaykh points out that previous verses clearly determined the reason and aim of fighting. Having been established then, this verse discusses a practical battle plan for defending against aggression already underway. The command is to fight the hostile enemies nearest to the Muslims so that the road can be cleared for use by common people. In this case, the disbelievers refer to “those hostile polytheists who fight the Muslims, commit aggression against them, expel them from their homes and property and persecute them because of their religion.”
The Shaykh concludes this section with the following points:
- That there is not a single verse in the Quran which could support the opinion that the aim of fighting in Islam is conversion.
- That there are only three reasons for fighting: to stop aggression, to protect the mission of Islam, and to defend religious freedom.
- That in giving its prescriptions for fighting, the Quran did not allow greed, selfishness, and humiliation of the poor as motives for it, but intended it as an instrument for peace and tranquility and for a life founded on justice and equality.
- That the poll-tax is not a financial compensation for the granting of one’s life or preservation of one’s own religion, but a symbol of submission (to the law) and desistance from harmful acts and a contribution in carrying the burdens of the state.
The Islamic Charter on Relations with Non-Muslims
The Shaykh reinforces his conclusions with what he describes as the “Islamic charter concerning the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims.” This is the following verse:
God may still bring about affection between you and your present enemies—God is all powerful, God is most forgiving and merciful—and He does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with anyone who has not fought you for your faith or driven you out of your homes: God loves the just. But God forbids you to take as allies those who have fought against you for your faith, driven you out of your homes, and helped others to drive you out: any of you who take them as allies will truly be wrongdoers. (60:7-9)
I say; this verse clearly distinguishes between aggressive and peaceful non-Muslims. The reason these verses were revealed was to make this distinction, as recorded in the authentic tradition:
Narrated Asma bint Abu Bakr: My mother came to me hoping (for my favor) during the lifetime of the Prophet. I asked the Prophet, “May I treat her kindly?” He replied, “Yes.” Ibn Uyaina said, “Then God revealed: He does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with anyone who has not fought you for your faith or driven you out of your homes…” (60.8)
[Sahih Bukhari, Book 73 Number 9]
Although Mecca and Medina were not on friendly terms at the time, the Prophet gave Asma bint Abu Bakr permission to treat her polytheist mother well, knowing that she was a peaceful woman. She was not in the same category as Abu Jahl or Abu Lahab, who were the leaders of violent oppression against the new Muslim community.
In this way, the Shaykh demonstrates that the verses of forgiveness and the verses of fighting do not contradict each other nor abrogate each other. Rather, they apply to different categories of people; namely, the verses of forgiveness apply in general to all people, whereas the verses of fighting apply only to those who initiate aggression or commit crimes. He explains, “Legislation based upon consideration for different situations, and for different conditions of individuals and groups, a legislation that requires of people that they follow in every situation that which is most suitable, cannot be accused of being inconsistent or of being a legislation of which one part abrogates the other. People with common sense will consider it as a wise and very precise legislation that promotes the interest of those who fall under its authority and will realize its ultimate aim: the happiness of the individual and the community.”
The Aim of Peace and Good Will
I will mention here some additional texts which prove that the aim of fighting in Islam is the establishment of peace and religious freedom. The Holy Quran states:
But if they incline towards peace, you [Prophet] must also incline towards it, and put your trust in God: He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing. (8:61)
Ibn Kathir explains this verse by citing the following report:
Narrated Ali: The Prophet said: “After me there will be many differences, so if you have a way to end them in peace, then do it.”
[Tafsir Ibn Kathir, verse 8:61]
As we can see, the Prophet commanded his close companion Ali, the fourth rightly guided Caliph, to seek a peaceful solution to conflicts whenever possible. This has always been the basic understanding of war in Islam. As Ibn Taymiyyah said,
Islamic warfare is always defensive, because the basis of relationships with non-Muslims is peace. If one reflects deeply on the causes of the Prophet’s military expeditions, one will find that all of them were of this type. [Majmu, Volume 8, Section 28]
That war is to be fought only as a last resort is further established by the following report:
Narrated Salim Abu An-Nadr: I was Umar's clerk. Once Abdullah bin Abi Aufa wrote a letter to Umar when he proceeded to Al-Haruriya. I read in it that God’s Messenger, in one of his military expeditions against the enemy, waited until the sun declined and then he got up among the people saying, “O people! Do not wish to meet the enemy, and ask God for safety, but when you face the enemy, be patient, and remember that Paradise is under the shades of swords." Then he said, "O God, the Revealer of the Holy Book, and the Mover of the clouds and the Defeater of the clans, defeat them, and grant us victory over them.”
[Sahih Bukhari, Book 52 Number 266]
In general, the Prophet taught his companions to spread a climate love and harmony amongst themselves and others, and that this is done by establishing peaceful relations:
Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Messenger of God said: “By the One in whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you something which if you did you would love each other? Spread peace between yourselves.”
[Sahih Muslim, Book 1 Number 96]
As such, peace treaties are sacred in Islam. The Prophet warned his companions in the strongest terms that whoever breaks his peace treaty will go to Hell:
Narrated Abdullah bin Amr: The Prophet said: “Whoever killed a person protected by a treaty shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise though its fragrance can be found at a distance of forty years (of traveling).”
[Sahih Bukhari, Book 83 Number 49]
Furthermore, the Prophet characterized lawless killing and bloodshed as a rejection of God and His laws:
Narrated Abdullah bin Umar: The Prophet said, “After me, do not become disbelievers by striking the necks of one another.”
[Sahih Bukhari, Book 83 Number 7]
For all of these reasons, Islamic legal theorists have universally accepted that the objectives of Islamic law (Maqasid al-Sharia) are the protection of life, religion, property, family, mind, and honor. Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, one of the most brilliant Muslim thinkers in history, states that, “It is known with certainty that preservation of human life, the faculty of reason, chastity, and material possession are the intent of the Law.” [Shifa al-Ghalil]
Conclusion
Shaykh Mahmud Shaltut has proven that Islam teaches just war theory as an instrument for the maintenance of peace and human rights, specifically the rights of life, safety, and religious freedom. Islam has forbidden conversion by force and allows war only to repel aggression and injustice. The normative relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims is peace and good will, as clearly stated in the Holy Quran. This has been the view of Muslims since the time of Prophet Muhammad until our time today, as demonstrated by Shaykh Shaltut, whose treatise represents the view of Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious academic institution in Sunni Islam. If Muslims ever fail to live up to these ideals, it is because of their inability or unwillingness to support the Islamic mission according to the method of Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet is free from all of those who commit injustice in the name of Islam.
May God send His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his followers altogether. Ameen.
