| Answer: Each Qur’ānic verse has a perspective and a
context and must be understood accordingly. The verse referred to and other
verses of similar meaning are directed at the immediate addressees of a
Prophet (Rasūl) and have no bearing on us. According to the Qur’ān, the people
towards whom a Prophet is assigned are dealt with by the Almighty by a special
law. This needs some elaboration:
A prophet is the final authority on this earth about
matters which pertain to faith. No other person can illustrate and explicate
the essentials of faith in a better manner. He uses his extraordinary powers
of intellect and reasoning to deliver and disseminate the truth revealed to
him. He exposes the truth in its ultimate form after which a person can have
no excuse but stubbornness and enmity to deny it. According to the Qur’ān,
God's purpose in endowing life to people is to test whether they accept and
uphold the truth when it comes to them. In these special circumstances, the
truth is unveiled to them in its purest form by no other a personality than a
prophet. If they then deny it, there is no possibility whatsoever that a
further extension in life can induce them to accept it. It is at this juncture
that the Divine law sanctions the death sentence for them.
The sentence is enforced upon them in one of the two ways
depending upon the situation which arises. In the first case, after itmām i
hujjah (ie unveiling the truth to the extent that no one has an excuse to deny
it), a prophet and his companions not being able to achieve political
ascendancy in some other territory migrate from their people. In this case,
Divine punishment descends upon them in the form of raging storms, cyclones or
other calamities which completely destroy them. Historically speaking, the
tribes of `Aād and Thamūd and the people of Noah and Lot besides many other
nations met with this dreadful fate, as has been mentioned in the Qur’ān. In
the second case, a prophet and his companions are able to acquire political
ascendancy in a land where after itmām i hujjah upon their people, they
migrate. In this case, a prophet subdues his people by force, and executes
them if they do not accept faith. It was this situation which had arisen in
the case of the Prophet (sws). On account of this, the Almighty bade him to
declare that the people among the ummiyyīn who do not accept faith until the
day of Hajj-i-Akbar (9th Hijrah) will be given a final extension by a
proclamation made in the field of Arafāt on that day. According to the
proclamation, this final extension would end with the last day of the month of
Muharram, during which they must accept faith, or face execution at the end of
this period. The Qur’ān says:
When the forbidden months are over, slay the idolators
wherever you find them. Seize them, surround them and every where lie in
ambush for them. But if they repent and establish regular prayers and pay
zakāt, then spare their lives. God is oft-forgiving and ever merciful. (9:5)
A hadīth illustrates this law in the following manner:
I have been ordained to fight against these people
until they testify to the oneness of God and assent to my prophethood,
establish regular prayers and pay zakāt. If they accept these terms, their
lives will be spared except if they commit some other violation that demands
their execution by Islamic law. (Bukhārī, Kitābu’l-Imān)
This law, as stated before, is specifically meant for
the people towards whom the Prophet (sws) had been directly assigned. Apart
from them, it has no bearing upon any other person or nation.
Today, an Islamic state can launch jihad only against
injustice and oppression – where they may be. Except on these accounts, Islam
has not given an Islamic state the permission to take up arms against any
country. |