1JihadM/J 20145 (a) Write an account of:(i) The Prophet’s teachings about armed warfare (jihad).(ii) Under what circumstances is jihad thought to be compulsory? [10](i)As the head of the Islamic state and the commander of Muslim army The Prophet laid down a set ofrules about conduct during armed warfare (jihad). Some of these rules are:•Muslims should not be the first to initiate fighting.•Civilians are not to be harmed.•Fruit-bearing trees are not to be cut down.•Animals whose meat can be eaten should not be killed.•Places of worship of any faith should not be demolished.•Asylum should be granted to surrendering soldiers…“And if anyone of the pagans seeks yourprotection then grant him protection, so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and then escorthim to where he can be secure, because they are men without knowledge.”(9:6)•The treatment of prisoners of war is also clearly stated in the Quran, Prisoners of war underMuslims are to eat, drink and dress the same way as Muslim soldiers eat drink and dress. Evenunder the unfortunate event of shortage of food, it is the prisoners who are to be fed first,before the Muslim soldiers guarding them.•The fallen and the dead should not be mutilated or disfigured.•The treaties should be respected and fulfilled.•Ambassadors should not be killed or mistreated.•No unjustifiable aggression should be inflicted on weaker mations.•The Prophet (p.b.u.h) gave the following instructions to the troops he sent to Byzantine,“Inavenging the injuries inflicted upon us, molest not the harmless inmates of domestic seclusion,spare the weak of the female sex, injure not the infants at the breast or those who are ill inbed, abstain from demolishing the dwelling of the unresisting inhabitants, destroy not themeans of their subsistence, nor their fruit trees and touch not the trees.”(At-Tabarani)(ii)Conditions under which Jihad becomes Obligatory•Jihad becomes obligatory when not only the ideology and beliefs of Muslims are threatened, but alsowhen their homes, lives, property and everything else is in danger. Muslims are commanded to fightthose who fight against them in these words, Allah says,“Fight in the cause of Allah those who fightyou but do not transgress limits, for Allah loves not transgressors.”(Al-Baqarah 2:190)Whenever a Muslim state is attacked by any other state it becomes a religious duty of every Muslimof the state to fight against the invaders. If the Muslim state under attack is not strong enough to
