{"id":5772,"date":"2019-12-21T09:30:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-21T14:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/?p=5772"},"modified":"2022-05-05T12:54:58","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T17:54:58","slug":"why-do-muslims-consider-war-to-be-justified-in-certain-circumstances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/why-do-muslims-consider-war-to-be-justified-in-certain-circumstances\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do Muslims consider war to be justified in certain circumstances?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\">\n<div class=\"make-it-small\">\n<div class=\"fusion-slider-sc flexslider flexslider-hover-type-none\">\n<ul class=\"slides\">\n<li class=\"image\"><\/li>\n<li class=\"image flex-active-slide\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"flex-direction-nav\">\n<li><a class=\"flex-prev\" href=\"http:\/\/whydomuslims.com\/why-do-muslims-consider-war-to-be-justified-in-certain-circumstances\/#\">\uf104<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"flex-next\" href=\"http:\/\/whydomuslims.com\/why-do-muslims-consider-war-to-be-justified-in-certain-circumstances\/#\">\uf105<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There can be no doubt that Muslims (like anybody else) have a legitimate right to fight against aggression or when oppressed.<br \/>\nIslam teaches that warfare is permitted in order to preserve the wellbeing of the community or to prevent oppression from spreading \u2013 this may be in the context of defensive or pre-emptive warfare depending on the particular situation.<br \/>\nMuslims just like any community have the right to defend themselves when war is declared against them.<\/p>\n<p>In the Holy Qur\u2019an, we read:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they are wronged.\u201d Qur\u2019an \u2013 22:39<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits by aggressing; surely God does not love transgressors.\u201d Qur\u2019an- 2:190<\/p>\n<p>However, when the enemy ceases its hostility, Muslims are commanded to cease fighting.<br \/>\nThe other justification for war in the Qur\u2019an is to protect others from harm, but this is permissible only if the harm prevented is greater than the harm caused by the acts of war. This is the same as the principle of proportionality in the Christian doctrine of just war, which bears other similarities to the concept of war in the Qur\u2019an.<\/p>\n<p>According to the following Qur\u2019anic verses, protecting others from harm includes defending people of other faiths: \u201cTo those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they are oppressed. Verily, God is capable of aiding them. They are those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of what is just, for no other reason than that they say, \u2018Our Lord is God.\u2019 Had God not restrained one set of people by means of another, monasteries, churches, synagogues, temples and mosques wherein God\u2019s name is oft-mentioned would have been destroyed. God will certainly aid those who aid His cause.\u201d Qur\u2019an- 22:39-40.<\/p>\n<p>It is narrated by Ibn \u2018Umar that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade the killing of women and children. (Muslim : 4320)<br \/>\nIbn Abbas narrates that the Prophet (may peace be upon him) said to an outgoing army, \u201cLeave in the name of God, and upon the way of his messenger. Do not kill any old person\u201d. (Al-Bayhaqi : 16689)<br \/>\nIbn Abbas narrates from the Prophet (may peace be upon him) said \u201cDo not ever kill the people living in towers (i.e. monks)\u201d. (Nayl al-Awtar : 3324)<br \/>\nRabah ibn Rabee says he left in an expedition with the prophet (peace be upon to him), who went up to Khalid ibn Walid (his general) and said \u201cDo not kill the workers \/ wage earners (i.e. those workers not fighting you)\u201d (Ahmad : 15562)<br \/>\n\u201cFight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah\u2026 do not break your pledge, and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies, do not kill the children.\u201d (Muslim : 4294)<br \/>\n\u201cAnd if they incline to peace, then incline to it and trust in God; surely He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.\u201d Qur\u2019an \u2013 22:39<\/p>\n<p>Abu Bakr (may God be pleased with him), Prophet Mohammad\u2019s closest friend and first successor, spoke of the Islamic approach to war by highlighting the following when no such rules of engagement existed for his soldiers. In the battlefield, one should not:<br \/>\n\u2022 Commit treachery<br \/>\n\u2022 Mutilate the dead<br \/>\n\u2022 Deviate from the right path<br \/>\n\u2022 Kill a woman, child or aged man<br \/>\n\u2022 Harm or burn trees, especially the fruitful<br \/>\n\u2022 Slay the enemy\u2019s flock, except for food<br \/>\n\u2022 Harm those who devote their life to worship<br \/>\nQur\u2019an was revealed in Arabic, therefore translations into different languages may be misleading and\/or inaccurate.<\/p>\n<p>As we read in verse 2:190, Allah commands Muslims not to go to extremes by saying, \u201cDo not transgress the limits.\u201d A situation of war is no excuse to go beyond boundaries. Islam teaches the avoidance of blind retaliation.<\/p>\n<p>The problem with applying and understanding terrorism is that there is no agreed-upon definition of what constitutes \u201cterrorism\u201d. Also, terrorism takes many forms, as the following examples illustrate.<\/p>\n<p>William Dalrymple (2001), \u2018Scribes of the new racism\u2019 Independent, 24 September.<br \/>\nSimilarly, \u201cThe horrific massacre of 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 never led to a stream of pieces about the violence and repressive tendencies of Christianity.\u201d The Independent UK<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd let not the hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to righteousness.\u201d Qur\u2019an (5:8)<\/p>\n<p>There are many other examples of both Jewish and Christian terrorism, however, we must never generalise and call all Christians and Jews terrorists. Similarly, we should not put all Muslims on trial but who committed such heinous crime should be judged.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/whydomuslims.com\/why-do-muslims-consider-war-to-be-justified-in-certain-circumstances\/\">http:\/\/whydomuslims.com\/why-do-muslims-consider-war-to-be-justified-in-certain-circumstances\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\uf104 \uf105 There can be no doubt that Muslims (like anybody else) have a legitimate right to fight against aggression or when oppressed. Islam teaches that warfare is permitted in order to preserve the wellbeing of the community or to prevent oppression from spreading \u2013 this may be in the context of defensive or pre-emptive &#8230; <a title=\"Why do Muslims consider war to be justified in certain circumstances?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/why-do-muslims-consider-war-to-be-justified-in-certain-circumstances\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Why do Muslims consider war to be justified in certain circumstances?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-article"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076.jpg",2560,1600,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076-300x188.jpg",300,188,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076-768x480.jpg",768,480,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076-1024x640.jpg",1024,640,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076-1536x960.jpg",1536,960,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076-2048x1280.jpg",2048,1280,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076.jpg",300,188,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076.jpg",400,250,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/efe345d3d4c6e605331fba7e5913b076.jpg",600,375,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Site Admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/author\/admin2\/"},"uagb_comment_info":21,"uagb_excerpt":"\uf104 \uf105 There can be no doubt that Muslims (like anybody else) have a legitimate right to fight against aggression or when oppressed. Islam teaches that warfare is permitted in order to preserve the wellbeing of the community or to prevent oppression from spreading \u2013 this may be in the context of defensive or pre-emptive&hellip;","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcT0IL-1v6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18385,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/what-is-jihad\/","url_meta":{"origin":5772,"position":0},"title":"What is Jihad?","author":"Ask A Muslim","date":"06\/18\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The word \"Jihad\" literally means \"to strive\" or \"to struggle\" in Arabic. In Islam, Jihad refers to the struggle against one's own evil desires and inclinations, as well as striving to improve oneself and society. The greatest Jihad, according to Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him), is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Misconceptions&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Misconceptions","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/category\/misconceptions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6757,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/islam-is-not-a-religion-of-extremism\/","url_meta":{"origin":5772,"position":1},"title":"Islam is not a Religion of Extremism","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/07\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Allah says: \u201c\u2026Whosoever kills an innocent human being, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind\u2026\u201d Qur\u2019an 5:32 \u00a0 Islam\u2026 an extreme religion? \u201cIslamic terrorists!\u201d \u201cMuslim fundamentalists!\u201d \u201cExtremists!\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Misconceptions&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Misconceptions","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/category\/misconceptions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/misconceptions\/","url_meta":{"origin":5772,"position":2},"title":"Misconceptions","author":"Site Admin","date":"04\/29\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever wondered why a nun can be covered from head to toe and she\u2019s respected for devoting herself to God, but when a Muslim woman covers, she\u2019s viewed as \u201coppressed\u201d? 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Women's rights, responsibilities\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;FRAU IM ISLAM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"FRAU IM ISLAM","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/frau-im-islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6756,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/misconceptions-about-islam\/","url_meta":{"origin":5772,"position":5},"title":"Misconceptions about Islam","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/07\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"What do you REALLY know? Islam is one of the world\u2019s largest religions yet it is also one of the most misunderstood. For various reasons \u2013 be they political, economic, biased media or fear of the \u201cother\u201d \u2013 mistruths and misconceptions have been spread about Islam. 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