An eighteenth-century manuscript of the Qur\u2019an from Kashmir
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is essential to recognize, first, that the term jihad<\/em> doesn\u2019t actually mean \u201choly war,\u201d although it is certainly used primarily in that sense and although it certainly can be and often is used to refer to literal, physical, military combat.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The word jihad<\/em> comes from the triconsonantal Arabic root jhd<\/em>, which has the basic meaning of \u201cstriving,\u201d \u201cworking,\u201d or \u201cexerting.\u201d\u00a0 Other derivatives from the same root include the verbs jahada<\/em>, ajhada<\/em>, and ijtahada<\/em>, which mean, respectively, \u201cto endeavor\u201d or \u201cto strive\u201d; \u201cto strain,\u201d \u201cto exert,\u201d or \u201cto fatigue s.o.\u201d; and \u201cto put o.s. out\u201d or, in an Islamic legal context, \u201cto formulate an independent judgment regarding a matter of law or theology.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both jahd<\/em> and juhd<\/em> denote \u201cstrain\u201d and \u201cexertion.\u201d\u00a0 Ijhad<\/em> refers to \u201cexertion\u201d or \u201coverexertion.\u201d\u00a0 Ijtihad<\/em> denotes an act of independent theological or legal judgment by a qualified jurist, based upon acknowledged principles and rules, and a mujtahid<\/em> is such a qualified jurist.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I will now begin to address specific passages in the Qur\u2019an \u2014 all translations are mine, unless otherwise indicated \u2014 that are often mentioned when the subject of the Qur\u2018an and violence is raised:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Qur\u2019an 2:216:\u00a0 \u201cFighting (al-qital<\/em>)has been prescribed for you, although it is hateful to you.\u00a0 Perhaps you hate something that is good for you.\u00a0 Perhaps you love something that is bad for you.\u00a0 God knows, while you do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Qur\u2019an 2:244:\u00a0 \u201cFight (qatilu<\/em>) in the path of God, and know that God is hearing and knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
There can be little question that both of these passages concern literal fighting in war; the root qtl<\/em> that is used in them (instead of jhd<\/em>) connotes the idea of \u201ckilling.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
But historical context is all-important here.\u00a0 Every scholar and commentator agrees that, while Sura 2 (al-Baqqara<\/em> or \u201cThe Cow\u201d) was probably revealed over an extended period of time, it is entirely a Medinan chapter.\u00a0 That means that it was given to the Prophet Muhammad after his flight or emigration, his hijra<\/em>, from Mecca to Medina.\u00a0 That flight was enforced upon him by the persecution that he and his followers suffered in Mecca, which eventually resulted in their exile, the loss of their\u00a0 property, and so forth.\u00a0 In that sense, a state of war already existed between the exiles in Medina and their tormentors in Mecca, and battles had already occurred.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Imagine an order from Dwight D. Eisenhower mandating the bombing of Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt.\u00a0 In considering that order, it would make an enormous difference if it had come from General Dwight Eisenhower in his capacity as supreme Allied commander in 1944, during World War Two, or from President Dwight Eisenhower in peacetime 1954.\u00a0 In the latter case, we would consider him a homicidal lunatic.\u00a0 In the former, we would merely sigh and admit that that\u2019s how things are done in wartime.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
To be continued.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 It is essential to recognize, first, that the term jihad doesn\u2019t actually mean \u201choly war,\u201d although it is certainly used primarily in that sense and although it certainly can be and often is used to refer to literal, physical, military combat. \u00a0 The word jihad comes from the triconsonantal Arabic root jhd, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5487,66,2950,2385,82,2896,3358],"class_list":["post-78585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-extremism","tag-islam","tag-islamic","tag-jihad","tag-quran","tag-terrorism","tag-violence"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>