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 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 as 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.”

“Doesn’t that sound like something the terrorists do?”

My short answer to that was: “No, 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?”

He  replied: “Who decides that is the right way to interpret it? It says disbelievers.”

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’s the motivation of believers behind the fight?

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.

“Those who disbelieve and avert [people] from the way of Allah – He will waste their deeds.”

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.

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.

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.

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:

“Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made because they have been wronged and Allah indeed has the power to help them. Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly only because they said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’. And if 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, wherein the name of Allah is oft commemorated. And Allah is surely help one who helps Him. Allah is indeed Powerful, Mighty.”

These verses clearly explain that firstly war was waged on Muslims by terrorists. Secondly,  Muslims 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 “Our Lord is Allah”. 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.

Answering the question, a) who are disbelievers, against which believers have been commanded to fight? In the very beginning of the Holy Quran 2:3-4, believers are described as:

“who 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.”

So what Allah has revealed to believers? In the Holy Quran 2:56, Allah revealed that:

“There should be no compulsion in religion.”

Allah has further revealed in the Holy Quran 5:32–

“whosoever 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.”

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.

b) Are the believers trained fighters with superior war apparatus that would lead them to the victory? 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.

c) What’s their motivation behind the fight? Self-defense, protection of places of worships for freedom of religion, as stated in the Holy Quran 22:39-40.

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’s freedom is protected.

So, are terrorists even on the path to the way of Allah? I will leave it for you to decide.