By Sr. Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood.
Last night, 28.08.05, I received a telephone call from a Christian friend who wished to point out to me that Islam could not be defended from charges of in-built terrorism and cruelty, because certain passages in the Qur’an urged Muslims on to terrorism and cruelty towards unbelievers. The particular passage he laid before me was Surah 8.12, which reads:
8.12
‘Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the believers: I will instil terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them." (Yusuf Ali’s version).
8.12
‘Then your Rabb revealed His will to the angels (to pass on to the believers): "I am with you, give courage to the believers. I will cast panic into the hearts of the unbelievers, therefore, smite their necks and beat every joint of their bodies." (Malik’s version)
How could I maintain that Islam was a religion of peace, when such verses were obviously an incitement to cruelty and violence towards non-Muslims?
As usual, I would have loved to have been able to give an answer in a few soundbytes, but explanation and criticism of religious texts is more complicated than most people realize, and some scholarly background to explain particular verses is almost always necessary.
Surah 8.12 was hardly revealed to give carte blanche for Muslim extremists to rush off and strike out at and destroy all unbelievers willy-nilly, but refers specifically to a particular historical event, to the Prophet (pbuh) urging on his troops before the Battle of Badr. At that stage, when everyone was fearful of the outcome – since some 300 Muslims were ranged against a much vaster enemy force, the Prophet (pbuh) received the revelation through his angelic messenger that God was with him, and he was to firm up the hearts of his warriors as they went into battle.
Readers may need the information here that the surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an are not arranged in chronological order. Therefore, although it looks as though surah 8 comes near the ‘start’ of the Qur’an, it was in fact revealed at Madinah in 2 AH, after the battle of Badr – and some 14 years after the commencement of the revelation of the Qur’an. (The Revelation commenced in 610 CE, and the Muslim calendar of years AH – or After Hijrah – commenced in 622 CE).
One may refer also to surah 3 for a similar passage. Surah 3 consists of three discourses, all revealed at Madinah. The first discourse (vv. 1-32 and vv. 64-120) appears to have been revealed (like Surah 8) soon after the Battle of Badr. The second discourse (vv. 33-63) was revealed much later, in 9 A.H. when the deputation from the Christians of Najran visited the Prophet. The third discourse (vv. 121-200) was revealed after the Badr section and before the ‘Najrani’ section - after the Battle of Uhud in 4AH.
3. 121-126 (after Uhud) gives us:
‘O Muhammad, remember that morning when you left your household at an early hour to assign the believers to their battle-posts (for the battle of Uhud): Allah hears and knows everything. Remember when two of your companies became fainthearted and Allah protected them through strengthening their hearts. In Allah should the believers put their trust. Allah (also) helped you at the battle of Badr when you were helpless. Therefore, have confidence in Allah; perhaps you may become thankful. Remember when you said to the believers, ‘Is it not enough that Allah should send down three thousand angels to help you?’ Of course! If you remain patient and on your guard, Allah will send to your aid not three thousand but five thousand specially marked angels in case of a sudden attack from the enemy. Allah has told you this as a good news and that your hearts may be at ease thereby; victory comes only from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.’
Now let us go back to surah 8.12 again, and put it into its context just after the Battle of Badr:
Surah 8.9-12:
‘When you prayed to your Rabb for help, He answered: ‘I will assist you with one thousand angels, one after another.’ By this good news, Allah sought to comfort your heart, for victory comes only from Allah; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise. Remember (before the battle of Badr) when He caused drowsiness to overcome you as an assurance from Himself, and sent down water from the sky to cleanse you and to remove from you the uncleanliness caused by Shaytan, to strengthen your hearts and to steady your feet therewith. Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the believers: I will instil terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them.’
I have highlighted two passages in the above texts, for it is important to remind some of the devout that the actual physical intervention of angels in real battles has to remain the stuff of legends rather than be something we are obliged to accept as a known fact of history – since there is no evidence put forward in the Qur’an that angels ever did assist or participate physically. On the contrary, the two passages make very clear that the intention of the messages which the Prophet (pbuh) was to give his warriors was to cheer them up and ease their hearts, for ‘victory can come only from Allah’.
Incidentally, the odd and seemingly savage phrase to ‘strike off their finger-tips’ needs two exegetical notes. Firstly, it is probably not to be taken as an order to literally cut off peoples’ finger-tips, but is an archaic Arab expression indicating ‘to destroy them utterly’. Secondly, there is another significant passage where Allah refers to the unique nature of the skin upon our finger-tips – our fingerprints, or identifying ‘skin signature’. In Surah 75 the reference is to our reconstruction as living beings in the Life to Come, beings unable to escape the Judgement of God even though we may have died and rotted away. Even after our bodies have turned to dust, Allah is still able to resurrect us if He wishes, down to our individual fingerprints.
But let us return to Surah 3. The surah goes on to give other linked messages, following on from the Battle of Badr.
3.19 begins with a warning to the unbelievers who wished to carry on with their attacks:
‘O unbelievers! You wanted a decision; lo! The decision, in shape of the believers' victory, has come to you. Now if you desist (cease your aggression), it will be better for you, but if you repeat your act of war against the believers, so shall We repeat the act of providing them assistance, and your forces, however large in number they may be, shall avail you nothing, for verily Allah is with the believers.’
By the time we reach verse 34, the reason for the conflict between the Muslims of Madinah and the Makkans at the battle of Badr is outlined. The Muslims were not the antagonists, but had been banished from their homes and deprived of their ancestral sites by their unbelieving kinfolk, who were still trying everything to have the Prophet slain and those who followed his teachings brought down. It is important to give this context, for the section leads into several verses that are also commonly used by extremists to justify acts of aggression upon non-believers.
3.34
‘But now there is no reason why Allah should not punish them (ie the people of Makkah who rejected the Prophet and the message from Allah, the rejection and persecution which led to the Muslims leaving Makkah and settling in Madinah); they are blocking others from the Masjid-al-Haram (the Ka'bah shrine), whereas they are not its lawful guardians. In fact, its only (true) guardians are those who have reverence for Allah (ie. the Prophet himself and his followers, the Muslims), a matter beyond the comprehension of most of them. V.35. Their prayer at the House of Allah is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands (ie. empty worship); their only answer (from God) can be, ‘Taste the punishment, because of your denial of the truth.’ V.36. Most certainly the unbelievers have poured in their wealth in attempts to block the way of Allah, and so will they continue to spend; but in the end these very efforts will become the cause of their regrets; at length they will be defeated, and in the Hereafter these unbelievers will be gathered together and driven to Hell, v.37. in order that Allah may separate the filthy from the pure. He will heap the filthy one upon another, all together, and then cast them into Hell. They are the ones who will be the losers. But any unbelievers who embrace Islam, their past is forgiven. V.38. O Prophet, tell the unbelievers that if they turn aside from unbelief their past shall be forgiven; but if they persist in sin, let them reflect upon the fate of their forefathers.’
Thus, the passage talks about the fate of these antagonistic unbelievers in the Life to Come, warns them that they will ultimately be defeated and condemned to Hell, and urges them to cogitate on what happened to peoples of earlier eras who were unbelievers. Nowhere in these verses did Allah urge Muslims, or give Muslims permission, to take up arms and attack them in order to punish them.
However, next follows the few verses that are so often lifted out of the true context by extremist interpreters:
3.39 ‘O
believers, fight them (ie. unbelievers) until there is no more mischief and the
Deen of Allah (way of life prescribed by Allah) is established completely.’
Sounds clear enough? In fact, this is not even the actual end of that verse. It should read:
‘O believers, (you may) fight them (ie these specific unbelievers who had come out from Makkah to attack the Prophet and the Muslims of Madinah) until there is no more mischief (ie. they attack no more and cause no more distress and danger) and the Deen of Allah (way of life prescribed by Allah) is established completely (ie. able to be practiced without restriction or coercion); but if they do cease their menace, then be sure that Allah will take note of that. V.40. If they will not listen to reason, then you should know (be confident in your heart) that Allah is your protector, and He is the best to protect and the best to help.’
I hope that these few thoughts will go some way to change the minds of those who wish to present the faith of Islam as cruel and extremist. When seen in context, these verses are in no way extreme or savage, but on the contrary, very restrained and humane, considering the circumstances.
God bless you, wasalaam, Ruqaiyyah.