Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and Jihad: Difference between revisions

The early Islamic tradition delineates two distinct phases to the career of the prophet: the Meccan period, characterized by peaceful exhortations to the pagan people of Mecca to abandon their gods and embrace Islam, and the Medinan period, characterized by expanding conflicts with neighboring Jewish tribes and the pagans of Mecca. According to the [[sira]] and many [[hadith]] traditions, during this period Muhammad both ordered and condoned numerous confrontations and assassinations against his enemies in Mecca and Medina. These military operations constitute [[Jihad]], Arabic for struggle, a holy duty incumbent upon all able-bodied Muslim men to engage in armed struggle to expand the reach of Islam. Men who die "on the path of Allah" will be [[Shaheed (Martyr)|shahids]] who will enjoy [[Houri (Heavenly Virgin)|72 Virgins]] in paradise, and those who live and are victorious will enjoy divinely-approved [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and Booty|booty]] in this world. The first target of the jihad are the pagans of Mecca and their holy shrine the [[Ka'bah]], however the [[Qur'an]] and many of the sayings of the prophet make clear that jihad is a duty incumbent upon all Muslims until "the religion, all of it, is to Allah" (Qur'an 8:39). Muhammad was the leader of these military campaigns and played the role of supreme commander. He also took part in the battles himself, fighting and even being wounded. Jihad was thus a fundamental part of early Islam according to its own tradition and a central occupation of its prophet.  

{{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=505}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|pages=318-3319}}|'Umar jumped up and walked alongside Abu Jandal saying, 'Be patient for they are only polytheists; the

{{Quote|{{citation|title=The History of al-Tabari|trans_title=Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk|volume=vol. VIII|ISBN=0-7914-3149-5|year=1997|publisher=SUNY Press|author=al-Tabari (d. 923)|editor=Michael Fishbein|url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryAlTabari40Vol/History_Al-Tabari_10_Vol/page/n2028/mode/2up|pages=129-130}}<br>{{citation|title=تاريخ الرسل والملوك|author=أبو جعفر الطبري|url=https://app.turath.io/book/9783|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 3|pages=18-19}}|According to Ibn Humayd--Salamah--Ibn Ishaq, who said: I asked Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri how the Messenger of God's grant to the Jews of Khaybar of their date palms, when he granted them the palm trees with the proviso of a tax on them, had taken place: did he concede them these terms as established [only] until his death, or for some necessity did he grant them to them without such a proviso? Ibn Shihab informed me that the Messenger of God conquered Khaybar by force after fighting. Khaybar was something that God gave as booty to His Messenger. The Messenger of God took one-fifth of it and divided [the remainder] among the Muslims. Those of the inhabitants who surrendered did so on condition that they should be expelled after having fought. The Messenger of God summoned them and said, "If you wish, we will deliver these properties to you on condition that you shall work them and that their produce shall be divided between us and you) I will allow you to remain as long as God allows you to remain." They accepted, and they worked the properties on those terms. The Messenger of God used to send 'Abdallah b. Rawahah; he would divide the produce and assess it fairly for the inhabitants. After the death of the Prophet, Abu Bakr after the Prophet confirmed the properties in their hands on the same terms of sharecropping on which the Messenger of God had dealt with them. When Abu Bakr died, 'Umar confirmed the sharecropping arrangement in the beginning of his term as commander) then, however, 'Umar was informed that the Messenger of God had said during his final illness, "Two religions cannot coexist in the Arabian peninsula." 'Umar investigated the matter until trustworthy evidence reached him; then he sent to the Jews, saying: "God has given permission for you to be expelled) for I have received word that the Messenger of God said that two religions cannot coexist in the Arabian peninsula. Let anyone who has a treaty from the Messenger of God bring it to me, and I will carry it out for him. Let any Jew who has no treaty from the Messenger of God make ready to leave." Thus 'Umar expelled any of them who had no treaty from the Messenger of God.<br>