Terrorists nowadays justify their wrongdoing via distorted viewpoints of whatever ideologies they follow. Muslim terrorists do the same. But does Islam endorse terrorism?
What does The Koran say?
“And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allah and the Last Day," but they are not believers.
They [think to] deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not.
In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie.
And when it is said to them, "Do not cause corruption on the earth," they say, "We are but reformers."
Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not.” The Koran Chapter 2
Isis and Islamophobes instead cherry pick. Quran 3:8 pre-emptively calls out people who cherry pick as “perverse” people, declaring, “…those in whose hearts is perversity seek discord and wrong interpretation of [the Quran].”
If anyone slays a person
- unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land -
it would be as if he slew all people.
And if anyone saves a life,
it would be as if he saved the life of all people.
Quran 5:32
Invite all to the way of your Lord
with wisdom and beautiful preaching.
And argue with them
in ways that are best and most gracious...
And if you punish,
let your punishment be proportional
to the wrong that has been done to you.
But if you show patience, that is indeed the best course.
Be patient, for your patience is from God.
And do not grieve over them,
or distress yourself because of their plots.
For God is with those who restrain themselves,
and those who do good.
Quran 16:125-128
Oh you who believe!
Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God,
even against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin,
and whether it be against rich or poor,
for God can best protect both.
Follow not the cravings of your hearts, lest you swerve,
and if you distort justice or decline to do justice,
verily God is well acquainted with all that you do.
Quran 4:135
The recompense for an injury
is an injury equal thereto (in degree),
but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation,
his reward is due from God,
for God loves not those who do wrong.
But indeed, if any do help and defend themselves
after a wrong done to them,
against such there is no cause of blame.
The blame is only against those who oppress men
with wrongdoing and insolently transgress
beyond bounds through the land,
defying right and justice.
For such there will be a penalty grievous (in the Hereafter).
But indeed, if any show patience and forgive,
that would truly be an affair of great resolution.
Quran 42:40-43
Goodness and evil are not equal.
Repel evil with what is better.
Then that person with whom there was hatred,
may become your intimate friend!
And no one will be granted such goodness
except those who exercise patience and self-restraint,
none but people of the greatest good fortune.
Quran 41:34-35
Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit terrorism. In the Quran, God has said:
God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers. (Quran, 60:8)
The Prophet Muhammad used to prohibit soldiers from killing women and children,1 and he would advise them: {...Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a newborn child.}2 And he also said: {Whoever has killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise, though its fragrance is found for a span of forty years.}3
Also, the Prophet Muhammad has forbidden punishment with fire.4
He once listed murder as the second of the major sins,5 and he even warned that on the Day of Judgment, {The first cases to be adjudicated between people on the Day of Judgment will be those of bloodshed.6}7
Muslims are even encouraged to be kind to animals and are forbidden to hurt them. Once the Prophet Muhammad said: {A woman was punished because she imprisoned a cat until it died. On account of this, she was doomed to Hell. While she imprisoned it, she did not give the cat food or drink, nor did she free it to eat the insects of the earth.}8
He also said that a man gave a very thirsty dog a drink, so God forgave his sins for this action. The Prophet was asked, “Messenger of God, are we rewarded for kindness towards animals?” He said: {There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.}9
Additionally, while taking the life of an animal for food, Muslims are commanded to do so in a manner that causes the least amount of fright and suffering possible. The Prophet Muhammad said: {When you slaughter an animal, do so in the best way. One should sharpen his knife to reduce the suffering of the animal.}10
In light of these and other Islamic texts, the act of inciting terror in the hearts of defenseless civilians, the wholesale destruction of buildings and properties, the bombing and maiming of innocent men, women, and children are all forbidden and detestable acts according to Islam and the Muslims. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the vast majority have nothing to do with the violent events some have associated with Muslims. If an individual Muslim were to commit an act of terrorism, this person would be guilty of violating the laws of Islam.
1. Terrorism is above all murder. Murder is strictly forbidden in the Qur’an. Qur’an 6:151 says, “and do not kill a soul that God has made sacrosanct, save lawfully.” (i.e. murder is forbidden but the death penalty imposed by the state for a crime is permitted). 5:53 says, “… whoso kills a soul, unless it be for murder or for wreaking corruption in the land, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and he who saves a life, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind.”
God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers. (Quran, 60:8)
The Prophet Muhammad used to prohibit soldiers from killing women and children,1 and he would advise them: {...Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a newborn child.}2 And he also said: {Whoever has killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise, though its fragrance is found for a span of forty years.}3
Also, the Prophet Muhammad has forbidden punishment with fire.4
He once listed murder as the second of the major sins,5 and he even warned that on the Day of Judgment, {The first cases to be adjudicated between people on the Day of Judgment will be those of bloodshed.6}7
Muslims are even encouraged to be kind to animals and are forbidden to hurt them. Once the Prophet Muhammad said: {A woman was punished because she imprisoned a cat until it died. On account of this, she was doomed to Hell. While she imprisoned it, she did not give the cat food or drink, nor did she free it to eat the insects of the earth.}8
He also said that a man gave a very thirsty dog a drink, so God forgave his sins for this action. The Prophet was asked, “Messenger of God, are we rewarded for kindness towards animals?” He said: {There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.}9
Additionally, while taking the life of an animal for food, Muslims are commanded to do so in a manner that causes the least amount of fright and suffering possible. The Prophet Muhammad said: {When you slaughter an animal, do so in the best way. One should sharpen his knife to reduce the suffering of the animal.}10
In light of these and other Islamic texts, the act of inciting terror in the hearts of defenseless civilians, the wholesale destruction of buildings and properties, the bombing and maiming of innocent men, women, and children are all forbidden and detestable acts according to Islam and the Muslims. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the vast majority have nothing to do with the violent events some have associated with Muslims. If an individual Muslim were to commit an act of terrorism, this person would be guilty of violating the laws of Islam.
1. Terrorism is above all murder. Murder is strictly forbidden in the Qur’an. Qur’an 6:151 says, “and do not kill a soul that God has made sacrosanct, save lawfully.” (i.e. murder is forbidden but the death penalty imposed by the state for a crime is permitted). 5:53 says, “… whoso kills a soul, unless it be for murder or for wreaking corruption in the land, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and he who saves a life, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind.”
2. If the motive for terrorism is religious, it is impermissible in Islamic law. It is forbidden to attempt to impose Islam on other people. The Qur’an says, “There is no compulsion in religion. The right way has become distinct from error.” (-The Cow, 2:256). Note that this verse was revealed in Medina in 622 AD or after and was never abrogated by any other verse of the Quran. Islam’s holy book forbids coercing people into adopting any religion. They have to willingly choose it.
3. Islamic law forbids aggressive warfare. The Quran says, “But if the enemies incline towards peace, do you also incline towards peace. And trust in God! For He is the one who hears and knows all things.” (8:61) The Quran chapter “The Cow,” 2:190, says, “Fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! God loveth not aggressors.”
4. In the Islamic law of war, not just any civil engineer can declare or launch a war. It is the prerogative of the duly constituted leader of the Muslim community that engages in the war. Nowadays that would be the president or prime minister of the state, as advised by the mufti or national jurisconsult.
5. The killing of innocent non-combatants is forbidden. According to Sunni tradition, ‘Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the first Caliph, gave these instructions to his armies: “I instruct you in ten matters: Do not kill women, children, the old, or the infirm; do not cut down fruit-bearing trees; do not destroy any town . . . ” (Malik’s Muwatta’, “Kitab al-Jihad.”)
6. Terrorism or hirabah is forbidden in Islamic law, which groups it with brigandage, highway robbery and extortion rackets– any illicit use of fear and coercion in public spaces for money or power. The principle of forbidding the spreading of terror in the land is based on the Qur’an (Surah al-Ma’ida 5:33–34). Prominent [pdf] Muslim legal scholar Sherman Jackson writes, “The Spanish Maliki jurist Ibn `Abd al-Barr (d. 464/ 1070)) defines the agent of hiraba as ‘Anyone who disturbs free passage in the streets and renders them unsafe to travel, striving to spread corruption in the land by taking money, killing people or violating what God has made it unlawful to violate is guilty of hirabah . . .”
7. Sneak attacks are forbidden. Muslim commanders must give the enemy fair warning that war is imminent. The Prophet Muhammad at one point gave 4 months notice.
8. The Prophet Muhammad counseled doing good to those who harm you and is said to have commanded, “Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well, and that if they do wrong you will do wrong to them. Instead, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong (even) if they do evil.” (Al-Tirmidhi)
9. The Qur’an demands of believers that they exercise justice toward people even where they have reason to be angry with them: “And do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.”[5:8]
10. The Qur’an assures Christians and Jews of paradise if they believe and do good works, and commends Christians as the best friends of Muslims. I wrote elsewhere, “Dangerous falsehoods are being promulgated to the American public. The Quran does not preach violence against Christians.
Quran 5:69 says (Arberry): “Surely they that believe, and those of Jewry, and the Christians, and those Sabaeans, whoso believes in God and the Last Day, and works righteousness–their wage waits them with their Lord, and no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow.”
In other words, the Quran promises Christians and Jews along with Muslims that if they have faith and works, they need have no fear in the afterlife. It is not saying that non-Muslims go to hell– quite the opposite.
When speaking of the 7th-century situation in the Muslim city-state of Medina, which was at war with pagan Mecca, the Quran notes that the polytheists and some Arabian Jewish tribes were opposed to Islam, but then goes on to say:
5:82. ” . . . and you will find the nearest in love to the believers [Muslims] those who say: ‘We are Christians.’ That is because amongst them are priests and monks, and they are not proud.”
So the Quran not only does not urge Muslims to commit violence against Christians, it calls them “nearest in love” to the Muslims! The reason given is their piety, their ability to produce holy persons dedicated to God, and their lack of overweening pride.
Does the word "terrorism" exist in the Quran?
In our endeavor of defining terrorism and the punitive measures taken against it in different classical Quranic exegesis, it is worth noting that the words "irhab" or "irhabi" (terrorism and terrorist respectively) occur neither in the Quran nor in the old Arabic lexicons. Muslims scholars argue that such non-occurrence is due to the fact that these two terms are products of the modern age and thus could not be found in the intellectual, creedal, political and juristic literature. Thus it is unfounded to claim that there is a necessary link between the Quranic lexeme "rahaba" (to fear) along with its derivatives and the term "terrorism" which lexically refers to the use of violence for political aims. The Cairo based Academy for Arabic language endorses the use of the word "irhab" (terrorism) as a newly-introduced word in the Arabic language with the root "rahaba". The Academy states that terrorists are those who adopt violence and terrorism to achieve their political objectives. This definition by the Academy is the same as that adopted by the authors of al-Mu'jam al- Wajiz.
Some researchers and lexicographers admit that that though the term "terrorism" has its roots both in the Arabic language and in the Quran, they admit that there is a yawning gap between the "positive fear" that denotes respect inherent in the lexeme "rahaba" and from the word "raheb" (monk or cenobite) is derived. Consequently the reverent fear or awe which the lexeme "rahab" indicates is mostly related to God as mentioned by Scott C. Alexander. As for the modern "negative" fear occurring as a result of threats arising from using different material force, its equal negative sense in Arabic should be "ro'b" (fright) or "zu'r" (horror) and both meaning have nothing in common with the "reverent fear" understood by the Arabic word "rahaba".
The Quranic attitude towards terrorism
One of the major components of terrorism is corruption "ifsad" which includes in its folds terrorizing residents and wayfarers as well as other attacks in which non-combatants are targeted. However, the main form of corruption that is directly related to terrorism from a Quranic perspective is unjustly taking the life of a human being, irrespective of his or her faith, race or geographical location. such action is strongly condemned and prohibited in the Quran; God says, "Do not take life, which God has made sacred except by right..."(17:33).
The classical renowned exegete al- Razi states that this verse indicates that taking the life of a human being without a just cause is the greatest sin after associating partners with Allah. He stresses that strong prohibition (al-hurmah al-mughallazah) is the original ruling that governs killing others unjustly, affirming that killing can only be legitimate if clear reasons are established. Thus taking the lives of others unjustly constitutes an irreparable harm that runs counter to the main spirit of Islam as a religion that states that there should be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.
The Quran also talks about what can be called in modern terms as "religious terrorism" which is to act prejudicially against certain people due to their religious affiliation. The Quran cites the story of "Ashab al- Ukhdud" or the (trench makers) mentioned in 85: 4-10 as a clear Qur'anic condemnation of persecution and oppression against those who refused to adopt the religion of the oppressors and as a result they were buried alive and burned in mass graves.
The contentious misquoted verse (8:60)
One of the most contentious verses in the Quran which is always misquoted by warmongers is the verses which says, "Prepare whatever forces you can muster, including warhorses, to frighten off God's enemies and yours and warn others unknown to you but known to God. Whatever you give in God's cause will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged."(8:60).
One of the modern renowned scholars, Imam al- Sha'rawi eloquently interpreted this verse to aim at creating what is called in modern day politics a "peaceful equilibrium". Peaceful equilibrium could be achieved when fear is disseminated in the other party by a country displaying its various military, economic and communicative powers. Its show of "quwwa" (power/strength) can be viewed as an effective way of preventing war from breaking out. As a result, an enemy would think twice before attacking the Muslim countries. Thus the word "turhibun" encompasses peaceful, positive and comprehensive meanings. It is a means to peace because it helps prevent war, positive because its aim is not just to disseminate negative fear that lead to the outbreak of war but uses quwwah for a legally acceptable objective and comprehensive because it refers to the importance of achieving excellence not only in military fields, but also in the economy and mass communication as well.
Another modern scholar, Abdullah al- Najjar, stated that the word "turhibbun" should be restricted to imminent threat or existing military confrontation between two armies and that such confrontation should have a legal cause and objective. Thus it is not part of the legitimate causes or objectives to use "turhibuna" to deter those who are not at war with Muslims. Neither should it be used to cause destruction or unjust killing. The word here only refers to threatening to use force but does not refer to inflicting actual harm.
It is also worth noting that the context within which these verses were revealed originally related to the strong possibility of war between Muslims and non-Muslims. The verse calls for Muslims to be well prepared for possible and imminent military attacks against them. The various themes highlighted in this chapter are all means which should serve Muslims both at the time of war and peace. It emerged that Quwwah (power) should not be only understood in the sense of physical and military preparation. Rather, it is a comprehensive concept that encompasses economic, educational, intellectual, psychological and other domains. Moreover, the use of military quwwah should be directed against an enemy whose animosity is known to Muslims or is known to be on the verge of attacking them. While classical exegesis as well as modern one maintain that waging wars should only be limited to cases of self defense, we unfortunately find extremist understanding of the use of the word "quwwah" or power to indicate by extremist group a carte blanche to indiscriminately kill people of other faiths lamentably in the name of Islam.
This misunderstanding gives some non-Muslims who already have biased attitudes towards Muslims, the justification to attack the Quran as a fascist book preaching hatred and animosity as has been carefully orchestrated by right-wing opportunists such as Geert Wilders.
In conclusion, extremist groups turn to unpopular deviant exegesis to justify their horrible acts and cloaking it in religion but from the foregoing discussion, it is evident that the use of power in its general sense is not restricted to military force and is not waived against other countries who enjoy peaceful relations. The display of military power is only a means to deter the enemy from launching an attack which eventually lead to the outbreak of war with its dreadful consequences on both parties involved.
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Footnotes:
(1) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #1744, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #3015. Back from footnote (1)
(2) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #1731, and Al-Tirmizi, #1408. Back from footnote (2)
(3) Narrated in Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #3166, and Ibn Majah, #2686. Back from footnote (3)
(4) Narrated in Abu-Dawood, #2675. Back from footnote
(5) Narrated in Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #6871, and Saheeh Muslim, #88. Back from footnote (5)
(6) This means killing and injuring. Back from footnote (6)
(7) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #1678, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #6533. Back from footnote (7)
(8) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2422, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2365. Back from footnote (8)
(9) This saying of Muhammad has been mentioned in more detail on this page. Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2244, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2466. Back from footnote (9)
(10) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #1955, and Al-Tirmizi, #1409. Back from footnote (10
