{"id":96,"date":"2016-05-12T01:21:03","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T01:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/muslimyouthusa\/?p=96"},"modified":"2016-05-14T12:19:32","modified_gmt":"2016-05-14T12:19:32","slug":"actions-of-terrorists-a-mere-misinterpretation-or-clear-contradiction-of-the-quran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/muslimyouthusa\/2016\/05\/actions-of-terrorists-a-mere-misinterpretation-or-clear-contradiction-of-the-quran.html","title":{"rendered":"Actions of terrorists: a mere misinterpretation or clear contradiction of the Quran?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

By Mirza Maaz Ali<\/em><\/p>\n

A friend of mine, who I often engage in productive dialogue with about the teachings of Islam, quoted me verses of the Holy Quran on the painful day of Brussels attack and asked:<\/p>\n

“What do you make of this paragraph?<\/p>\n

“Quran (47:3-4) – “Those who disbelieve follow falsehood, while those who believe follow the truth from their Lord… So, when you meet (fight Jihad in Allah’s Cause) those who disbelieve, smite at their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e. take them\u00a0as captives)… If it had been Allah’s Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. But those who are killed in the Way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t that sound like something the terrorists do?”<\/p>\n

My short answer to that was:\u00a0\u201cNo, this is the commandment to handle terrorists which committed atrocities against early Muslims. My question to you now: How would you like the terrorists of Brussels attack to be treated?\u201d<\/p>\n

He \u00a0replied:\u00a0\u201cWho decides that is the right way to interpret it? It says\u00a0disbelievers<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think it is a valid question for someone who does not know the Quran. Who decides or interprets a) who are disbelievers against whom believers have been commanded to fight? b) Are the believers trained fighters with superior war apparatus that would lead to victory? c) What\u2019s the motivation of believers behind the fight?<\/p>\n

Before going to answer those questions, I would like to mention a verse of the Holy Quran which lies just above the verses my friend quoted. The Holy Quran states in verse 47:1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who disbelieve and avert [people] from the way of Allah<\/strong>\u00a0– He will waste their deeds.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

One must ask, have Belgians averted terrorists from the way of Allah? Were the audience in the Iraqi football stadium averting terrorists from way of Allah? Or fellow Christians in Pakistan, where they averting terrorists? In fact, are terrorists even on the way of Allah? I will come back to this question later. For now, let me answer three main questions presented above.<\/p>\n

From the history of Islam, one can learn that Muslims, under the guidance of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) spread the teachings of Islam to fellow Meccans through education i.e. Jihad of Knowledge and Education. Those teachings were nothing but the love of The Creator and the love of His creation i.e. love of humanity regardless of race, color, status, sex, age.<\/p>\n

Muslims at that time were sanctioned, persecuted, tortured and even killed over the course of 13 years due to their belief, after which the majority of Muslims migrated to the city of Medina.<\/p>\n

Terrorists of Mecca did not leave the matter aside rather gathered a large army of experienced fighters and war apparatus to attack Medina. This is the time when Allah permitted Muslims to fight in self-defense, as stated in the Holy Quran 22:39-40:<\/p>\n

\u201cPermission to fight is given to those against whom war is made<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0because they have been wronged and Allah indeed has the power to help them. Those\u00a0who have been driven\u00a0out from their homes<\/strong>\u00a0unjustly<\/strong>\u00a0only because they said, \u2018Our Lord is Allah\u2019. And\u00a0if Allah did not repel some men by the means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques,<\/strong>\u00a0wherein the name of Allah is oft commemorated. And Allah is surely help one who helps Him. Allah is indeed Powerful, Mighty.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

These verses clearly explain that firstly war was waged on Muslims by terrorists. Secondly,\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Muslims were weak against the terrorists otherwise Muslims would not have been persecuted and terrorists would not have felt compelled to wage war against someone powerful. Thirdly, Muslims were prevented from practicing their faith and claiming that \u201cOur Lord is Allah\u201d. Lastly, Allah commanded Muslims to fight because if not, the house of worship associated to any religion present at that time in Medina would have come under terrorist attacks and so would be its followers.<\/p>\n

Answering the question,\u00a0a) who are disbelievers, against which believers have been commanded to fight?<\/strong>\u00a0In the very beginning of the Holy Quran 2:3-4, believers are described as:<\/p>\n

\u201cwho believe in that which has been revealed to thee, and that which was revealed before thee, and they have firm faith in what is yet to come. It is they who follow the guidance of their Lord and it is they who shall prosper.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So what Allah has revealed to believers? In the Holy Quran 2:56, Allah revealed that:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be no compulsion in religion.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Allah has further revealed in the Holy Quran 5:32–<\/p>\n

\u201cwhosoever killed a person, unless it be for killing a person or for creating disorder in the land, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whoso give life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Those revelations surely clarify that the terrorists are the disbelievers because every time they commit terrorism they go against the Holy Quran 5:32 and whenever they claim to have done it in the name of religion, they are going against 2:56. This proves that the commandment to fight is not given to terrorists rather against terrorists.<\/p>\n

b) Are the believers trained fighters with superior war apparatus that would lead them to the victory?\u00a0<\/strong>Believers are clearly those who seek no disorder, who seek progress of humanity, who seek peace in society. They were persecuted by powerful of the society and not being helped by the law, first they were commanded by Allah to migrate from their homeland to live in a peaceful place instead of taking law into their own hands. Only when the war was waged against them, they were permitted to fight in self-defense.<\/p>\n

c) What\u2019s their motivation behind the fight?\u00a0<\/strong>Self-defense, protection of places of worships for freedom of religion, as stated in the Holy Quran 22:39-40.<\/p>\n

This sequence of commandments is not akin to the perception that teachings of the Holy Quran starts off as peaceful and progressively become violent. Instead, the Holy Quran teaches golden principle of establishing peaceful and harmonious society and commands Muslims to ensure that under their constituency, everyone\u2019s freedom is protected.<\/p>\n

So, are terrorists even on the path to the way of Allah? I will leave it for you to decide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mirza Maaz Ali A friend of mine, who I often engage in productive dialogue with about the teachings of Islam, quoted me verses of the Holy Quran on the painful day of Brussels attack and asked: “What do you make of this paragraph? “Quran (47:3-4) – “Those who disbelieve follow falsehood, while those who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":603,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nActions of terrorists: a mere misinterpretation or clear contradiction of the Quran? - Muslim Youth USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/muslimyouthusa\/2016\/05\/actions-of-terrorists-a-mere-misinterpretation-or-clear-contradiction-of-the-quran.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Actions of terrorists: a mere misinterpretation or clear contradiction of the Quran? 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