Chapter 1: The Two Basic Concepts Misused by Those Who Portray Islam as a Violent Faith: Sharia and Jihad

God describes the Qur’an as follows in one verse:

... This [the Qur’an] is not a narration which has been invented but confirmation of all that came before, a clarification of everything, and a guidance and a mercy for people who have faith. . (Qur'an, 12:111)

As God explicitly states in this verse, the Qur’an is “a clarification of everything,” although it is never enough for the peddlers of superstition. They do not regard the path revealed by the Qur’an as suited to their own religious conceptions. For that reason, throughout the course of history they have maintained that some of the commandments of the Qur’an are “not sufficient” (surely the Qur’an is beyond that) and need to be interpreted. From that, they developed the idea that “We can only understand the Qur’an through the hadiths*.” *Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Let us make one thing clear here; the hadiths have come down to the present day as the words of our Prophet (pbuh). While some are entirely trustworthy and accurate quotations and practices, others have gradually been distorted and the meanings of some have been changed. There is only one way of telling whether a hadith is really the words or the practice of our Prophet (pbuh) and that is if it is in agreement with the Qur’an. It is without doubt a slander against our Prophet (pbuh) to maintain that words or practices that conflict with the Qur’an actually belong to the Prophet (pbuh) because our Prophet abided by the Qur’an alone.

The idea that "We can only understand the Qur'an through the hadiths" has wrought enormous harm on the Islamic world because some Muslims thinking along those lines began to fabricate hadiths in the name of the faith. They even eventually abandoned the Qur'an altogether, taking those hadiths alone as the source of their religion. When fabricated hadiths conflicted with the Qur'an, they even had the effrontery to say, "This hadith overrules the commandment of the Qur'an." Hundreds of fabricated hadiths gave rise to different faiths, and the result was four schools that disagreed with one another on many areas within Islam. Almost four different religions, each with different sets of rules, emerged. So much so, there have been times when some sect leaders considered other sect leaders to have abandoned Islam entirely.

As a result, an entirely different conception of Islam appeared; this Islam was based on fabricated hadiths and their interpretations, fatwas deduced from personal convictions and sometimes from traditional erroneous practices. This is a completely misguided version of Islam based on ancient superstitions and includes almost no Qur'anic provisions. In other words, the Islam we encounter in many places today is a dramatically different religion than the one described in the Qur'an and that was lived at the time of our Prophet (pbuh). Our Prophet (pbuh) complains to Almighty God of the state into which the Islamic world has fallen as follows in the Qur'an:

The Messenger says, “My Lord, my people treat this Qur’an as something to be ignored.” (Qur'an, 25:30)

Indeed, the problem of a large part of the Islamic world today is that people regard the Qur’an as a book that has been abandoned.

Once the Qur'an had been abandoned, it was time for "ijma." (Ijma: Eminent religious figures living at any time producing commandments regarding Sharia law on the basis of deductive analogy). Since the Qur'an was not their guide they were smothered by thousands of fabricated hadiths and they finally decided that "neither the Qur'an nor the hadiths could properly explain the commandments." These "religious leaders" began producing laws in the name of Islam. The schools began clashing with one another, and the agreements of the Muslim communities came into conflict with those of other schools. Every "religious" leader's own interpretation was regarded as law, each community based itself on a different set of practices and the whole community of Islam began splitting up into sects, classes and finally tiny groups. The Qur'an, however, was left as a decorative item hung up on the wall, still inside its casing. As a result, a large part of the Islamic world abandoned and ignored the Qur'an. The bright world of the Qur'an, that fosters science and development, that champions arts, democracy and secularism [freedom of thought and belief], has been replaced by a cold, ruthless, loveless, crude life in many parts of the world.

The problem with much of the Islamic world today is that it has abandoned the Qur'an. Every pronouncement by people described as “leaders of the faith” has been adopted as a rule, and so every religious community has its own different practices.

Looking at some of the opponents of Islam, we see that their problem is quite ironically the same as that of the peddlers of superstition: They do not learn about Islam from the Qur'an. Just like the peddlers of superstition, they concentrate on fabricated hadiths, traditions and interpretations of Islam by religious leaders that are generally incompatible with the Qur'an. In their eyes, "Islam" is the lifestyle and practices of the peddlers of superstition. In their eyes, "Islam" is the imaginative power of historians, not the faith as revealed in the Qur'an. They call the laws of this fabricated religion "Sharia," not the "laws of the Qur'an." They are unaware of the values, concepts and practices imparted in the Qur'an, but have a great knowledge of all the rules of the false religion of the peddlers of superstition. In criticizing the rules of that false religion, they imagine they are criticizing Islam. So attached are they to the religion of the peddlers of superstition that they do not believe it when they are told, "This is not Islam." And this is an exceedingly serious error.

These people must assess the presented evidence and documents with their conscience and see the truth, if they are not opposed to Islam owing to an ideological religious opposition and if they genuinely seek a solution to the darkness of the fanatical mindset. Their religion is not Islam. The Qur'an by itself is sufficient for a Muslim. Hadiths are true and reliable so long as they are compatible with the Qur'an. A hadith that is incompatible with the Qur'an has no place in Islam. If a Muslim cannot find Islam in the Qur'an, it means he is looking for another religion and the Sharia of that faith is not Islam.

Islam: The Religion of Ease

One of the biggest mistakes of the fanatical mindset is their belief that religion must be difficult. As a matter of fact, some people believe the more complicated and difficult their religion is, the more merit they would earn. This is a warped viewpoint stemming from the failure to understand God's infinite mercy. This has also been a fundamental issue causing people to oppose the prophets throughout history. When the Prophet Moses told his people, "God commands you to sacrifice a cow," his people asked dozens of questions, rendering a very plain order almost impracticable. Furthermore, as they worked to make a simple order difficult, they claimed they were being extremely pious. However, being pious is simply living by the essence of religion; that is, it should be lived in its plain, pure state as revealed by God. In many verses of the Qur'an it is specifically stated that religion is easy:

Strive for God with the striving due to Him. He has selected you and not placed any constraint upon you in the religion – the religion of your forefather Abraham. (Qur'an, 22:78)

... They invented monasticism – We did not prescribe it for them – purely out of desire to gain the pleasure of God, but even so they did not observe it as it should have been observed. To those of them who had faith We gave their reward but many of them are deviators. (Qur'an, 57:27)

We have made the Qur'an easy to remember. But is there any rememberer there? (Qur'an, 54:17)

We will ease you to the Easy Way. Remind, then, if the reminder benefits. (Qur'an, 87:8-9)

As for him who gives out and has fear [of God], and confirms the Good, We will pave his way to Ease. (Qur'an, 92:5-7)

God desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you. You should complete the number of days and proclaim God's greatness for the guidance He has given you so that hopefully you will be thankful. (Qur'an, 2:185)

But as for him who has faith and acts rightly, he will receive the best of rewards and we will issue a command, making things easy for him. (Qur'an, 18:88)

We have made it easy in your own tongue so that hopefully they will pay heed. (Qur'an, 44:58)

... Recite as much of the Qur'an as is easy for you. He knows that some of you are ill and that others are travelling in the land seeking God's bounty, and that others are fighting in the Way of God. So recite as much of it as is easy for you. And perform the prayer and pay the alms and lend a generous loan to God... (Qur'an, 73:20)

You who have faith! Do not ask about matters which, if they were made known to you, would make things difficult for you. If you do ask about them when the Qur'an is being sent down, they will be made known to you. God has ignored them. God is Ever-Forgiving, All-Forbearing. People before you asked about them and then later came to reject them. (Qur'an, 5:101-102)

There are two ways to be certain if a hadith was really said by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) or if he really did what is claimed in an account or narration: It must comply with the Qur'an, or the event foretold in the hadith must have taken place. Statements or practices that are in contradiction with the Qur'an were definitely not said or carried out by the Prophet (pbuh). Ortaköy Mosque: A 19th-century mosque situated at the Bosphorus Strait. Sultan Abdülmecid commissioned architect Nigoğayos Balyan in 1853 to build the mosque. It is an excellent example of Baroque architecture.

The True Sharia in the Qur’an

The word Sharia means “path.” A Muslim can easily tell what “path” to follow by looking at the Qur’an. Few things are unlawful in the Qur’an, and these are made clear with explicit prohibitions. They are not open to discussion or interpretation. For example, killing, adultery, earning interest, eating pork or drinking blood are all unlawful actions revealed in verses of the Qur’an in definitive terms. This is one important characteristic of the Qur’an. People who aim to come up with prohibitions by interpreting verses in the light of their own desires always try to produce their deductions from them. Yet prohibitions are not open to interpretation. God expresses and prohibits these with definitive pronouncements, as in this verse:

He has only forbidden you carrion, blood and pork and what has been consecrated to other than God. (Qur'an, 2:173)

God reveals in the Qur’an that there will be people who fabricate what is lawful or prohibited in the name of Islam:

Do not say about what your lying tongues describe: “This is lawful and this is unlawful,” inventing lies against God. Those who invent lies against God are not successful. (Qur'an, 16: 116)

Following the time of our Prophet (pbuh), numerous communities emerged who invented lies against God. These communities made things forbidden or lawful with no regard for the Qur'an. However, there are some communities whose characteristics God particularly emphasizes: "They make unlawful the good things made lawful." Our Lord says in the Qur'an:

However, there are some communities whose characteristics God particularly emphasizes: “They make unlawful the good things made lawful.” Our Lord says:

You who believe! Do not make unlawful the good things God has made lawful for you, and do not overstep the limits. God does not love people who overstep the limits. (Qur'an, 5:87)

In examining the system of savagery applied under the name of Sharia which is completely incompatible with Islam, we shall be speaking of communities that make lawful things unlawful for themselves and that are totally distanced from the Qur’an.

Let us first define the true Sharia, the true path of the Qur’an in other words, as set out in verses:

The Sharia of the Qur’an means love, respect, and affection and protection toward people of all faiths and opinions. The Sharia of the Qur’an insists on democracy, and freedom of ideas prevails. Under the Sharia of the Qur’an, people are knowledgeable, educated, open-minded, respectful of other ideas, happy, outward-looking, modern, high quality, optimistic, value art and science and value love and friendship. There is no hatred, intolerance, conflict, fighting, despotism, imposition, threatening, unhappiness or anger in the Sharia of the Qur’an. We shall be expanding on all these definitions associated with the Qur’an with evidence from verses in later sections of this book.

The Sharia of the Qur'an requires that a Muslim be modern, well-groomed, noble, wise, cultured, democratic, open-minded, respectful of all ideas and full of love. The Sharia of the Qur'an is based on brotherhood, peace and love. War, cruelty, hatred, anger and conflict are all forbidden to Muslims in the Qur'an. Those who wish to know the true Sharia must look to the Qur'an alone.

Is there an Islamic country in the world today that meets these definitions of the Sharia of the Qur'an? Of course not; this Sharia has not been applied since the time of our Prophet (pbuh). The countries that say they are governed under Sharia law apply the Sharia of a fanatical faith that various violent groups impose in the name of Islam. They adopt various untrue hadiths or some so-called Islamic scholars' un-Qur'anic remarks as their guides. Their criterion is not the Qur'an, but rather society's old traditions and values mixed with superstitions. In other words, instead of following God's words, they pay heed to the personal remarks of so-called scholars and in the process, they abandon the Qur'an.

We shall be seeing in subsequent chapters where those groups that claim to be applying Sharia but actually spread rage and hatred draw that conception of Sharia from. We shall be looking one by one and seeing the invalidity of all the false hadiths they adopt as their guides. We shall be seeing with full supporting evidence how far removed this Sharia is from the Qur’an, and how it can never be described as Islamic Sharia at all.

What Does the True Qur'anic Sharia Bring to A Country?

If there really were a country that applied the true Sharia of Islam, what would it be like?

Before answering this question, it is important to clarify an important point. Muslims are responsible for abiding by the law of their countries, following the rules of the administration, and protecting the existence and integrity of the State. If there are anti-democratic, unfair or wrong practices in those countries, it should be known that any effort to correct the problem should comply with laws. Such problems should be solved in a reasonable manner, through intellectual, cultural efforts. A Muslim is always responsible for restoring, building and correcting; he must never become involved in any destructive activity. The Qur'anic Sharia is not demolishing the existing rule of law and democratic regime of a country to replace it with a new system. On the contrary, the Qur'anic Sharia represents moral perfection and quality of life.

Now let's answer the above question: It would be highly developed in terms of art and science, would have a high level of education and standard of living, would be high quality, peaceful, loving and in favor of unification with all the peoples of the world. It would be in the vanguard of peace and a model of love; it would embrace Jews, Christians and atheists, it would regard people of all ideologies as friends and would respect them all, would assume the mission of bringing tranquility and calm to the world, would think of those in need before itself and would find solutions for them. It would be loving and happy. In addition to being very high quality, the people of that country would also have an ultra-modern and ultra-democratic life style. All opinions could be freely expressed, but without any aggression, insults, intolerance or violence. Goods would not be piled up and accumulated. A Qur'anic life style based on protecting the poor and "putting others before oneself" would prevail. There wouldn't be any poor people. Such a system would be one in which all the people in the world could live happily and that all the countries in the world would be delighted with.

If we compare that description with countries that go by the name of “Islamic Republic,” a vast difference is immediately apparent. The system currently being applied under the name of Sharia is most definitely not the Sharia of Islam. In order for people to be able to live by the Sharia of Islam, that religion would have to be purged of all its superstition and would have to meet all the descriptions praised in the Qur’an and cited above.

In order for that to happen, it is essential for the head of state of a country governed under Islam to act in full compliance with the Qur'an, not superstition. A Muslim leader who abides by the Qur'an will have three major characteristics: he or she will be affectionate, democratic and just. Due to those characteristics, such a leader will always be reliable. People who live under the protection of a Muslim leader who fully abides by the moral values of the Qur'an will enjoy the most perfect liberty, of a kind that has never been seen before. No Islamic obligations will be imposed on anyone. Everyone will behave in the light of his own beliefs. Everyone will enjoy the right to speak his mind. No priority will be given to anyone. Everyone will be treated equally. Justice will be administered equally for all. People will still abide by the verse, "You who believe! Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for God alone, even against yourselves or your parents and relatives" (Qur'an, 4:135) even if that sometimes works against Muslims.

A Muslim leader will always strive and desire to establish love. Because the reason for the revelation of religions, the reason for human existence and the reason for the creation of paradise is love. Conflict will be meaningless in a society in which love prevails, in which nobody's freedoms are restricted and in which everyone is treated equally in a state of plenty. Climates of conflict will also disappear when injustice, lovelessness and enmities are eradicated.

It is not possible to speak of the prevalence of the Qur'anic morality in a country if its women are not free, but mistreated, if its cities are gloomy and dark, if science and technology are underdeveloped, if people cannot freely express their thoughts and practice their beliefs, if people are not allowed to dress and travel as they wish, if people are pressured to practice Islam, if followers of different sects are declared unbelievers, if atheists or the irreligious are oppressed, if synagogues and churches are attacked, if members of every religion, language or ethnic background are not treated as first class citizens, if it cannot make a name for the talent and achievements of its artists, if its people lack good manners and if the overall quality of life has deteriorated considerably.

Therefore, in order to understand Sharia, we need to look to the Qur'an, not at the practices of countries who claim to be applying the Sharia of Islam. Islam came with the Qur'an. Therefore, the only Islamic Sharia is in the Qur'an, and it is very clear. It is impossible for a country that does not apply the systems of justice, democracy and liberty in the Qur'an to be a role model on the subject of Sharia. It would therefore be wrong for anyone to suggest, "But this is how it is applied in this country, so Islam will bring savagery with it." The system that needs to be accused here is the false one applied in the name of Islam. It is not the system in the Qur'an. (Surely the Qur'an is beyond that.)

The failure to apply the true system of the Sharia in the Qur'an, which would bring with it the delights cited above, and the savagery being misrepresented as the Sharia of the Qur'an is of course a very terrible thing: Blaming Islam is not the answer, however. Those who blame Islam do grave harm by trying to eliminate it as the sole answer to radicalism, violence and savagery. They are actually smoothing the radicals' path by striving to weaken Islam. It is not their accusations or the weapons they manufacture that will eliminate radicalism and the false beliefs propagated under the name of Islam. The only way is the conception of the true Islam. There is a problem of a false belief here. And false beliefs can only be done away with by replacing them with true ones.

The True Jihad in the Qur’an

The word jihad comes from the Arabic word “jahd.” Its meanings are 1) To work, to strive, to exhibit determination and persistence or self-sacrifice and 2) To control one’s lower self. On the basis of these definitions, waging jihad in Islam means to inform the other side, to teach people proper moral values and to turn them away from evil. In doing this, a Muslim must train his own lower self in the direction of moral virtue and train himself to be someone far removed from rage and hatred. In other words, what a Muslim engaged in jihad must do is to train himself on the one hand, and strive to teach people truth and goodness on the other. He must be a role model with his own moral values in order to spread love, peace and affection and to turn people away from evil.

The word "jahd" is never used in any other sense in the Qur'an. Now let's see the verses in question to better understand the meaning and context of the word:

An Examination of Verse 95 of Surat an-Nisa'

This verse describes the difference between those who put all their resources to use and engage in "jihad", in other words, making an effort to spread good and peace around the world, and those who put their comfort and interests before everything else, despite all the injustice, unfairness, poverty, starvation and wars going on in the world. God promises that He will in the best way reward all believers who engage in good deeds. For this reason, all believers will be beautifully rewarded by God but those believers who devote their entire lives to God will be superior in God's Sight. Striving in the way of God, with wealth and oneself, means sacrificing one's own comfort and well-being to spread peace and brotherhood in the world, to restore justice and to protect the oppressed with all one's might. Such a self-sacrificing believer devotes his entire time and resources to this end. He organizes conferences, publishes books, prepares television shows, makes documentaries and constantly tells the truth to anyone he can reach. In other words, contrary to the claims of some people, this verse refers to making an intellectual effort to make the world a better place and not spreading violence and terror around the world.

“Waging jihad” in Islam means to educate the other side, to teach moral virtue and to strive to turn people away from evil. Those who murder in the name of jihad are not acting in the light of the Qur'an.

An Examination of Verse 52 of Surat al-Furqan

This verse offers a guideline to Muslims in their struggle. According to the verse, Muslims are responsible for making an effort in line with the Qur'an; which is by explaining, telling and spreading the beautiful message of God. The provision of "not obeying the unbelievers" refers to the fact that Muslims should intellectually, spiritually and morally distance themselves from the loveless, inconsiderate, unbounded and cruel world of those who deny God. Certainly, all Muslims are obliged to abide by the rules of the countries where they live, and to be sensible and levelheaded. However, this does not mean that in their private lives, they will submit to any impositions against their beliefs. Therefore, this provision of the Qur'an is about making an effort to invite people to the loving and warm world of the Qur'an by pointing out the loveless, unfair world created by irreligion so that the world becomes a better place.

Therefore, those who perpetrate slaughter under the name of "jihad" saying, "Our point of reference is the Qur'an" are either lying or misinformed.

According to the Qur'an, those who are now slaughtering people in the name of jihad, taking their own lives as suicide bombers, or inciting war are committing a grave sin, yet the great majority of these people are not even aware that they are contravening the Qur'an. That is because they have been led astray in the name of religion. They have their own faith in which there is hatred instead of love, rage instead of affection, enmity instead of brotherhood, horror instead of beauty and ignorance instead of art, science and culture. It is frighteningly simple to put a gun in the hands of someone who believes in such a faith and it is all too easy to tell them "This community is your enemy so go and attack it." It is quite easy to incite them and shockingly easy to build communities of rage.

The false hadiths these people cite as supposed justification for aggression, and the verses of the Qur'an they misinterpret in the name of war, will be set out in detail in later chapters. There is one important point that needs to be remembered here; the great majority of radicals spread violence out of ignorance. They do not know the true faith. Most of them have likely never even read the Qur'an. That is why it is no use to condemn, curse, threaten, imprison or exile someone who kills under the misapprehension he is waging jihad. His problem is that he has not been educated with the Qur'an and has not understood the law of God. Since that is the problem, we have to accept the fact that so long as false education persists, there will also be radicals who are ignorant of what they do. If one accepts that this is the problem, one can also grasp the fact that the only thing that those who spread violence and terror under the name of jihad need is true education.

What is Misunderstood about War in Islam

A Muslim has a responsibility to believe in every verse of the Qur’an, without exception

The reason for this heading appearing here is to show the false nature of claims made by fanatics who seek to add superstition to Islam and some opponents of Islam, who in turn misuse the unpleasant ideas of those fanatics that some verses of the Qur’an are no longer valid. They cite this verse as supposed evidence for their claims:

Whenever We abrogate an ayat or cause it to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or equal to it. Do you not know that God has power over all things? (Qur'an, 2:106)

Those who twist their tongues against the Qur'an have misinterpreted this verse as evidence to allow them to impose their own superstition as the faith instead of the Qur'an. They have unwisely imagined that by misinterpreting this verse, they can invalidate some verses and even replace them with fabricated hadiths. Some, in order to legitimize the atrocities they seek to commit, wrongly and without any basis, maintain that the Qur'an's provisions regarding compassion, mercy and forgiveness have been abrogated and the verses about war apply. Some opponents of Islam, on the other hand, maintain that there are verses about the use of intoxicants or war that no longer apply and seek to divide Muslims into those who abide by that and those who do not. Neither of these is correct.

The true interpretation of this verse that the people in question seek to cite as evidence for their own utterly perverse way of thinking is as follows; the Arabic word “ayat” in the term “Whenever We abrogate an ayat” is singular. The word ayat also means sign or miracle, as well as verse, but the word “ayat” used to refer to the verses of the Qur’an never appears in singular form. When it appears in the singular, the word “ayat” always means evidence or sign, and that is how it is translated in all other verses.

The meaning here is therefore not “verses of the Qur’an” but “signs, rules and Sharia” that went before it. According to this verse, therefore, if some practices and commandments applied by previous communities to whom Divine books were sent down, that is, Jews and Christians, were forgotten in time, these have either been recalled or else abrogated by the Qur’an. A similar or better version has thus been brought forth with the Qur’an.

We also need to concentrate on the words “cause it to be forgotten” in the verse. In order for one commandment to abrogate another, the earlier one has to have been “forgotten.” Since the Qur’an has remained unchanged for 1,400 years there can be no question of one verse replacing another. The commandments that fanatics allege have been abrogated have not been forgotten; they are still in the Qur’an. This clearly shows that the abrogation being referred to here is not of one verse by another, but of commandments belonging to earlier communities that have since been forgotten. Commands that have been sent down to earlier societies but “forgotten” have been restored with the Qur’an, with more auspicious or similar versions being sent down to those communities.

The Qur’an is a “preserved” Book

As our Lord explicitly states in a verse, the Qur’an is a “preserved” Book.

It is We Who have sent down the Reminder [the Qur’an] and We Who will preserve it. (Qur'an, 15: 9)

It is impossible for some verses in a book which is “preserved” and whose commandments apply to all Muslims to be regarded as valid, while others are not. The integrity of the Qur’an, its mathematical and scientific miracles, the fact that it is a guide and the verses regarding how it has been preserved all rebut these claims made by fanatics and some opponents of Islam.

Those who reject the Remembrance [the Qur’an] when it comes to them –truly it is a Mighty Book; falsehood cannot reach it from before it or behind it – it is a revelation from One Who is All-Wise, Praiseworthy. (Qur'an, 41:41-42)

Its collection and recitation are Our affair. So when We recite it, follow its recitation. Then its explanation is Our concern. (Qur'an, 75:17-19)

As these verses explicitly state, the Qur’an is a peerless book, and falsehood cannot catch up with it from before or behind. This book is under the protection of our Lord. It is therefore a blatant slander to suggest that some commandments have replaced those in the Qur’an.

We need to state here that the supposed scholars who slander Islam and the Qur’an in this way are in intense disagreement among themselves as to the number of verses that are supposedly abrogated. Each one in his own way replaces a verse he regards as abrogated with another commandment, and these rules therefore lead to new and different faiths; some supposed scholars have even gone so far as to maintain that hadiths can replace verses. These people completely ignore God’s verse that reads “We have not omitted anything from the Book” (Qur'an, 6:38). They reject verses of the Qur’an and replace them with hadiths, some of which are total fabrications. This logical collapse perpetrated in the name of Islam also represents the basis for the actions of radicals. We shall be looking at this in due course.

Just like the peddlers of superstition, opponents of Islam have also tried to apply this false interpretation over the verses to a large number of commandments about Islam. Let us now look at where these people have gone wrong.

The Mistakes in Differentiating between the “Meccan Period Muslims” and “ Medinan Period Muslims”

Some opponents of Islam refer to Muslims advocating peace as "Meccan period Muslims." In their eyes, the time when our Prophet (pbuh) was in Mecca was a peaceful time of no wars, yet wars suddenly started following our Prophet's (pbuh) migration to Medina. Some people claim, on that basis, that the proponents of war in Islam recognize only the verses revealed in the Medinan period, while peace-loving Muslims recognize only the verses from the Meccan period. That idea is as illogical as it is ignorant.

As we have already seen, the essential precondition for a Muslim to acquire the identity of a Muslim is to believe in all the verses of the Qur’an, without exception. If someone rejects a single verse, then he loses the attribute of being a Muslim as described in the Qur’an. There is therefore no possibility in the eyes of the Qur’an of someone who says, “I am a Muslim” to discriminate by saying, “I recognize this verse but not that one.”

It is true that there was no fighting in the Meccan period in the life of our Prophet (pbuh), but that there was fighting in the Medinan period and that verses were sent down concerning those particular battles. In order to understand the reason for this we need to understand the difficult conditions in the time of our Prophet (pbuh).

The Harsh Testing of Muslims in the Meccan Period

The revelation to our Prophet (pbuh) took a full 23 years. During the first 13 years of this, Muslims lived as a minority in the pagan society of Mecca and were subjected to very great pressures. Many Muslims were subjected to physical torture, some were martyred, the homes and possessions of most were looted and they were constantly exposed to threats and insults. Yet Muslims continued living without resorting to violence, merely keeping their distance from the pagans and always calling them to the path of peace.

Yet the aggression of the pagan communities in question was unending.

The Quraysh, the tribe that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was born into, initially seemed to regard his prophethood as unimportant. While continuing not to believe, they made no protest against the Prophet's (pbuh) call so long as he said nothing against their idols. When they saw the Prophet (pbuh) however, they attacked him verbally. They unwisely mocked and belittled Muslims. The Quraysh "verbal assault" period began in that way.

The Qur’an describes the position in these words:

Muslims lived as a minority in the pagan society of Mecca and were exposed to much oppression. Many Muslims were physically tortured, some were martyred, most had their homes and possessions pillaged and they were subjected to constant insults and threats. Yet Muslims continued to live without resorting to violence, merely keeping their distance from the idolaters and calling on them to live in peace.

Mecca was the center of idolatry. Mecca would fill to overflowing every day with people coming to visit the Ka’aba and the idols around it, thus earning the Quraysh a good deal of money and prestige. The Quraysh regarded the spread of Islam in Mecca as a threat, because they thought that this would act against their own interests and also attract the hostility of other tribes. They also knew that Islam regarded everyone as equal and made no discrimination on grounds of lineage or wealth. Leading members of the Quraysh therefore believed they needed to take precautions to stop the spread of Islam. These “precautions” frequently included the torture and even the killing of Muslims.[i] (Ibn Hisham, 1/287)

The pagans of the time could not do much harm to members of strong and eminent families, such as Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Uthman but they viciously mistreated poor and unprotected Muslims. Worthy Muslims exposed to such severe mistreatment included Abu Fakih, Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, Bilal ibn Rabah, Suhaib ar-Rumi, Ammar ibn Yasir, Yasir ibn Amir and Sumayyah bint Khayyat.

Abu Fakih, a slave of Safwan ibn Umayyah, was tied by his feet every day by his master and dragged over hot gravel and sand.

The iron-worker Khabbab ibn al-Aratt was laid on hot coals and his chest pressed down onto the coals until they had cooled.

Ammar ibn Yasir’s father, Yasir ibn Amir, had his legs tied to camels which were then driven in different directions, tearing his body apart. Unable to bear the pain of her husband being killed in that savage way, Sumayyah bint Khayyat spoke out against the pagans and was killed by an arrow fired by Abu Jahl.[ii] (Zad al-Maad, 2/116; The Age of Felicity, 1/254)

Umayyah ibn Khalaf would lay his slave Bilal al-Habashi down naked on baking sand every day. He would then place a huge rock on his chest and leave him there for hours; he tortured him to try and make him go against the Prophet (pbuh) and abandon Islam. One day he tied his hands and feet and placed a rope round his neck. He then dragged him over the hot sand through the streets of Mecca.[iii] (Zad al-Maad, 2/116; The Age of Felicity, 1/253)

They were at first unable to touch the person of our Prophet (pbuh) since he was under the guardianship of his uncle Abu Talib and since they feared the Hashemites. Gradually, however they began slandering him, saying he was a “fortune teller, a poet, a magician, a conjuror.” Eventually, they took every opportunity they could find to insult and mistreat the Prophet (pbuh).

The pagans of the time were unable to harm Muslims from powerful and prestigious families, such as Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Uthman. However, they barbarically mistreated and tortured poor and helpless Muslims, in a way never seen before.

This mistreatment of Muslims all took place simply because they had faith and preached Islam to those around them. Despite all that oppression, torture and violence, Muslims never harmed those who were harming them, which is one of the requirements of Islam, and never tried to defend themselves which is their most basic human right. Seeing that the Muslims were not fighting back, the Quraysh stepped up their aggression and tortures. The Quraysh in question were now martyring Muslims the moment they see them.

As the persecution worsened, the Muslims, who did not respond to it in any way and did not even defend themselves since the Qur’an prohibits the shedding of blood, found themselves unable to remain in Mecca any longer. That meant they had to migrate to Medina.

The Medinan Period and the Battles

Eventually, as the idolaters’ attacks grew in severity, the Muslims migrated to the city of Yathrib (later known as Medina), where the climate was freer and friendlier, and set up their own administration there. Yet even after they established their own political structures, the attacks by the pagans of Mecca did not come to an end. The Quraysh followed the Muslims and persisted in violent attacks against them. Our Prophet (pbuh) and the Muslims around him never embarked on a counter-offensive against the idolaters.

No person, community or country in the world will fail to respond if they are attacked. They will always respond to the aggressor in “self defense” and at the very least, take defensive action. People who engage in self defense are invariably exonerated by the courts, and countries that do so are exonerated under international law because they have been subjected to an unjust attack, and people’s lives, families and loved ones, or countries’ peoples, lands and honor are endangered.

That also applied to our Prophet (pbuh) and Muslims in the Meccan period. Yet despite all the unjust and murderous attacks on them, our Prophet (pbuh) and the Muslims never counter-attacked on the grounds that God had made killing unlawful. Instead, as commanded in the verses, they always called the other side to peace, and when peace proposals were ineffective they left their homes, lands and cities and moved away.

In the 13 years or so of the Meccan period and the first years of the Medinan period, believers were still commanded to be patient in the face of all this torture and injustice and to preach the faith of God kindly, as revealed in the verse “Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair admonition, and argue with them in the kindest way” (Qur'an, 16:125), and no fighting was permitted. Our Prophet (pbuh) responded as follows to those Muslims who wished to stand up to the persecution in question:

“Fighting is still not permitted. Be patient, God’s help is at hand, and you will be rewarded for your sufferings...”

Our Prophet (pbuh) was given permission to engage in self defense for himself and his community in the following verses which were revealed after the migration to Medina:

Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against because they have been wronged – truly God has the power to come to their support – those who were expelled from their homes without any right, merely for saying, “Our Lord is God”… (Qur'an, 22:39-40)

With this verse, the Muslim community that had been unjustly forced into exile merely for saying “Our Lord is God” started to make preparations to defend themselves. As explicitly stated in the verse, a Muslim community “who are fought against because they have been wronged” are permitted to defend themselves; but they are not told to attack. Following this verse, Muslims began to defend themselves and fought back against the ferocious community that was attacking them. Verses concerning war and defense revealed after that contain descriptions regarding measures during the fighting taking place then. To put it another way, a special description is provided specific to the situation in that particular war. Therefore, all the verses about war in the Qur’an were specially revealed as referring to the particular attacks taking place at that time to enable us to see the difficult conditions of the time and the justice of our Prophet (pbuh).

Who were battles fought against?

One important point that needs to be remembered regarding the battles described in the Qur’an is “the other side” in the fighting. Some religious and historical sources say that the battles fought in the time of our Prophet (pbuh) were against the Jews. Some people who read those sources then go on to look for anti-Semitism in the Qur’an, claiming that the verses revealed for specific battles in the Qur’an are generally directed against the Jews. That is a grave error, however.

It was the pagans who engaged in that persecution against our Prophet (pbuh) and Muslims. A great many of these were idol-worshipers. Their aim was to prevent any harm from coming to their idols and perverse beliefs. Some were hypocrites and polytheists who had come out of Jewish communities but it would be very wrong to refer to these as Jews. In the same way that it would be very wrong to regard a polytheist or hypocrite who emerged from a Muslim community as a “Muslim,” it is equally wrong to regard polytheists and hypocrites who emerged from among Jews and began spreading violence as “Jews.” It is impossible for a true Jew to start fighting and take the lives of believers.

The Qur'an condemns anti-Semitism. For that reason, those who look for expressions of enmity toward the Jews in the Qur'an return empty-handed. A great majority of people who interpret the verses in question as referring to fighting against the Jews are not aware of an important historical fact: Our Prophet (pbuh) always enjoyed good relations with Jewish people. He treated them with respect and affection, and true, devout Jews treated our Prophet (pbuh) with that same respect and affection.

Information concerning our Prophet’s (pbuh) affectionate attitude toward Jews, the Torah and Judaism will be examined in detail in the chapter on the People of the Book.

The Description of War in the Qur'an

The description of war in the Qur’an is quite explicit:

Fight in the Way of God against those who fight you, but do not go beyond the limits. God does not love those who go beyond the limits. (Qur'an, 2:190)

War must only be waged against those who attack Muslims. That is a defensive war. It is absolutely prohibited in the Qur’an for Muslims to attack the other side for no reason.

What God commands Muslims in the Qur’an is that they must always keep justice at the fore, even if they are angry at a community because of its injustices and aggression. God reveals in one verse:

You who believe! Show integrity for the sake of God, bearing witness with justice. Do not let hatred for a people incite you into not being just. Be just. That is closer to devoutness. Have awe of God. God is aware of what you do. (Qur'an, 5:8)

For example, in one verse God prohibits Muslims from going beyond the limits regarding communities that try to stop Muslims from entering the Ka'aba, advising them to treat them and everyone else with kindness:

... Do not let hatred for a people who debar you from the Masjid al-Haram [the Sacred Mosque] incite you into going beyond the limits. Help each other to goodness and piety. Do not help each other to wrongdoing and enmity. Have awe of God. God is severe in retribution. (Qur'an, 5:2)

Muslims are warned by Almighty God not to overstep the bounds, even though they have deliberately been prevented from performing their religious obligation of the hajj (pilgrimage) and have been treated unjustly. God commands Muslims to behave justly even under those conditions, and commands them to behave well and not be angered. Muslims have an obligation to obey this commandment in the Qur’an, no matter what the circumstances.

All the wars described in the Qur'an were defensive wars that took place in that region under circumstances that necessitated defensive action. The verses for defense were sent down for those specific conditions of the times.

The verse that describes the only justification for fighting – self-defense – also contains another condition on the subject of war: not to go to excess. This means that in the event of an attack a Muslim must simply defend himself, must not overreact and must take no other action than defensive measures. In other words, aggression, violence, anger and extremism are banned in the Qur’an.

Another verse reveals the obligation to engage only in defense war against aggressors in these terms:

God does not forbid you from being good to those who have not fought you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from being just towards them. God loves those who are just. God merely forbids you from taking as friends those who have fought you in the religion and driven you from your homes and who supported your expulsion. … (Qur'an, 60:8-9)

There is an important distinction here. It is unlawful for Muslims to attack people who have never attacked them, even though they are opposed to Muslims on the level of ideas. A Muslim has a responsibility to treat such people with respect and justice. According to this verse, Muslims are only permitted to engage in defensive warfare against people who oppress them because of their beliefs and actually physically attack them; against people who initiate hostilities, in other words. As we have already seen, everyone will, of course, defend himself if he is attacked. This is the right of every person, nation and country, and is also the correct thing to do.

The fact that our Prophet (pbuh) engaged in no self-defense until the revelation of the verses permitting such activity represents enormous self-sacrifice and religious devotion. Until that time, our Prophet (pbuh) had merely resorted to methods of compromise and trying to convince the other side, as required by the verse “argue with them in the kindest way” even though the sole aim of the pagan Quraysh was slaughter.

Having made that important point, we shall now examine all the verses that the peddlers of superstitions and opponents of Islam seek to offer as evidence for their own baseless views regarding violence in Islam, and will refute their errors on the subject one after the other. Before looking at these verses, we need to know that all the battles described in the Qur’an were waged against a particular community in that region, and that these special conditions are expressed in the verses. That community was a polytheistic one, with which an agreement had been reached. Therefore, all these battles were determined by the behavior and aggression of the community in question which had breached the peace and friendship agreements. The verses sent down therefore concern the state of affairs at that time and describe that specific climate.

In order to understand that, let us look at the definition of polytheist at the time and the agreements reached with them:

Polytheists with Whom Agreements Were Made

Although, according to some commentaries of the time, the word polytheist simply means “those ascribing equals to God,” the term really refers to pagans who worship idols, who explicitly ascribe equals to God and believe in countless deities and who are not Muslim, Jewish, Sabaean, Christian or Magian.

While the Qur’an refers to the various religions that existed in Arabia during the time of the coming of Islam, the polytheists are always mentioned as a separate group. Looking at the time of our Prophet (pbuh), although it was made lawful to marry women from and eat food prepared by the People of the Book, Jews and Christians; it was forbidden to marry women from or eat food cooked by the Magians and Sabaeans, and also the polytheists.[iv]

As we have already seen, our Prophet (pbuh) was forced to migrate to Medina under severe pressure from the polytheists and from the very first days of the emigration, he established a bond of brotherhood between the Ansar (the helpers, the Muslims of Medina) and the Muhajir (the emigrants, the Muslims who had migrated from Mecca to Medina). He signed numerous agreements with polytheistic communities and people living in the region, and always invited them to be united in order to build peace, despite the extreme attitudes of the polytheists.

Our Prophet (pbuh) came to Medina, and his strengthening of love and brotherhood proved that people could live in peace with peoples of different beliefs, faiths and languages. One of the greatest proofs that he was a messenger of peace and love is that the first text he had written was a peace agreement. After capturing Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) even released all the polytheists who had previously tortured Muslims and treated them with great compassion. This superior moral virtue exhibited by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was something that had never been seen before in Arab society, and was met with great approval.

The Prophet (pbuh) is a role model for all Muslims on the subject of the implementation of justice in conquered territories. Our Prophet (pbuh) applied the justice revealed in the Qur’an to the inhabitants of countries that were taken over and made agreements with them that would content both sides and under which nobody would suffer the slightest victimization. For that reason, the peoples of conquered countries, no matter what their religion or ethnicity, were always delighted by the justice brought with it by Islam. Our Prophet (pbuh) and the Companions with him represented a community that established justice between people, as expressed in the verse, "Among those We have created there is a community who guide by the Truth and act justly according to it." (Qur'an, 7:181)

The agreement that our Prophet (pbuh) made with the Christian Najran people in the south of the Arabian peninsula is one of the finest examples of his understanding and justice. One of the articles in the treat reads as follows:

Following the agreements with all the societies in that region, our Prophet (pbuh) founded the state of Medina by drawing up the first constitution in the history of Islam, the Constitution of Medina. This was the first and most perfect example of a democratic and multilateral constitution. No democratic system today has been able to achieve such an order as that put into action by our Prophet (pbuh) in the Constitution of Medina, and none has been able to implement it as well as our Prophet (pbuh).

The First Multilateral and Most Democratic Constitution Ever: The Constitution of Medina

With the Constitution of Medina, the first constitution of the state of Medina, our Prophet (pbuh) brought a democratic and peaceful order never before seen on the Arabian Peninsula to an urban community made up of various races, religions and tribes.

Under this constitution, all the communities in Medina were to live together in peace, arrange their lives according to their own faith and beliefs, and have the power to operate and regulate their own institutions and laws. In doing this, they would live together in peace and unity with all the communities in Medina.

The Constitution of Medina was written in 622 AD, under the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) some 1,400 years ago, to respond to the demands of peoples of differing beliefs, and has come down to us as a written legal treaty. As a result, communities that were hostile to one another for 120 years and consisted of different religions and races were included under this constitution. By means of this agreement, the Prophet (pbuh) showed that conflict could come to an end between communities that used to attack one another at every opportunity, were hostile to one another and never compromised with one another, and that they could agree to live together.

Under the Constitution of Medina, everyone was free to make his own religious, political or philosophical choices, free from any pressure from anyone else. They could establish a community with people holding the same views. Everyone was free to exercise his own justice system. However, nobody committing an offense was to be protected by anyone else. The parties to the agreement were to help and support one another, and would be under the protection of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Disagreements between parties would be brought to the Messenger of God (pbuh). Indeed, even polytheists preferred the arbitration of our Prophet (pbuh), as he was the most just person of all.

This treaty drawn up by our Prophet (pbuh) was implemented gradually between 622 and 632 AD. Through that constitution, people moved beyond the tribal structure based on ties of blood and family, and people with very different geographic, cultural and ethnic roots came together to constitute one whole. The Constitution of Medina also established very wide-ranging freedom of belief and religion. One of the items expressing that freedom reads:

“The Jews of Banu ‘Awf are a community along with the believers. To the Jews their religion and to the Muslims their religion.”[vi] (The Constitution of Medina, http://www.islamic-study.org/jews-prophet-page-2.htm)

The Constitution of Medina consists of 47 items. Items 1–23 concern Muslims, while items 24–47 concern Jewish tribes settled in Medina. Reference being made to Christians, who were much fewer in number, is also important in terms of participation by members of different faiths.

An analysis of the Constitution of Medina in a report titled “A Reassessment of Medina Charter according to Professor Leonard Swidler’s Pluralism Perspective” states that the Constitution is a significant document in displaying the Prophet’s efforts in uniting the city and bringing the groups together around the law, which was explicitly announced to the people.

According to this report, in terms of law, each individual had equal rights, enjoyed the freedom to choose their own religion and to participate in war together with Muslims while under all circumstances, they were prohibited from engaging in any separate agreements with the enemy, showing an effort to establish a strict solidarity of the Medina groups. The author of the report says that this political and religious text aimed at establishing a new society around the values of equality and freedom. As it was emphasized in the Constitution, the superiority of the law over the individual was the basic step in attaining the goal of securing an atmosphere of dialogue and co-existence. The items of the Constitution also signified the equal responsibility of each individual in defending the city. According to this report, given that the names of all the groups in the city are cited one by one, the Constitution and thereby the Prophet, recognized all these groups in the city as legal entities and took them into account.[vii] (Kenan Çetinkaya, Amerika'da Diyalog anlayışı ve Medine Vesikası [Understanding of Dialogue in America and Medina Charter])

Although there are a large number of items concerning the Jews in the constitution, it will also be appropriate to remind ourselves that it also included pagan communities living there. Although the polytheists in Mecca openly demonstrated their enmity toward the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Muslims and forced them from their lands, the Prophet (pbuh) always treated the pagans of Medina in a very affectionate, peaceable and reconciliatory way. The text of the Constitution of Medina shows that Muslims adopted a protective attitude toward the rights and laws of the polytheists, and that these polytheists wished to act alongside Muslims in the defense of Medina. Such an attitude toward the polytheists is not at all surprising because in the Qur’an, Muslims have a responsibility to protect polytheists with whom they have signed agreements, even at the cost of their own lives. (This will be set out in greater detail in due course.)

The Constitution of Medina was the first pluralist and the most democratic constitution in history, showing the protective attitude of Muslims toward the rights and laws of members of all other faiths and even idolaters.

In conclusion, the constitution in question is regarded as a highly important document containing the nucleus of unity and union, love and affection, friendship and peace, and represents an example of dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims in general and between Muslims and Jews in particular. It is hard at present to identify a Muslim society capable of living by the Qur’an-based conception of love and peace of our Prophet (pbuh) at that time. This is definitive and highly important evidence that the most democratic constitution in history was written and implemented by our Prophet (pbuh) and that present-day societies have turned away from the practices of our Prophet (pbuh) as revealed in the Qur’an.

The subsequent sections of this book therefore need to be assessed in the light of this information. The practices of today’s peddlers of superstition are radically different from the advice of the Holy Qur’an, which commands that even polytheists be protected and says that the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) enjoy a special status for Muslims, and from the practices of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who always aimed for peace and democracy. The peddlers of superstition are always looking for evidence for unceasing conflict in the Qur’an, yet the Qur’an itself always counsels peace. This important fact therefore needs to be borne in mind while interpreting the verses about war.

Verses about War and the Interpretation Thereof

After seeing the definition of war in the Qur’an, let us now examine the verses about war that are misused by some radicals and used against Islam by some opponents of Islam:

Examination of Verse 191 of Surat al-Baqara:

This verse was sent down after Muslims were subjected to severe persecution and violence and were forced to migrate from Mecca to Medina. The conditions we discussed in detail above came about and Muslims received the command to defend themselves against direct attacks. They were forced to use the method of the oppressor community against them, in other words they were forced to defend themselves, because that community insisted on oppression, refused to be reasoned with and ignored calls of peace or negotiation.

However, the verse also contains a reminder of the rules of war: “Do not fight them in the Masjid al-Haram until they fight you there. But if they do fight you, then you also fight them.” As we have seen, the only condition for fighting them is for the other side to have attacked first. If they do not wage war, if they do not attack, then it is absolutely unlawful for Muslims to fight.

It is of course very suspicious how the radicals and opponents of Islam who distort this verse ignore this rather important provision. The verse explicitly grants Muslims only the right to self-defense: The verse is not therefore commanding warfare and aggression.

THESE HATEFUL IMAGES DO NOT REFLECT ISLAM In verse 191 of Surat al-Baqara, Muslims are only given the right to defend themselves. According to the Qur'an, war is allowed only in the form of self-defense when there is an attack.

Another important element in the verses is revealed as follows: "Fitna [sedition, strife] is worse than killing." Inciting communities, encouraging hatred, spreading hatred, anarchy and terror by engaging in slander and outright falsehoods thereby producing hostile masses of people is fitna, and the verse tells us that fitna is worse than killing; thus, the communities that attack Muslims are the ones that engage in actual, psychological and covert fitna and the harm they do is very great. Muslims naturally defend themselves when such aggression rears its head.

The way that some fanatics are taken in by hearsay or superstition and declare individuals, societies or faiths to be spreading fitna and then seek supposed evidence for their perversions from verses of the Qur'an is of course exceedingly pitiful. Fitna involves actions that will lead to corruption, such as spreading division among Muslims, leading them into loss and sin by inflicting all kinds of troubles on them, then establishing the infrastructure for mass rebellions and engaging in physical and verbal assaults on Muslims. Therefore, in order to be able to accuse someone of fitna, they have to have committed one or more of these actions. Those who seek to accuse Jews or Israel by branding them as engaging in fitna thus fly in the face of this verse.

According to the Qur'an, it is a sin to accuse all Jews or Israel of engaging in fitna. People who spread fitna may emerge from any religion or country. Yet in the same way that it is impossible to brand all Arabs, Turks or Muslims as spreaders of fitna simply because there are some Arabs, Turks or Muslims who engage in fitna, there is also no question of branding all Jews or all Israelis as spreaders of fitna. According to the Qur'an, a Muslim can dine in the home of a Jew, can be his guest and friend, and can even marry a Jewish (or Christian) woman (This will be clarified in detail in another chapter). Marriage is the closest union one can ever establish with another person. It makes two different families relatives. It is clear that an individual who agrees to kinship with a Christian or a Jew would not pronounce them as a menace, or assume an aggressive or oppressive attitude towards them.

That being the case, it is impossible for a Muslim to unconditionally brand a Jew as a spreader of fitna. People who make such sweeping claims know nothing of the Qur'an, as we said at the beginning, and are acting out of ignorance resulting from being raised under the influence of countless fabricated hadiths regarding fitna and the Jews. The hadiths in question and the position of the People of the Book according to the Qur'an will be examined in due course in later chapters.

Jews and Christians are defined as the People of the Book in the Qur'an. Muslims are obliged to approach the People of the Book with love and compassion.

Examination of Verses 89, 90 and 91 of Surat an-Nisa':

These verses refer to hypocrites. These are creatures who say they are Muslims, who live among Muslims and appear to be one of them, but who actually harbor a great hostility toward God and Islam, and seek to stab Muslims in the back. God reveals that those who die as hypocrites are cast into the lowest circle of hell. As can be seen, because of its two-faced and treacherous nature, hypocrisy is an especially dangerous and despicable human model, quite unlike the deniers or the polytheists.

It is forbidden in verse 89 of Surat an-Nisa’ to adopt as friends hypocrites, who abandon Muslims and who strive to make Muslims fall into the same perversions as themselves. What justifies fighting against them is the state in which the hypocrites in question engage in physical attacks on Muslims. We can see this from the verse that follows, verse 90. As is clear from the words “If they keep away from you and do not fight you and submit to you,” there is nothing to be held against a community that does not engage in attacks. The community the killing of which is permitted is quite clearly one that has declared war on Muslims first. Muslims are clearly given the right to defend themselves in the face of attacks here.

In addition, verse 90 of Surat an-Nisa’ is another manifestation of the just, forgiving and affectionate language, that always favors peace, of the Qur’an. Some hypocrites, who until then had always stabbed Muslims in the back and betrayed them but who later adopted a peaceful attitude toward Muslims are also immune, as we can see from the words; “Except for those who seek shelter with people with whom you have a treaty, or who come to you greatly perturbed at the prospect of fighting either you or their own people.” In the same verse God says, “If they keep away from you and do not fight you and submit to you, God has not given you any way against such people,” again emphasizing their immunity. This is the very definition of justice.

Verse 91 contains a situation described on the basis of the same conditions. Hypocrites who repent and who say they do not want to fight later return to fitna and begin attacking Muslims again. In that event, the provision regarding war is recalled in the Qur’an, saying that these people are not to be touched as long as they do not attack, but that if they do, then self-defense is legitimate.

We need to remember that the situation described in the verse was a specific one that came about during the Battle of Uhud and concerns those hypocrites who engaged in treachery on the battlefield and caused the martyrdom of scores of Muslims.

Examination of Verse 5 of Surat at-Tawba:

In order to understand the conditions in the above verse we need to start reading from verse 1 of Surat at-Tawba; in that way we see that the polytheists deserving to be counter-attacked are not “all polytheists” but those perpetrating savage attacks on Muslims and who then come to agreements in order not to fight during the sacred months. The polytheists here are the ones who have cunningly tried to hunt Muslims down and have continued to attack them during the sacred months and have taken Muslims’ lives, although they have made a fair agreement with Muslims and they very well knew that Muslims would not get into a war during the sacred months.

Under these conditions, Muslims are given the right in this verse to defend themselves against savage attacks. As shown in the verse, although the polytheists carried out their savage attacks in the sacred months, Muslims did not respond during those months, as commanded by God. They exhibited patience during those months and only began counter-attacking once the sacred months were over. We also see that the verse describes the method that needs to be adopted in defense: seizure, siege and lying in wait on all roads. The primary conditions in wars based on international law are siege and seizure. The passages required for the siege are taken and held and the other side is thus prevented from moving. This verse therefore described the method adopted and now regarded as legitimate under international law. The only difference is that it is not Muslims doing the attacking; they are simply trying to put an end to the attacks against them.

In verse 6 of Surat at-Tawba, Muslims are told to help an idolater who seeks shelter with them and asks for their help, even at the cost of endangering their own lives.

There is also no question in this verse of engaging in any fight against those who stop their attacks and repent. They must be released; that is explicit.

When we look at the very next verse, we find a very important statement that describes the loving and protective spirit of the Qur’an. This verse eliminates all the claims made about Muslims by the opponents of Islam. The verse reads:

If any of the polytheists ask you for protection, give them protection until they have heard the words of God. Then convey them to a place where they are safe. That is because they are a people who do not know. (Qur'an, 9:6)

Through this verse, Muslims are advised to help a polytheist who has taken shelter with them and seeks their help, even if that endangers their own lives. The verse even suggests that such a Muslim should use himself as a shield to protect such polytheists. To put it another way, he has a responsibility to risk his own life to protect someone who denies God and to carry him to safety.

This is what the Qur’an commands. According to that commandment, someone is not to be killed for not believing in God. On the contrary, he must be protected, even at the cost of Muslims’ lives. Therefore, the justification for war has nothing to do with whether the other side believes in God or not or belongs to another faith. The justification for war is that the other side engages in assaults and torture, and takes people’s lives.

Another fact set out in the verse is that all people must be under the protection of Muslims so long as they do not attack or engage in extreme behavior, irrespective of their religion, language, ethnicity or beliefs. A Muslim has a responsibility to protect the People of the Book, or even an atheist or a communist, in the same way that he does other Muslims; this is a requirement of being a Muslim; this is the description of a Muslim in the Qur’an. If someone says, “I am a Muslim,” he must be protective of others.

Examination of Verse 13 of Surat at-Tawba:

This verse is another of those that show the commandments regarding fighting in the Qur’an. When a polytheistic community that had come to a truce with Muslims, in other words, that lived in peace with them as required under those agreements, broke the truce and started attacking, when they tried to force our Prophet (pbuh) to leave his own land and go into exile and when, as the verse explicitly states, they have initiated hostilities, Muslims had the right to fight back against them.

Examination of Verse 33 of Surat al-Ma'ida:

The subject we have particularly stressed in all the verses about warfare is also noticeable in this verse. The characteristics of the community to be fought against are set out in great detail here: they wage war on God and His Messenger and go about the world corrupting it. These people do not merely engage in physical attacks on Muslims; they also spread corruption across the world. The verse is speaking of a community that represents a problem for the whole world, that everyone regards as a perverse, corrupt and warlike society.

As in all wars, killing is possible in resisting a community that has actively declared war on Muslims, so long as it is a last resort, and one of the measures that can be imposed is to force those people from their lands. To put it another way, according to the verses of the Qur’an, Muslims are permitted to do things that would normally be forbidden – killing and forcing people into exile – only in the event of such a state of war.

Examination of Verse 57 of Surat al-Anfal:

We also need to assess this verse in the light of the perspective and evidence we have been looking at in detail. It must not be forgotten that the Medinan period when some verses were sent down was a time of intense fighting. This was purely the result of injustice perpetrated against Muslims "who were expelled from their homes without any right, merely for saying, 'Our Lord is God'…" (Qur'an, 22:40) as stated in one verse. Moreover, as the verse goes on to say, "If they keep away from you and do not fight you and submit to you, God has not given you any way against such people." Muslims have a responsibility to stop the fighting and not to insult the other side when it does come to an end.

Looking at a few verses before verse 57 of Surat al-Anfal, we see that they reference communities with which Muslims had already reached agreements. As almost every verse that gives permission for legitimate self-defense states, these communities are ones which had broken their truce with Muslims and then immediately attacked them.

It is important to produce a deterrent force in the face of that community which engages in one attack after another, refuses to listen to reason and creates corruption by constantly breaking peace agreements because once that is done, those communities that have become accustomed to spreading corruption will no longer have the strength to do so and other groups of polytheists preparing to follow their lead and create corruption and start attacking will thereby lack the courage to do so. This is a necessary and important precautionary measure against that community that breaks every peace treaty, and one that will prevent subsequent conflict. Great importance is attached to sanctions being “deterrents” in the constitutions of just about all countries of the world and in international law. The aim is to prevent an offense being committed by the same or another person. These precautions in international law are extremely appropriate, and it is unjust, as well as a violation of both common sense and fairness, for people who regard them as necessary for states of law to oppose the same measures when it comes to Islam.

Examination of Verse 4 of Surah Muhammad:

We need to first mention that, as is the case with the other verses, this verse refers to a state of war in which polytheists start to attack after terminating the agreement. Faced with an attack, there exists no option for believers other than responding. However, the phrase, "strike their necks", which exists in the English versions of the Qur'an, does not exist in the original Arabic. The accurate translation is as follows:

Therefore when you meet in war those who are unbelievers strike their headquarters of observation and command. Then when you have decimated them, tie their bonds tightly and set them free or ransom them, until the war is finally over… (Qur'an, 47:4)

The Arabic original phrase in this verse, which is mistranslated as "strike their necks", is "fadarbar riqaab." The word, which is mistranslated as "neck" in the verse is "riqaab", and means "observing, being under observation." One of the Beautiful Names of God is also "Ar-Raqib", which means "the Watchful One." This word comes from the root "r-q-b" and means observing, controlling, guarding and watching. It means that God is All-Observing, and He constantly watches, guards and controls His servants. Therefore, the verse does not mean "striking one's neck" but rather refers to rendering ineffective the operation center of those that attack Muslims in a war. Taking down the operation center from where the war is managed will surely prevent the loss of hundreds of lives in a war. God explains in another verse how "the leaders of disbelief should be fought" in a war in which the unbelievers attack Muslims and try to kill civilians:

If they break their oaths after making their treaty and defame your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief – their oaths mean nothing – so that hopefully they will stop. (Qur'an, 9:12)

As this verse also makes clear, Muslims are in a defensive war with the aggressors who violate peace treaties and target the innocent. The verse also explains that the war is a "deterrent" to convince these unbelievers to stop their oppressive ways, and that rendering ineffective those who command, guide and provoke people to war will help end the war within the shortest time possible. This way loss of lives can be prevented. In other words, when Muslims are forced to fight to defend themselves, they should follow a path so as to end the war and make peace as soon as possible.

Verse 4 of Surah Muhammad also describes an important rule, which is today an important part of the international law of war. God orders Muslims to release the prisoners of wars, which although a part of the international law of war, is not followed by many nations today. For example although the Afghanistan campaign is over, the prisoners of war are still kept in Guantanamo, and the UN and NATO among others, do not raise any objections. However, such an attitude is not considered acceptable in the Qur'an. According to Islam, for the war to officially end, prisoners of war must definitely be released. In other words, if a Qur'an-abiding Muslim is forced to be a party in a war, he cannot give the slightest harm to prisoners of war. On the contrary, he is responsible for taking care of them in the best way possible until the war ends. For example, even if he is hungry, he should give his food to prisoners of war. In other words, he has to put the well-being of the prisoners of war before his own:

They give food, despite their love for it, to the poor and orphans and captives. (Qur'an. 4:8)

Examination of Verse 89 of Surat an-Nisa':

The people referred to in this verse are hypocrites. Hypocrites hid themselves among the faithful and carried out acts against Muslims. As the verse explains, they tried to drag the faithful into disbelief like themselves, and tried to persuade them to betray Muslims. God commands Muslims not to trust in these hypocrites' words until they abandon this attitude and side with Muslims.

However, if despite everything, hypocrites continue their attack and hostility, it becomes obligatory for Muslims to declare war against them. As it is made clear in the verse, the hypocrites attack first. In other words, once again, Muslims are allowed to engage in war only for defensive reasons. Indeed in the following verse God describes the hostile nature of the hypocrites and makes a clear distinction about the hypocrites that do not wish to fight:

Except for those who seek shelter with people with whom you have a treaty, or who come to you greatly perturbed at the prospect of fighting either you or their own people. If God had willed, He could have given them the upper hand over you and then they would have fought you. If they keep away from you and do not fight you and submit to you, God has not given you any way against such people. (Qur'an, 4:90)

It is clear that the verses regarding war relate only to the specific conditions and circumstances of the time, which necessitated these defensive wars. It is also clear that those wars were waged only because this was the only option against those hostile, aggressive pagans and hypocrites who initiated the attack and killed innocent people. It is obvious that building and maintaining peace is always the main goal. Furthermore, according to the Qur'an, a person or a group cannot make a rash decision and start a war saying, "I pronounce this country, this society or the members of this religion enemies." Particularly, they can never assault civilians, the innocent who have nothing to do with the wrongdoing. They cannot target places of worship. In other words, the Qur'an has closed all the doors to violence. The main reason why these verses are misinterpreted and used for the hatred policies of the radicals is that hundreds of false hadiths were added to Islam together with the false perspectives of some analysts and certain societies' deep and entrenched cultures of violence.

Yet the Qur'an needs to be read with a pure, clean and enlightened mind, purged of all false hadiths, superstitions and erroneous traditions added to Islam subsequently. Considered in the war-ridden context of the time, the meaning of the verses becomes extremely clear.

Under Islamic law, war is only permissible for defensive purposes, and prisoners must be released when it is over. This is a practice not even found in the international law of war. Indeed, prisoners from past conflicts are still being kept under harsh conditions in prisons such as Guantanamo Bay.

There Is No Justification for War in Islam Except for Self-Defense

Those who allege that Islam is a religion of war must realize that such a perspective is in fact diametrically opposed to the teachings of Islam. According to the Qur'an, there is no justification for attacking the other side. As we have seen with evidence from the Qur'an throughout the book, Muslims only have the right to defend themselves. If Muslims are unable to subdue and take away the weapons of an attacker that attacks them, they have the right to defend themselves. However, the conditions of the defense are clearly established and are fully compatible with the contemporary international laws of war. The Qur'an provides the very finest description of democracy and freedoms. In a climate of democracy and freedom there is no question of denouncing the other side as the enemy or seeking to silence it. That climate is one in which everyone is respected and everyone can speak freely, and Islamic Sharia describes just that environment. Therefore, there is no justification for offensive warfare in the Qur'an. Let us examine this fact through the words of verses of the Qur'an:

War to Enforce Conversion to Islam?

Those who employ war, force or coercion to impose Islam on someone are betraying the Qur’an. One of the most explicit statements in the Qur’an is that “there is no compulsion in the religion”:

There is no compulsion where the religion is concerned.... (Qur'an, 2:256)

This is an explicit commandment of the Qur’an. No Muslim can disobey that command and force anyone else to be devout. That is expressly forbidden in the Qur’an.

Our Prophet (pbuh) is only an adviser. He has a responsibility to preach and introduce communities to Islam, the last revealed religion. At that time, some of those who heard about Islam from the mouths of our Prophet (pbuh) and other Muslims came to believe, while others did not. As explicitly required by the Qur’an, neither our Prophet (pbuh) nor the other Muslims with him ever resorted to compulsion. That is prohibited in the Qur’an. Our Prophet (pbuh) is reminded in the Qur’an; “So remind them! You are only a reminder. You cannot compel them [to believe].” (Qur'an, 88:21-22) Compulsion is therefore absolutely forbidden.

According to the Qur’an, all Muslims have a duty to tell people of the moral values of Islam, but nobody can use compulsion and say, “You must become a Muslim” or “You must perform the religious observances.” The purpose of the Qur’an is to bring love and peace to the world. Such pressure is therefore incompatible with the Qur’an.

Other verses in which compulsion is prohibited read:

Since force and compulsion are prohibited in the Qur’an, there is no justification for war, aggression, enmity or anger. What things, apart from converting, would Muslims compel polytheistic communities to do? It is clear that it is unlawful for someone to be forced to convert. Therefore, according to the Islam in the Qur’an, imposing Islam can never be a pretext for war.

War for Ideological or Ethnic Superiority?

Islam respects all ideologies, all nations, all ethnic groups, all ideas and all faiths. The Qur'an irrevocably bans the notion of considering one's own race, lineage, tribe or peoples superior over others.

No race has superiority over another:

Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in God's Sight is the one with the most piety. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Qur'an, 49:13)

Islam completely eliminates the claims of superiority of any race over others, effectively ending irrational assertions such as racial superiority and thus their use as justification of war. Furthermore, Islam is a religion that encourages complete freedom of thought and respect for different ideas. In a religion of such fineness of democracy and freedom, wars due to disagreements of ethnical differences will be impossible.

One of the Main Causes of Radicalism: Tribal Culture

The tradition of tribalism underlies the hundreds or even thousands of years of social texture and culture of a great majority of the Middle Eastern civilizations. Today, despite their modern state statuses, some of the societies in North Africa, the Arabic world and Middle Asia have never really left their tribal mindset and tribalism; they have only changed their forms. Therefore any analysis regarding the Islamic world today should take into account this historical and social fact. In many Middle Eastern countries, administrations, which are usually inherited from one generation to another, maintain their power by means of the support of their tribes. For this reason, it would be extremely wrong to see the tribal mindset as a historical phenomenon peculiar to the feudal ages. Rick Docksai, a researcher-writer working for the United States Department of Defense, pointed out the structure of the ruling groups in today's Islamic world:

"The highly tribal societies of Yemen, Afghanistan, and Libya are clear-cut embodiments of clan rule. In other countries, such as Pakistan, Kenya, and South Sudan, clans vie with the central government in nonstop battles of wills." (Book Reviews, Mark Weiner. The Rule of the Clan: What an Ancient Form of Social Organization Reveals about the Future of Individual Freedom, Reviewed by: Rick Docksai, World Future Review, Bethesda, MD, USA)

Status, identities, ranks and other concepts relating to individuals in these societies are deeply affected by the values, rules, traditions and principles of the tribes that developed over the course of centuries. Docksai explains that tribal identities still remain in the Arab world as a powerful factor in the background, which, according to him, will pose an obstacle to the development of individual freedoms in the Middle Eastern societies. The distorted values and rules of the tribal culture not only provide a wrong justification for violence like feuds, but they take their highest toll on women. In various Islamic communities, women and girls are often subjected to forced genital mutilation by their families under the pretense of protecting their chastity. They are forced to marry people they don't want to marry, are almost made slaves of their husbands. They are usually not even allowed to go out shopping without their husbands' consent and constant domestic violence becomes almost a routine. They are not allowed to drive, do not have the right to vote or be elected, and are kept away from education and business life.

These rules are nothing but bogus principles and traditions made up to protect and further the interests of the patriarchal mentality dominant in these tribal cultures, and to appease the inferiority complex and jealousy so often seen in these settings. Inevitably, this nonsense in time turned into social and "religious" convention, and sometimes even became state laws. Regrettably, the Islamic world is largely represented by this primitive and backward frame of mind, yet the ugly picture created by the mentality in question is unfairly attributed to Islam and the Qur'an.

War for the Purpose of Spreading the Rules of Islam to be Introduced by a Muslim Leader?

As we have already seen in detail, according to the Qur’an, a Muslim leader must be someone who also embraces Christians, Jews, atheists, communists, agnostics, Buddhists and people who adhere to other beliefs and ideological systems in the community he leads. He must implement complete freedom of ideas. He must allow people complete liberty. Conflict, slander and hypocritical people appear where there are no freedoms. He must prevent that and do what the Qur’an requires. As stated in the verse “You who believe! Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for God alone, even against yourselves or your parents and relatives.” (Qur'an, 17:70)he has a responsibility to maintain justice without regard for individuals, beliefs or origins, even if that works against himself.

War for the Elimination of Enemies?

How can there be enemies in Islam? Islam is a religion that requires all people to be equal and brothers. According to Islam, no matter what someone’s color, language, religion, race, citizenship or social standing, he is an entity worthy of respect simply for the fact that he is human. As all the revealed religions say, human beings are brothers as we are all the children of the Prophet Adam (pbuh). This principle of brotherhood is a requirement of religious belief.

Islam is opposed to all fascist-type ideologies and ideas and materialist and Darwinist thinking that are based on racial superiority and divide people into false categories such as “advanced” and “primitive.” It therefore engages in an intellectual and rational struggle against these conflicts that these ideologies bring with them, and has no room for them within itself.

The rule in Islam about all humans being worthy of respect represents the basis of all relations between people. In the view of Islam, even someone who acts wrongly always has the potential to be turned in the direction of goodness. It is therefore impossible for a true Muslim to have any enemies. Every Muslim has a responsibility to treat others with affection and to tell them about moral virtues, not to make enemies with others and plot to bring them down.

VIOLENCE, HATRED AND LOVELESSNESS ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF RADICALS. THEY HAVE NO PLACE IN ISLAM.

The reason why Islam is misunderstood even though it encourages laicism, democracy and peace, is the non-Qur'anic mentality of the radicals.

While there is no distinction among people on the subject of superiority when they are addressed in the Qur’an, the use of the term “the sons of Adam” shows that in that respect all people are created equal:

We have honored the sons of Adam and conveyed them on land and sea and provided them with good things and favored them greatly over many We have created. (Qur'an, 17:70)

The way that a religion that offers no pretext for warfare is heralded by many as a religion of war stems entirely from the practices of the peddlers of superstition. Some people are generally mistaken about Islam because they are simply unaware of these clarifications regarding it and only witness the practices of the radicals. People with a radical mindset are unaware that they are applying commandments outside the Qur’an and have adopted another faith quite different to the true Islam; and that is just what we are trying to remedy with this book.

It is usually radical groups that are encouraged to wage war, but those who need war for their own evil ends manage them all.

Who Desires War?

When referring to various supposed scholars who direct wide swathes of society in the name of Islam, we need to remember one very important point: for some groups, the armaments sector is one that always needs to be kept alive. It is the only sector not affected by economic crises. It is a vibrant sector in which supply and demand never end and in which novelties are always being offered to the market. Why is it vibrant? Because wars are kept alive. One of the ways of keeping war alive is this: the provocation of an ignorant mass of people who regard their own faith as one of war and who are ready to kill and be killed. It is of course not hard to guess who best matches that description: the radical groups that appear in the name of Islam.

Some opponents of Islam in the West are right about violence being spread by the radicals in question. However, these people are wrong when it comes to some leaders, such as Osama bin Laden. Such leaders are generally people with no interest in Islam and Muslims but who are kept ready under the supervision of various intelligence services. They are immediately involved whenever a climate of turmoil or war is needed. They spend their time in bars and cafes in Western countries, but when the command comes, they let their beards grow, change their clothing and language, assume a typically Middle Eastern appearance and set to work implementing what they have learned over the years.

Some supposed religious leaders are pawns set in motion when needed to create war and turmoil. They are supervised by various intelligence units and play a role in bringing about the war with which they are charged.

This phenomenon has become reality many times; Osama bin Laden was just one of these. The coming of Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh) (the personage of the End Times who will be instrumental in people being rightly guided, who will restore the moral values of Islam and unite Muslims) is the greatest event in the End Times foretold by our Prophet (pbuh), and Muslims' sincere expectations on the subject were used to give the impression by some circles that bin Laden himself was the Mahdi and efforts were made to convince many people of this. The journey that began with bin Laden struck not just Afghanistan but the whole Muslim world; the scenario was to end with images of bin Laden's dead body. This was perhaps the most striking part of the whole plan. Under that plan, the Muslim world would see that their Mahdi is dead and lose all hopes and expectations. This was a systematic scenario aimed at the weakening and further exploitation of the Islamic world.

People with radical mindsets are no doubt guilty on the subject, but we must not ignore certain forces that feed them. War always serves some people's interests at a time when the armaments industry is so strong and profitable. It is usually radical groups who are incited to fight, but it is those who need war for their own wicked ends who pull their strings. These groups ready for war because of their ignorance are an ideal "cover" for these forces behind the scenes; they are merely pawns that can easily be sent to war.

Americans or Europeans who complain about the radicals must not forget these managers running them. This does not of course mitigate the crimes of those who have fallen into the clutches of radical groups and peddlers of superstition, split up into sects and declared one another to be the enemy, but neither should this important reality be ignored. Indeed, the various organizations that openly stage and manage protests and uprisings, particularly in Muslim countries, have no hesitation about openly expressing their aims.

John William Godward's oil painting "The Signal," 1918

Say: "Truth has come and falsehood has vanished. Falsehood is always bound to vanish." (Qur'an, 17:81)

Conclusion:

In this chapter, we have examined explanations of the verses about war used as an argument against Islam and how the true Islam looks at the concepts of war and jihad. The source of the religion of the fanatics will be described in the chapters that follow. We will see how the conceptions of a superstitious faith based on fabricated hadiths conflict with the Qur'an. We will also see how the religion of the fanatics that desires war, hatred and rage has nothing to do with the true Islam.