Street Prophets

Ramadan Day 28: Verses from the Quran

by lauramp

Tue Nov 01, 2005 at 08:07:37 PM PDT

Each day during Ramadan, I am presenting a verse from the Quran with a few thoughts or comments. An introduction to this series is here. Inshallah (God willing), I hope that this may be of benefit to any who are interested in learning a bit more about Islam and Muslim belief.

Quran 60:8-60:9:

Allah (God) does not forbid that you do good and make justice for those who do not fight you in the religion or drive you out from your homes. Indeed, Allah loves those who do justice. Allah only forbids your friendship with those who fight you in the religion and drive you out from your homes and back those who drive you out. And who befriends them, such are wrongdoers
Previously I discussed a bit about the meaning of jihad (struggle) and presented the idea of "jihad with the Quran".

In a comment to that diary, I provided some additional information about this.

I wrote:

I should also note that a "rejector" is not the same as a non-Muslim. Many people are non-Muslims but only a few people have knowingly and deliberately chosen to reject Islam. The "great jihad" here is directed at the rejectors, not at non-Muslims in general.

Then I said:

There are very detailed rules in Islamic law about when armed struggle (what is commonly meant by "jihad") is authorized. These are very similar to the rules that Christians have developed in "just war theory".

One of the later verses in this series will provide further information about this.

The passage highlighted in this diary is the promised follow-up.

Here, we see that Muslims are to do good and make justice with everybody but those who forcibly oppose them.

Forcible opposition is defined as:


  • fighting Muslims over the religion

  • driving people out of their homes

  • supporting those who drive people out of their homes

In other words, it is only when another people are already attacking with violence that the situation changes.

Another verse in the Quran that says the same thing is 22:39:

Permission (to fight) is given to those who are being attacked, because they have been wronged. And surely Allah (God) measures out help for them.

This permission lasts only as long as the violent persecution continues (2:190-193):

Fight in the path of Allah (God) those who fight you, but do not aggress. Surely Allah does not love the aggressors. And fight them where you come upon them, and send them out from where they have sent you out, for persecution is a worse thing than fighting. And do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque (in Mecca) unless they fight you there, but if they fight you, then fight them back. That is the reward of the rejectors. Then if they cease, so Allah is All-Forgiving, Gentle. And fight them until there is no more persecution and the religion is for Allah (God). But if they cease, so let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers

Some people quote the middle of this passage (from "And fight them where you come upon them" to "That is the reward of the rejectors") without quoting the surrounding context:

Fight in the path of God those who fight you, but do not aggress. Surely God does not love the aggressors

and

But if they cease, so let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers

What all of these passages together show is that fighting (qital in the Arabic, not jihad) is only in response to violent persecution and can only last as long as the violent persecution continues. When it stops, the fighting must stop.

Muslims are commanded to do good and make justice for whoever is not harming them and they are not forbidden to be friends with non-Muslims. Friendship is only forbidden with oppressors.


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  • "Fighting Muslims over the religion" (0 / 0)

    It seems to me this is a fairly ambiguous statement.

    If a Muslim friend and I were to engage in a good-natured argument over the merits of Islam vs. Christianity, could that be construed as me "fighting Muslims over religion?"

    In fact, if I were to simply state that I was a Christian, couldn't that be construed as "rejecting Islam" by virtue of declaring that I am something that is not Islam?

    There are many different types of attacks, after all, and you could make the argument that someone who states in public that they do not follow Islam are attacking it in a subtler manner. Certainly I know fundamentalist Christians who say similiar things in order to justify their efforts to legislate their religious beliefs.

    I am a Conservative Christian

    by The Baptist Death Ray on Wed Nov 02, 2005 at 04:31:56 AM PDT

    • The context in which these (0 / 0)

      verses were revealed involved the Muslims being subjected to oppression and death. The first response of the prophet Muhammed to these things was to flee (that should be our first response today too). Eventually that proved impractical, as the meccans (his oppressors) followed him to Medina. Eventually the Muslims had to make a stand, which they did.

      Objectively, Muhammed (may peace and blessings be upon him) was a pretty lousy General. His first battle would have been a complete disaster, a suicide mission, but for Divine Intervention. His second battle he lost miserably, and the the third was a draw, because the Muslims dug a deep trench around the city, and wouldn't come out to fight (nor let the enemy in!). Finally, he agreed to sign a very disadvantageous treaty, in order to make peace.

      He didn't conquer the Arabian peninsula by his battles, but by his character and example. Throughout these events people began accepting Islam, largely through the example that he himself set. After the Treaty was signed under the acacia tree, people began to convert in droves. So much so that when the Meccans wanted to go fight the Muslims again the following year, they found that they were no longer in the majority... most of their troops had joined the Muslims. The Muslims marched into Mecca without bloodshed, the prophet then destroyed the idols in the Kaaba and declared Mecca a Muslim city.

      To God belong the east and the west: Whereso ever you turn, there is the face of God. For God is all-Embracing, all-Knowing.

      by dervish on Wed Nov 02, 2005 at 06:44:17 AM PDT

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      • Thanks for clarifying. (0 / 0)

        That's the context I needed in order to put that in perspective.

        I am a Conservative Christian

        by The Baptist Death Ray on Wed Nov 02, 2005 at 09:55:45 AM PDT

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        • sorry for my lack of clarity (0 / 0)

          I apologize that my post was not clear. I tried make it clear that this referred to violent oppression or persecution, not a simple argument. Thanks for letting me know that it was still ambiguous.

          "Riches does not mean having a great amount of property, but riches is self-contentment." (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him)

          by lauramp on Wed Nov 02, 2005 at 12:10:45 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

        • That was a good question (0 / 0)

          because these are the verses so often quoted by the "jihadis". The whole jihad mentality is the result of bad scholarship. Under the Ottoman caliphs, the Islamic world was arguably more peaceful and tolerant than it's Christian neighbors... or at worst about the same. When the Ottoman empire started to crumble, an obscure, simplistic and fanatical version of Islam, bred in the Arabian peninsula, began to take hold.

          Wahhabism started as a reaction to the Turkish occupation in the 18th century. It was everything the Turks were not...its ideological polar opposite. This obscure movement among desert bedouins didn't amount to much until the beginning of the 20th century, with the fall of the Ottomans and the discovery of oil.

          Since then, it has been the Wahhabi Gulf kingdoms that have sponsored a lot of the Islamic schools and scholars. Wahhabism is a rejection of centuries of careful and prudent Islamic scholarship in favor of a crude and literalist interpretation of scripture.

          Wahhabis tend to view Islam outwardly... wanting to apply it to others. As such they are interested in jihad, Islamic governments and Islamic law. They apply the superficial rules to themselves, but get uncomfortable when we talk about changing our character, or deep levels of understanding.

          Traditional Islam (read: in prior  centuries) maintained an inward focus. We apply Islam to ourselves first, and once the self is mastered, only then do we look outwardly. Someone who has rigorously applied Islam to him/herself is unlikely to want to point the finger at anybody for anything... much like the prophet Muhammed.

          To God belong the east and the west: Whereso ever you turn, there is the face of God. For God is all-Embracing, all-Knowing.

          by dervish on Wed Nov 02, 2005 at 02:29:56 PM PDT

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  • Sounds like my stance on religous differences (0 / 0)

    I won't get in your face about it if you don't get in mine first :-). I prefer to play nice and agree to disagree.

    Thank you again for these insights!

    by Morgan on Wed Nov 02, 2005 at 11:16:11 AM PDT

  • thank you for all of these diaries, laura. (0 / 0)

    I have enjoyed every one of them, and have learned a great deal.  You've done journeywoman's work in keeping to this daily schedule for us.  I hope we can look forward to more of your posts on the Qur'an and Islam, even though this Ramadan series is drawing to a close along with the holy month itself.

    Eid mubarak.

    "Religion without humanity is a poor human stuff." -- Sojourner Truth

    by the stormy present on Wed Nov 02, 2005 at 12:21:53 PM PDT

    • the future (0 / 0)

      I hope to continue posting diaries about Islam and the Quran, God willing, but probably not as often anymore. I'm thinking perhaps a weekly schedule and then I might have diaries about other topics that don't require as much work. It'll depend on how busy my schedule is.

      "Riches does not mean having a great amount of property, but riches is self-contentment." (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him)

      by lauramp on Wed Nov 02, 2005 at 12:46:50 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

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