pay Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. [al-Tawbah 9:29]
Some Orientalists3 have taken this verse as signifying the impossibility of peaceful coexistence and co-operation between Islam and the outside world. They see it as implying that a Muslim state is committed to be in constant war with non-Muslim forces until they (a) accept Islam, or (b) pay jizyah (a defence tax, against Non-Muslims) and thus become subdued, or (c) are utterly defeated and destroyed.4
On the other hand, the hardliners among Muslim thinkers claim that this verse of the sword is overriding because it is part of Sūrah al-Tawbah which is one of the very last sūrahs to be revealed. They claim that earlier verses reflect earlier stages in the history of Islamic daʿwah, stages which had subsequently been superseded by the prevalence of new circumstances and new legislation. But this line of argument seems quite untenable, if pressed in every case, and without producing tangible evidence that a change in the direction of legislation had been made, either by abrogation or otherwise modifying the previous legislation. It would indeed be very damaging to the Islamic daʿwah if the above line of argument is pressed without further evidence. One of the consequences of adopting the above line of thinking would be the cancellation of all the sharīʿah, excepting those aspects of it revealed in the very last days of the Prophet (peace be upon him). To evade such a possibility, the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to point out promptly and very clearly any verse of the Qur’ān which God had abrogated. The practice of verse abrogation was governed by very exact and specific rules, and it is one of those topics with respect to which independent personal opinion has no role to play. Succession in time alone does not constitute a valid reason for abrogation. The difference in the content of Qur’ānic verses dealing with the same issues, e.g. fighting in the way of God or jihād, revealed at different times in succession, is to be understood by jurists in the light of (a) the principles and ultimate goals of the sharīʿah (b) previous Qur’ānic revelation unless abrogation had been explicitly pointed out, the requirement here being that of harmony and consistency, (c) the reason behind the revelation (asbāb nuzūl al-Āyah), (d) the change in the situation and times especially when these tend to militate against the reasons and wisdom behind the earlier revelation in the historical development of the Islamic society and state. The mild verses revealed before the verses of the sword could be viewed as alternative policies and strategies that continue to be valid and which are to be practised should the circumstances require a less militant handling than the verse of the sword. Moreover, some of these mild verses consist of valid and very broad principles of universal applicability, and therefore need not be abrogated just because some stronger verse was revealed later, unless otherwise explicitly stated.
Indeed, the situation with regard to jihād and war is not a typical one in that it appears to consist of two apparently contrary tendencies: one towards fighting and waging war in the way of God, the other towards kindness, mercy and tolerance. In many major issues, this same feature of sharīʿah seems to be present: there are always two strands of attitude, apparently contradictory but actually fused into a harmonious whole; perhaps comparable to two electrical poles, one negative, the other positive, which working together supply useful energy. Thus, in sharīʿah, there is always the passing temporal aspect of any legislation and also the positive, eternal one. The temporal one is needed to cater for the changing, earthly human conditions reflective of man’s weakness, evil intentions and his base passions of envy, greed and aggression, while the eternal, more permanent aspect embodies the Divine will and purpose for man, stating as it does normally universal principles.
In the issue of war and peace, these two aspects are there. They complement each other, and they naturally fuse together to give a consistent policy of war and peace. Yet peace is clearly the more basic, more permanent option in Islam, while war is only necessitated by man’s unavoidable passions for aggression and injustice. That peace is the foremost overriding option in Islam is clearly demonstrated by the following considerations:
a. As-Salām (or peace) is one of the Beautiful Names of God.
b. It is well known that salām (peace) is the ordinary salutation of the Muslims, every time they meet or depart. Salām is also the salutation of the Muslims in the Hereafter.
c. After each of the five obligatory daily prayers, a Muslim’s supplication and duʿā’ is:
‘O Lord! You are the Peace.
All peace proceeds from You.
All peace returns unto You.
Help us to live in peace, O our Lord.
Allow us to enter the Paradise which is Your lodge, the lodge of peace.’
d. Paradise itself is depicted essentially as the abode of peace, in the gracious Qur’ān:
Surely this is the path of Your Lord, Straight, We have detailed the verses (thereof); For those people who take heed For them is the abode of peace with their Lord. And He is their Protector for that they were doing… [al-Anʿām 6:126-127]
The ultimate goal to which Islam is calling humanity is to lead them to the abode of peace. God says in the Qur’ān:
And Allah calls to the abode of peace, and leads whom He will to the straight path. [Yūnus 10:25]
War as envisaged in the verses of the sword, and indeed in many other contexts, is far from diminishing this fundamental, unshakable commitment to peace as the permanent, ultimately desirable reality, as a necessary means to ensure and secure the right of everyone to live in peace. But peace cannot be achieved if tyrannical powers, and agents of oppression, evil and ungodly religions and cults are allowed a free hand over the affairs of men. Where such evil powers tend to prevail, then it is the sacred duty of Muslims to resist them and indeed engage them in the battlefield, with the aim of destroying them and their power bases.5
9. THE VERSES OF THE SWORD AND THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK
We have alluded to the two aspects of the sharīʿah, the temporal and the eternal. Through its temporal aspect it remains in touch with, concerned with, and interacting with, the changing, fluid human condition of this life. But through the eternal aspect, the sharīʿah expresses God’s last will and purpose for man. Thus it would be a gross mistake to hold the view either that all of sharīʿah rules and injunctions are absolute or that they are all relative in the sense of being history-bound. The right view is the balanced one that both aspects are there together always, thus making it uniquely possible for the sharīʿah to be both the eternal, unchangeable will of God Almighty, and at the same time malleable and flexible, suited to the changing conditions and circumstances of human development on this earth.
What is shocking to many regarding the verses of the sword is that one of them is not directed against the Arab polytheists, towards whom the Qur’ān had adopted a hard, uncompromising attitude from the start, but against the People of the Book, i.e. Jews, Christians and Magians. The prevailing attitude towards Ahl al-Kitāb (People of the Book) is one of tolerance and magnanimity. The Qur’ān enjoins that they be allowed to live in peace, practise their religions in freedom and that they be protected by the Muslims, if they opt to come under the protection of Muslims, by paying a special tax towards that end called al-jizyah. Moreover, the Qur’ān has in fact enjoined pro-active tolerance, charity and love to be shown to those People of the Book, who showed themselves to be peacefully inclined towards the Muslims, and did not initiate any hatred or hostilities against them. This line of policy regarding the People of the Book, is expressed in many verses of the Qur’ān:
God forbids you not, with regard to those who did not fight you on account of your faith, nor did they drive you out of your homes, that you may deal kindly and justly with them. For God loves those who are prone to justice… [al-Mumtaḥinah 60:8]
If they withdraw from you and do not fight you, and offer you peace, then Allah has opened no way for you against them. [al-Nisā’ 4:90]
Far from permitting the Muslims