Does the Qur'an Teach Violence?
By Anonymous
Let me explain before I am accused of being a sympathizer, I am a non-denominational minister, and as such, I must not exclude but include them whether or not I practice. I do not follow or condone evil based religions like devil worshipers. Read the entire posting and draw your own conclusions.
Q: Does Islam really teach peace? I am a
Christian and I do not hate Muslims, but I read in the Qur’an verses like, “And
slay them wherever ye catch them..” (2:191) and “..But if they turn away, seize
them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or
helpers from their ranks.” (4:89). How can a peaceful religion teach these
things? How do you explain these verses? These quotations from your Holy Book
do really make us very uneasy with your faith. I would appreciate your reply.
A: Thank you very much for your kind
words that you do not hate Muslims. Hate is not good for any person. I want to
assure you that we Muslims also do not hate non-Muslims, be they Christians,
Jews, Hindus, Buddhist or followers of any religion or no religion. Our religion
does not allow killing any innocent person regardless of his or her religion.
The life of all human beings is sacrosanct according to the teachings of the
Qur’an and the guidance of our blessed Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him and
upon all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah.
وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ
اللَّهُ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ ذَلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
and Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ
اللَّهُ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ وَمَنْ قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًا فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِ
سُلْطَانًا فَلاَ يُسْرِفْ فِي الْقَتْلِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مَنصُورًا
According to the Qur’an, killing any
person without a just cause is as big a sin as killing the whole humanity and
saving the life of one person is as good deed as saving the whole humanity.
(See al-Ma’idah 5:32)
“kill them wherever you find them…”as it
is mentioned in Surah al-Baqarah 2:191 and Surah al-Nisa’ 4:89. The answer is
simple and that is you should read these verses in their textual and historical
context. You should read the whole verse and it is better that you read few
verses before and few after. Read the full text and see what is said:
وَقَاتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ
يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ وَلاَ تَعْتَدُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ
حَيْثُ ثَقِفْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَخْرِجُوهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَخْرَجُوكُمْ وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ
مِنْ الْقَتْلِ وَلاَ تُقَاتِلُوهُمْ عِنْدَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ حَتَّى يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ
فِيهِ فَإِنْ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ كَذَلِكَ جَزَاءُ الْكَافِرِينَ فَإِنْ انتَهَوْا
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّى لاَ تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ
الدِّينُ لِلَّهِ فَإِنْ انتَهَوْا فَلاَ عُدْوَانَ إِلاَّ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ الشَّهْرُ
الْحَرَامُ بِالشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ وَالْحُرُمَاتُ قِصَاصٌ فَمَنْ اعْتَدَى عَلَيْكُمْ
فَاعْتَدُوا عَلَيْهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا اعْتَدَى عَلَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا
أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ
“Fight in the cause of Allah those who
fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors. And
kill them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned
you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not
at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight
you, kill them. Such is the reward of those who reject faith. But if they
cease, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is
no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah; but
if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practice
oppression. The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all
things prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses
the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear
Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.” (al-Baqarah
2:190-194)
For your second quotation also read the
full text:
وَدُّوا لَوْ تَكْفُرُونَ كَمَا كَفَرُوا فَتَكُونُونَ
سَوَاءً فَلاَ تَتَّخِذُوا مِنْهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ حَتَّى يُهَاجِرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَخُذُوهُمْ وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ وَلاَ تَتَّخِذُوا
مِنْهُمْ وَلِيًّا وَلاَ نَصِيرًا إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ إِلَى قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ
وَبَيْنَهُمْ مِيثَاقٌ أَوْ جَاءُوكُمْ حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ أَنْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ أَوْ
يُقَاتِلُوا قَوْمَهُمْ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَسَلَّطَهُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ فَلَقَاتَلُوكُمْ
فَإِنْ اعْتَزَلُوكُمْ فَلَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ وَأَلْقَوْا إِلَيْكُمْ السَّلَمَ فَمَا
جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ سَبِيلاً سَتَجِدُونَ آخَرِينَ يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَأْمَنُوكُمْ
وَيَأْمَنُوا قَوْمَهُمْ كُلَّ مَا رُدُّوا إِلَى الْفِتْنَةِ أُرْكِسُوا فِيهَا فَإِنْ
لَمْ يَعْتَزِلُوكُمْ وَيُلْقُوا إِلَيْكُمْ السَّلَمَ وَيَكُفُّوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ فَخُذُوهُمْ
وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ ثَقِفْتُمُوهُمْ وَأُوْلَئِكُمْ جَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ
سُلْطَانًا مُبِينًا
Now tell me honestly, do these verses
give a free permission to kill anyone anywhere? These verses were revealed by
Allah to Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allah Ta’ala Alaihi Wa Salam) at the time when
Muslims were attacked by the non-Muslims of Makkah on a regular basis. They
were frightening the Muslim community of Madinah. One may say using the
contemporary jargon that there were constant terrorist attacks on Madinah and
in this situation Muslims were given permission to fight back the “terrorist”.
These verses are not a permission for “terrorism” but they are a warning
against the “terrorists.” But even in these warnings you can see how much
restraint and care is emphasized.
It is important that we study the
religious texts in their proper context. When these texts are not read in their
proper textual and historical contexts they are manipulated and distorted. It
is true that some Muslims manipulate these verses for their own goals. But this
is not only with Islamic texts, it is also true with the texts of other
religions. I can quote dozens of verses from the Bible which seem very violent,
if taken out from their historical context. These Biblical texts have been used
by many violent Jewish and Christian groups. Crusaders used them against
Muslims and Jews. Nazis used them against Jews. Recently Serbian Christians
used them against Bosnian Muslims. Zionists are using them regularly against
Palestinians.
Let me mention just a few verses from
the Old Testament and New Testament and tell me what do you say about them:
“When the LORD your God brings you into
the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations
before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the
Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations
greater and stronger than you. And when the LORD your God delivers them before
you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no
covenant with them and show no favor to them. (Deutronomy 7:1-2)
“When you approach a city to fight
against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. If it agrees to make peace with
you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your
forced labor and shall serve you. However, if it does not make peace with you,
but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. When the LORD your God
gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of
the sword. Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in
the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall
use the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you… Only in
the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an
inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes (Deutronomy
20:10-17)
Now therefore, kill every male among the
little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. But all the
girls who have not known man intimately, sparefor yourselves. (Numbers
31:17-18)
Even in the New Testament we read the
following statement attributed to Jesus saying to his disciples:
“I tell you that to everyone who has,
more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have
shall be taken away. But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign
over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence. (Luke 19:26-27)
Source:
http://www.pakistanlink.com/religion/2001/1012.html
See this article on the concept of Just
War in the Qur’an.
For more details about the concepts of
“jihad,” “war,” and “peace” in the Qur’an, see Jihad in the Qur’an.
Reposting courteously from http://www.islamicwritings.org/Thank you.
For more of this post http://www.islamicwritings.org/quran/peace/does-the-quran-teach-violence/
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