II The Medinite Suras
(10) The Cow or Heifer, II, 215.
22. “But they who believe, and who fly their country, and (Jahadoo) exert their utmost in the way of God, may hope for God’s mercy, and God is Gracious and Merciful.”
Mr. Sale and the Rev. Mr. Rodwell translate Jahadoo as those who fight, and Mr. Palmer as those who wage war; but there is no reason to change the proper meaning of the word. Sir William Muir translates the verse thus:—
“But they that believe and they who emigrate for the sake of their faith and strive earnestly in the way of God, let them hope in the mercy of God, for God is forgiving, merciful.”330
In a footnote he says:—“The word Jihâd is the same as that subsequently used for a religious war; but it had not yet probably acquired its fixed application. It was employed in its general sense before the Hejira, and probably up to the battle of Badr.”331 I have only to add that the word never acquired its fixed application during the lifetime of the Prophet, nor is it used as such in any chapter of the Koran either before or after the Hejira.
The connection of flight mentioned in the verse as put together with Jihád, shows that it means the labour, toil, and distress which befel the fugitives in leaving their families unprotected in the hands of their persecutors on their expulsion from their country.
(11) A’l Amràn, III, 136.
23. “Do ye think that ye could enter Paradise without God taking knowledge of those among you who (Jáhadoo) have toiled and of those who steadfastly endured.”
The Rev. Mr. Rodwell translates Jáhadoo, “did valiantly,” and does not agree with Sale and Palmer, who translate it, “fought strenuously,” or “fought well.”
By the connection of enduring patiently, the word Jáhadoo probably means those who toiled and suffered in their exile from Mecca.
(12) The Spoils, VIII, 73.
24. “Verily, they who believe and have fled their homes and (Jáhadoo) toiled with their substance and themselves in the way of God, and they who have taken in and have helped, shall be near of kin the one to the other. And they who have believed, but have not fled their homes, shall have no rights of kindred with you at all, until they too fly their country. Yet if they seek aid from you, on account of the faith, your part is to give them aid, except against a people between whom and yourself there may be a treaty. And God beholdeth your actions.”
Sale renders the word Jihád (or Jáhadoo) in this passage as
meaning “employed their substance and their persons in
fighting.”
Rodwell... “Spent their substance and themselves.”
Palmer... “Fought strenuously with their wealth and person.”
As the word Jihád has been applied here to both one’s-self and his substance or wealth, it cannot mean “fighting,” even if taken in the technical signification.
(13) The Spoil, VIII, 75.
25. “But as for those who have believed and fled their country and (Jáhadoo) took pains in the way of God, and have been a refuge or help, these are the faithful, mercy is their due and a noble provision.”
Sale... “Fought.”
Rodwell... “Fought.”
Palmer... “Fought strenuously.”
There is nothing in this passage to warrant a departure from the literal and proper signification of the word Jáhadoo, and using it in a post-Koranic sense.
(14) The Spoil, VIII, 76.
26. “And they who have believed and have since fled their country, (Jáhadoo) toiled with you, these also are of you. Those who are united by the ties of blood are the nearest of kin to each other. This is in the Book of God. Verily God knoweth all things.”
Sale... “Fought.”
Rodwell... “Fought.”
Palmer... “Fought strenuously.”
There is no valid excuse here for changing the signification of the word Jáhadoo into that which is never used in the Koran or in the classical Arabic.
(15) The Cattle, VI, 109.
27. “With their (Jahd) most binding oath have they sworn by God....”
Sale... “Most solemn oath.”
Rodwell... “Most binding oath.”
Palmer... “Most strenuous oath.”
(16) Mohammad, XLVII, 33
28. “And We will surely test you until We know (Mojáhideena) who did their utmost, and who were the steadfast among you; and We will test the reports.”
Sale... “Who fight valiantly.”
Rodwell... “Valiant.”
Palmer... “Fought valiantly.”
“Mojáhid” is not synonymous with “Mokátil”
(17) Battle Array, LXI, 11.
29. “Believe in God and His Apostle and (Jáhidoo) do strive in the way of God with your wealth and your persons!”
Sale... “Who fought valiantly.”
Rodwell... “Who fought valiantly.”
Palmer... “Fight strenuously.”
Devotion or worship has been divided into two kinds,—bodily, which also includes mental; and pecuniary or monetary, and the believers are exhorted here to worship God both bodily and mentally.
(18) Women, IV, 97.
30. “Those believers who sit at home free from trouble and those who (1, Mojáhidoona) toil in the way of God with their substance and their persons shall not be treated alike. God has assigned to those who (2, Majáhadoona) strive with their persons and with their substance a rank above those who sit at home. Goodly promises hath He made to all; but God hath assigned to those (3, Mojáhadína) who make efforts a rich recompense above those who sit at home.”
Sale: 1st... “Those who employ their fortune and their
substance for the religion of God.”
2nd... “Those who employ their fortune and their
substance.”
3rd... “Those who fight.”
Rodwell: 1st... “Those who fight valiantly.”
2nd... “Contend earnestly.”
3rd... “Strenuous.”
Palmer: 1st... “Strenuous.”
2nd... “Strenuous.”
3rd... “Strenuous.”
I have already explained the two sorts of worship or service of God—bodily and mental. The same applies here too.
(19) Light, XXIV, 52.
31. “And they swore by God with their utmost oath....”
Sale... “Most solemn oath.”
Rodwell... “Most solemn oath.”
Palmer... “Most strenuous oath.”
(20) The Forbidding, LXVI, 9.
32. “O Prophet, (Jáhid) do thy utmost with the unbelievers and hypocrites, and be strict towards them.”
Sale... “Attack the infidels with arms and the
hypocrites with arguments.”
Rodwell... “Make war.”
Palmer... “Fight strenuously.”
(21) The Immunity, IX, 74.
33. The same verse, word for word.
Sale... “Wage war.”
Rodwell... “Contend against.”
Palmer... “Strive strenuously.”
The word Jáhid is the same in both the passages, yet the translators differ in their interpretation of it. As there had been no war against the hypocrites, the word cannot be held to bear the construction they put on it, even if we deprived it of its proper signification. In one place Sale takes Jáhid to mean “attacking with arms,” and in another he takes it in the sense of attacking with arguments.
There is no signification of “attacking” in Jihád, but only that of “exerting,” and the verse simply means, “exert thyself in preaching to, and remonstrating with, the unbelievers and hypocrites, and also be strict towards them,”—i.e., not to be smooth with them, nor to be beguiled by them.332
(22) The tried, LXI.
34. “O Ye believers! take not my foe and your foe for friends: ye show them kindness although they believe not that truth which hath come to you: they drive forth the Apostle and yourself because ye believe in God your Lord! If ye have come forth333 (Jihádan) labouring in my cause, and from a desire to please Me, ye show them kindness in private, then I well know what ye conceal and what ye discover! And whoso of you doth this hath verily, therefore, gone astray from the even way.”
Sale translates Jihádan as meaning “to fight in the
defence of my religion.”
Rodwell... “To fight on my path.”
Palmer... “Fighting strenuously.”
The translators quoted above say that Hátib had informed the Meccans of an intended surprise of Mecca on the part of Mohammad with the view of making terms for his own family, which had been left there. On this occasion the passage was revealed. This shows that the campaign of Mecca is termed Jihád. But Sir William Muir does not agree with them. He says in a footnote:—“The opening verses of the sixtieth Sura are said to refer to Hâtib; but they appear to have a general bearing against too great intimacy with the Coreish during the truce and to be, therefore, of a prior date.”334
35. Hátib’s story. The story regarding Hátib’s revelation of the intended attack upon Mecca by Mohammad, is not supported by authentic and trustworthy traditions. The authentic tradition of Bokhari335 only states that the occasion of the verse being revealed was in the case of Hátib, but does not say that it was during the campaign of Mecca, nor that the information contained anything about the intended campaign. The authentic tradition only says that the report contained information regarding some of the affairs of the Prophet.
Besides this, it is wrong to translate in kun tum kharajtum Jihadan fi Sabili, as “if ye go forth to fight in defence of my religion,” or “if ye go forth to fight on my path,” or “if ye go forth fighting strenuously in my cause.” It simply means, “if you have come out striving in my cause,” and the sentence is a complement or correlative of the verse, meaning, if you have come out of Mecca, striving, or to strive, in my cause, suffering from exile and undergoing the afflictions and distresses of living homeless, leaving your family and property unprotected, and all these pains (Jihád) you have taken to please me, then you should not make friends with my foes and your foes, who do not believe in the truth which has come to you, and have driven out the Prophet and yourselves (from Mecca, your home) only for the reason that you believe in God your Lord.
(23) The Apartment, XLIX, 15.
36. “The true believers are those only who believe in God and his Apostle and afterwards doubt not; and who (Jáhadoo) strive with their substance and their persons on the path of God. These are the sincere.”
Sale here translates Jáhadoo those “who employ their substance and their persons in the defence of God’s true religions.”
Rodwell... “Contend with their substance and their persons.”
Palmer... “Fight strenuously with their wealth and persons.”
See my observations under No. 17, para. 28.
(24) The Immunity, IX, 16.
37. “Think not that ye shall be forsaken and that God doth not yet know those among you who (Jáhadoo) do their utmost and take none for their intimate friends besides God and His Apostles and the faithful. But God is well apprised of your doings.”
Sale... “Fought for his religion.”
Rodwell... “Fought valiantly.”
Palmer... “Fought strenuously.”
(25) Ibid , 19.
38. “Do ye place the giving drink to the pilgrims and the visitation of the sacred temple on the same level with him who believeth in God and the last day, and (Jáhada) taketh pains in the way of God. They are not held equal by God, and God guideth not the unrighteous.”
Sale... “Fighteth.”
Rodwell... “Fighteth.”
Palmer... “Is strenuous.”
(26) The Immunity, IX, 20.
39. “They who have believed and fled their homes and (Jáhadoo) toiled with their substance and with their persons on the path of God are of the highest degree with God, and these are they who shall enjoy felicity!”
Sale... “Employ their substance and their
persons in the defence of God’s true
religion.”
Rodwell... “And striven with their substance and
with their persons in the path of
God.”
Palmer... “Been strenuous in the way of God
with their wealth and their persons.”
(27) Ibid , 24.
40. “Say, if your father and your sons and your brethren and your wives, and your kindred and wealth which ye have gained, and merchandise which ye fear may be unsold, and dwellings wherein ye may delight be dearer to you than God and His Apostle and (Jihádan) toiling in My cause, then wait until God shall Himself enter on His work; God guideth not the impious.”
Sale... “Advancement of his religion.”
Rodwell... “Efforts on his path.”
Palmer... “Fighting strenuously.”
(28) Ibid , 41.
41. “March ye forth light and heavy and (Jáhidoo) toil with your substance and persons on the way of God. This, if ye knew it, will be best for you.”
Sale... “Employ your substance and your persons
for the advancement of God’s
true religion.”
Rodwell... “Contend with your....”
Palmer... “Fight strenuously with your wealth
and persons.”
(29) The Immunity, IX, 44.
42. “They who believe in God and in the last day will not ask leave to be exempt from (Yojáhadoo) toiling with their substance and their persons. But God knoweth them that fear Him.”
Sale... “Employ their substance and their persons
for the advancement of God’s
true religion.”
Rodwell... “Contending with their substance and
persons.”
Palmer... “Fighting strenuously.”
(30) Ibid , 82.
43. “They who were left in their homes were delighted behind God’s Apostle and were averse from (Yojáhidoo) exerting with their riches and their persons for the cause of God, and said, ‘March not out in the heat.’ Say, a fiercer heat will be the fire of hell! Would that they understood this.”
Sale... “Employ their substance and their persons
for the advancement of God’s
true religion.”
Rodwell... “Contending with their riches and their
persons.”
Palmer... “Fighting strenuously with their wealth
and their person.”
(31) Ibid , 87.
44. “Moreover when a Sura was sent down with ‘Believe in God, and (Jáhidoo) toil in company with his Apostle,’ those of them who are possessed of riches demanded exemption, and said, ‘Allow us to be with those who sit at home.’”
Sale... “Go forth to war.”
Rodwell... “Contend.”
Palmer... “Fight strenuously.”
(32) The Immunity, IX, 89.
45. “But the Apostle, and those who share his faith (Jáhadoo) exerted with their substance and their persons, and these! good things await them and these are they who shall be happy.”
Sale... “Expose their fortune and their lives.”
Rodwell... “Contend with purse and person.”
Palmer... “Are strenuous with their wealth and
with their persons.”
(33) The Table, V, 39.
46. “O ye who believe! fear God and desire union with Him and (Jáhidoo) toil on His path. It may be that you will obtain happiness.”
Sale... “Fight.”
Rodwell... “Contend earnestly.”
Palmer... “Be strenuous.”
(34) Ibid , 58.
47. “And the faithful will say, ‘Are these they who swore by God their (Jahda) utmost oath that they were surely on your side?’ Vain their works; and they themselves shall come to ruin.”
Sale... “Most firm.”
Rodwell... “Most solemn.”
Palmer... “Most strenuous.”
(35) Ibid , 59.
48. “O ye who believe! should any of you desert his religion, God will then raise up a people whom He loveth, and who love Him, lowly towards the faithful, lofty to the unbelievers (Yojáhidoona) striving in the path of God, and not fearing the blame of the blamer. This is the Grace of God; on whom He will He bestoweth it, and God is all-embracing, Omniscient!”
Sale... “They shall fight for the religion of God.”
Rodwell... “For the cause of God will they contend.”
Palmer... “Strenuous in the way of God.”
Jihád does not mean the waging of war.
49. These are all the verses of the Koran which contain the word “Jahd” or “Jihád,” or any derivations from them. I believe that I have clearly shown by means of a careful comparison between the translators and commentators and the original passages in the Koran, that the word Jahd or Jihád in the classical Arabic and as used in the Koran does not mean waging war or fighting, but only to do one’s utmost and to exert, labour or toil. The meaning which has come to be ascribed to the word is undoubtedly a conventional one, and is one that has been applied to it at a period much less recent than the revelation of the various chapters of the Koran.
Katal and Kitál .
50. I do not mean to contend that the Koran does not contain injunctions to fight or wage war. There are many verses enjoining the Prophet’s followers to prosecute a defensive war, but not one of aggression. The words “katal” and “kitál” distinctly indicate this.
Conclusion.
51. I have already analysed all the verses containing these words (katal and kitál) in this book. What I have aimed at in the Appendix is to show that those authors and translators who cite certain verses of the Koran containing the word Jahd or Jihád and its derivations in support of their assertion, and that the Mohammadan religion sanctions the waging of war and the shedding of blood, are altogether in the wrong.
Footnotes
322 The Siháh of Jouhari (who died 397 or 398), the Asás of Zamakhshire (born 467, died 538 A.H.), Lisanul-Arab of Ibn Mokarram (born 630, died 711), and Kamoos of Fyrozabadee (born 729, died 816), vide Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon, Book I, Part II, page 473.
323 The Misbáh by Fayoomee (finished 734 A.H.), vide Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon, Book I, Part II, page 473.
324 Siháh, Asás, Ibnel Atheer Jezree, author of Nihayeh (died 606), the Mughrib of Almotarrazi (born 536, died 610), the Misbáh and Kámoos, vide Lane, ibid, page 474.
325 Vide Rodwell’s Translation of the Koran in loco.
326 Vide Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon in loco.
327 The Assemblies of Al Hariri, translated from the Arabic by Thomas Chenry, M.A., Vol. I, Introduction, p. 67. William and Norgate, 1867.
328 In the treaty of Medina, which was made as early as the second year of the Hejira, the word Jihád is used, regarding which Sir W. Muir says:—“This word came subsequently to have exclusively the technical signification of Jihád or crusade or fighting for the Faith. If we give it this signification here, it would involve the clause in the suspicion of being a later addition; for as yet we have no distinct development of the intention of Mahomet to impose his religion on others by force: it would have been dangerous, in the present state of parties, to advance this principle. The word is sometimes used in the more general sense in the Coran; Sura XXIX, 5, 69; XX, 77, and a few other places.”—Muir’s Life of Mahomet, Vol. III, p. 32. Again he says with reference to Sura II, v. 215, which also contains the same word: “The word (Jihád) is the same as that subsequently used for a religious war, but it had not yet probably acquired its fixed application. It was applied in its general sense before the Hejira, and probably up to the battle of Badr.”—Ibid, p. 74, footnote.
329 This Sura is generally said to have been revealed at Mecca, but this is probably only the case as regards verses 1, 24, 43, 56, 60, 65, 67, 75. Mr. Muir places it at the close of the Meccan Suras of the fifth period. See Nold, p. 158; Rev. Rodwell, p. 500.
330 Vide Muir’s Life of Mahomet, Vol. III, 74.
331 Ibid, footnote.
332 Vide Sura LXXII, 9; XVII, 69.
333 i.e., from Mecca when driven out of it by the Meccans in your persecution.
334 The Life of Mahomet, Vol. IV, p. 114.
335 Kitabul Jihád, Magházi and Tafseer.