Abdul Muqit Chowdhury :
The 17th Ramzan reminds us of the Zihad of Badar. It was a defensive fight against infidel aggressors. The Muslims, though very small in number and weak in arms and ammunition, became victorious in the battle
with the help and Grace of Allah. It was the first great victory of the followers of Islam (preached by Hazrat Muhammad (Sm), the last and the greatest Messenger of Allah).
According to historians, this was a turning point in the lives of the new Muslims, who faced inhuman torture at Makka and were attacked at Madina, where they had got shelter.
Al-Quran reveals : “God had helped you/ At Badar, when ye were/A contemptible little force;/ Then fear God; thus/May ye show your gratitude.” (Sura Al-i-‘Imran 3: 123)
Allama Yusuf Ali comments: “Gratitude to God is not to be measured by words. It should show itself in conduct and life. If all the Muslims had learnt the true lesson from victory of Badar, their archers would not have left the posts appointed for them, nor the two tribes mentioned in the last note ever wavered in their faith.”
“Remember ye implored/The assistance of your Lord,/And He answered you :/I will assist you/ With a thousand of the angels, /Ranks on ranks.” (Sura Anfal 8:9)
Allama Yusuf Ali comments: “The number of angels, a thousand at Badar and three thousand and five thousand at Uhud, is probably not to be taken literally, but to express a strength at least equal to that of the enemy.”
Though Ramzan is the training period of ‘spiritual purification’, it also presents practical performance of ‘Zihad’ through example of Muslim history. ‘Zihad’ – ‘the exerting of one’s power’, ‘repelling the enemy’ and ‘struggle to the utmost of one’s capacity’ is permitted as the last resort for the Muslims to survive as an independent and sovereign nation, in case they become the victims of aggression, tyranny and oppression.
Ramzan is the training period to prepare the Muslims to fight against all evils and to foil all evil designs for the survival of the Ummah.
Al-Quran permits Zihad in the following way: “Fight in the cause of God/Those who fight you,/ But do not transgress limits;/ For God loveth not transgressors.” (Sura Baqara 2 : 190)
Allama Yusuf Ali comments: “War is only permissible in self-defence, and under well-defined limits. When undertaken, it must be pushed with vigour, but not relentlessly, but only to restore peace and freedom for the worship of God. In any case strict limits must not be transgressed: Women, children, old and infirm men should not be molested, nor trees and crops cut down, nor peace withheld when the enemy comes to terms.”
Thus, Zihad is very much a defensive one and it should not be misinterpreted by the ignorant or vested quarters. The fact is that Zihad has long been a concept of misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Zihad, as was, is the last resort of Muslims as a defensive step, while they are attacked by evil forces, and are victims of oppression.
We should have a view of the limitation ordained by Allah. Zihad is not permitted when the enemy ‘incline towards peace’. Peace is the ultimate goal of Islam. So, the Holy Quran directs the believers :
“But if the enemy/Incline towards peace,/Do thou (also) incline/Towards peace, and trust/ in God for He is the One/that heareth and knoweth/ (All things).” (Sura Anfal 8 :61)
Allama Yusuf Ali’s comment in this regard: “While we must always be ready for the good fight lest it be forced on us, even in the midst of the fight we must always be ready for peace if there is any inclination towards peace on the other side. There is no merit merely in a fight by itself. It should be a joyful duty not for itself, but to establish the region of peace and righteousness and God’s Law.”
With this background of the Zihad of Badar, the strategy of fighting against aggression is to be framed. Muslims are ‘wronged.’ The innocent people are being massacred and their properties being demolished in the name of war against terror. And here the Quran voices for defence. : “To those against whom/War is made, permission/ Is given (to fight), because/ They are wronged; – and verily,/God is Most Powerful/ For their aid ;” (Sura Hajj 22:39)
Allama Yusuf Ali comments on ‘To those whom war is made’ in the following lines : “Several translators have failed to notice that yuqataluna (in the best-approved texts) is in the passive voice, “against whom war is made,” — not “who take arms against the unbelievers” as Sale translates it. The clause “and verily …. their aid” is parenthetical. Verse 40 connects on with “they are wronged”. The wrong is indicated : ‘driven by persecution from their home, for no other reason than that they worshipped the One True God.’ This was the first occasion on which fighting — in self-defence — was permitted. This passage, therefore undoubtedly dates from Medina.” (The Holy Quran: Translation and Commentary by A. Yusuf Ali).
The 17th Ramzan reminds us of the Zihad of Badar. It was a defensive fight against infidel aggressors. The Muslims, though very small in number and weak in arms and ammunition, became victorious in the battle
with the help and Grace of Allah. It was the first great victory of the followers of Islam (preached by Hazrat Muhammad (Sm), the last and the greatest Messenger of Allah).
According to historians, this was a turning point in the lives of the new Muslims, who faced inhuman torture at Makka and were attacked at Madina, where they had got shelter.
Al-Quran reveals : “God had helped you/ At Badar, when ye were/A contemptible little force;/ Then fear God; thus/May ye show your gratitude.” (Sura Al-i-‘Imran 3: 123)
Allama Yusuf Ali comments: “Gratitude to God is not to be measured by words. It should show itself in conduct and life. If all the Muslims had learnt the true lesson from victory of Badar, their archers would not have left the posts appointed for them, nor the two tribes mentioned in the last note ever wavered in their faith.”
“Remember ye implored/The assistance of your Lord,/And He answered you :/I will assist you/ With a thousand of the angels, /Ranks on ranks.” (Sura Anfal 8:9)
Allama Yusuf Ali comments: “The number of angels, a thousand at Badar and three thousand and five thousand at Uhud, is probably not to be taken literally, but to express a strength at least equal to that of the enemy.”
Though Ramzan is the training period of ‘spiritual purification’, it also presents practical performance of ‘Zihad’ through example of Muslim history. ‘Zihad’ – ‘the exerting of one’s power’, ‘repelling the enemy’ and ‘struggle to the utmost of one’s capacity’ is permitted as the last resort for the Muslims to survive as an independent and sovereign nation, in case they become the victims of aggression, tyranny and oppression.
Ramzan is the training period to prepare the Muslims to fight against all evils and to foil all evil designs for the survival of the Ummah.
Al-Quran permits Zihad in the following way: “Fight in the cause of God/Those who fight you,/ But do not transgress limits;/ For God loveth not transgressors.” (Sura Baqara 2 : 190)
Allama Yusuf Ali comments: “War is only permissible in self-defence, and under well-defined limits. When undertaken, it must be pushed with vigour, but not relentlessly, but only to restore peace and freedom for the worship of God. In any case strict limits must not be transgressed: Women, children, old and infirm men should not be molested, nor trees and crops cut down, nor peace withheld when the enemy comes to terms.”
Thus, Zihad is very much a defensive one and it should not be misinterpreted by the ignorant or vested quarters. The fact is that Zihad has long been a concept of misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Zihad, as was, is the last resort of Muslims as a defensive step, while they are attacked by evil forces, and are victims of oppression.
We should have a view of the limitation ordained by Allah. Zihad is not permitted when the enemy ‘incline towards peace’. Peace is the ultimate goal of Islam. So, the Holy Quran directs the believers :
“But if the enemy/Incline towards peace,/Do thou (also) incline/Towards peace, and trust/ in God for He is the One/that heareth and knoweth/ (All things).” (Sura Anfal 8 :61)
Allama Yusuf Ali’s comment in this regard: “While we must always be ready for the good fight lest it be forced on us, even in the midst of the fight we must always be ready for peace if there is any inclination towards peace on the other side. There is no merit merely in a fight by itself. It should be a joyful duty not for itself, but to establish the region of peace and righteousness and God’s Law.”
With this background of the Zihad of Badar, the strategy of fighting against aggression is to be framed. Muslims are ‘wronged.’ The innocent people are being massacred and their properties being demolished in the name of war against terror. And here the Quran voices for defence. : “To those against whom/War is made, permission/ Is given (to fight), because/ They are wronged; – and verily,/God is Most Powerful/ For their aid ;” (Sura Hajj 22:39)
Allama Yusuf Ali comments on ‘To those whom war is made’ in the following lines : “Several translators have failed to notice that yuqataluna (in the best-approved texts) is in the passive voice, “against whom war is made,” — not “who take arms against the unbelievers” as Sale translates it. The clause “and verily …. their aid” is parenthetical. Verse 40 connects on with “they are wronged”. The wrong is indicated : ‘driven by persecution from their home, for no other reason than that they worshipped the One True God.’ This was the first occasion on which fighting — in self-defence — was permitted. This passage, therefore undoubtedly dates from Medina.” (The Holy Quran: Translation and Commentary by A. Yusuf Ali).
