2:216 Al-Baqara (The Cow)

هذه الآية, فيها فرض القتال في سبيل الله, بعد ما كان المؤمنون مأمورين بتركه, لضعفهم, وعدم احتمالهم لذلك، فلما هاجر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى المدينة, وكثر المسلمون, وقووا أمرهم الله تعالى بالقتال، وأخبر أنه مكروه للنفوس, لما فيه من التعب والمشقة, وحصول أنواع المخاوف والتعرض للمتالف، ومع هذا, فهو خير محض, لما فيه من الثواب العظيم, والتحرز من العقاب الأليم, والنصر على الأعداء والظفر بالغنائم, وغير ذلك, مما هو مرب, على ما فيه من الكراهة { وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ } وذلك مثل القعود عن الجهاد لطلب الراحة, فإنه شر, لأنه يعقب الخذلان, وتسلط الأعداء على الإسلام وأهله, وحصول الذل والهوان, وفوات الأجر العظيم وحصول العقاب. وهذه الآيات عامة مطردة, في أن أفعال الخير التي تكرهها النفوس لما فيها من المشقة أنها خير بلا شك، وأن أفعال الشر التي تحب النفوس لما تتوهمه فيها من الراحة واللذة فهي شر بلا شك. وأما أحوال الدنيا, فليس الأمر مطردا, ولكن الغالب على العبد المؤمن, أنه إذا أحب أمرا من الأمور, فقيض الله [له] من الأسباب ما يصرفه عنه أنه خير له, فالأوفق له في ذلك, أن يشكر الله, ويجعل الخير في الواقع, لأنه يعلم أن الله تعالى أرحم بالعبد من نفسه, وأقدر على مصلحة عبده منه, وأعلم بمصلحته منه كما قال [تعالى:] { وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ } فاللائق بكم أن تتمشوا مع أقداره, سواء سرتكم أو ساءتكم. ولما كان الأمر بالقتال, لو لم يقيد, لشمل الأشهر الحرم وغيرها,

هذا إيجاب من الله تعالى للجهاد على المسلمين أن يكفوا شر الأعداء عن حوزة الإسلام وقال الزهري: الجهاد واجب على كل أحد غزا أو قعد فالقاعد عليه إذا استعين أن يعين وإذا استغيث أن يغيث وإذا استنفر أن ينفر وإن لم يحتج إليه قعد "قلت": ولهذا ثبت في الصحيح "من مات ولم يغز ولم يحدث نفسه بالغزو مات ميتة جاهلية" وقال عليه السلام يوم الفتح "لا هجرة بعد الفتح ولكن جهاد ونية وإذا استنفرتم فانفروا" وقوله "وهو كره لكم" أي شديد عليكم ومشقة وهو كذلك فإنه إما أن يقتل أو يجرح مع مشقة السفر ومجالدة الأعداء. ثم قال تعالى "وعسى أن تكرهوا شيئا وهو خير لكم" أي لأن القتال يعقبه النصر والظفر على الأعداء والاستيلاء على بلادهم وأموالهم وذراريهم وأولادهم "وعسى أن تحبوا شيئا وهو شر لكم" وهذا عام في الأمور كلها قد يحب المرء شيئا وليس له فيه خيرة ولا مصلحة ومن ذلك القعود عن القتال قد يعقبه استيلاء العدو على البلاد والحكم. ثم قال تعالى "والله يعلم وأنتم لا تعلمون" أي هو أعلم بعواقب الأمور منكم وأخبر بما فيه صلاحكم في دنياكم وأخراكم فاستجيبوا له وانقادوا لأمره لعلكم ترشدون.

Jihad is made Obligatory

In this Ayah, Allah made it obligatory for the Muslims to fight in Jihad against the evil of the enemy who transgress against Islam. Az-Zuhri said, "Jihad is required from every person, whether he actually joins the fighting or remains behind. Whoever remains behind is required to give support, if support is warranted; to provide aid, if aid is needed; and to march forth, if he is commanded to do so. If he is not needed, then he remains behind." It is reported in the Sahih:

«مَنْ مَاتَ وَلَمْ يَغْزُ وَلَمْ يُحَدِّثْ نَفْسَهُ بِالْغَزْوِ، مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّــة»

(Whoever dies but neither fought (i.e., in Allah's cause), nor sincerely considered fighting, will die a death of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era of ignorance).)

On the day of Al-Fath (when he conquered Makkah), the Prophet said:

«لَا هِجْرَةَ بَعْدَ الْفَتْحِ وَلكِنْ جِهَادٌ وَنِيَّةٌ، وَإِذَا اسْتُنْفِرْتُمْ فَانْفِرُوا»

(There is no Hijrah (migration from Makkah to Al-Madinah) after the victory, but only Jihad and good intention. If you were required to march forth, then march forth.)

Allah's statement:

وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ

(...though you dislike it) means, `Fighting is difficult and heavy on your hearts.' Indeed, fighting is as the Ayah describes it, as it includes being killed, wounded, striving against the enemies and enduring the hardship of travel. Allah then said:

وَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ

(. ..and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you) meaning, fighting is followed by victory, dominance over the enemy, taking over their lands, money and offspring. Allah continues:

وَعَسَى أَن تُحِبُّواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ

(...and that you like a thing which is bad for you.)

This Ayah is general in meaning. Hence, one might covet something, yet in reality it is not good or beneficial for him, such as refraining from joining the Jihad, for it might lead to the enemy taking over the land and the government. Then, Allah said:

وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

(Allah knows, but you do not know.) meaning, He has better knowledge than you of how things will turn out to be in the end, and of what benefits you in this earthly life and the Hereafter. Hence, obey Him and adhere to His commands, so that you may acquire the true guidance.

Prescribed for you obligatory for you is fighting disbelievers though it be hateful to you by nature because of the hardship involved. Yet it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you; and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you because the soul inclines towards those desires which result in its destruction and its rejection of the religious obligations that would bring about its happiness. Perhaps then even if you are averse to it you will find much good in fighting as a result of victory booty martyrdom or reward; while if you were to reject fighting even if you would like to do so you will find much evil because then you may be subjugated impoverished and denied the reward; God knows what is good for you and you know this not so strive in what He commands you.

Explanation in brief:

Verse 216 establishes the obligatory nature of Jihad even though it may be burdensome for some temperaments. In this case, the truth is that it is Allah Almighty who knows the reality of everything while man does not possess the full range of that knowledge. Therefore, one should not decide on things being good or bad as prompted by personal desires, rather, one must say yes to the command of Allah and follow it consistently as the most expedient course of action.

Verse 217 begins with a question which was asked by some disbelievers from the tribe of Quraysh. It has been reported that some Companions ؓ of the Holy Prophet ﷺ were by chance confronted by disbelievers while on a journey. During the engagement, one disbeliever got killed at their hands. The day this happened was the first of the month of Rajab which, according to the calculation of the Companions ؓ ، was the 30th of the Jumada al-Ukhirah جماد الآخرہ . It may be noted that Rajab is one of the 'sacred' months. So, the disbelievers taunted Muslims by saying that they did not even honour the sanctity of the 'sacred' month. The Muslims were worried and asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ about it. According to some narrations, as stated above, some disbelievers themselves came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and raised the question as a matter of objection.

The answer given is that 'fighting in a sacred month, is something grave' (but, Muslims did not do so intentionally, instead, this came to pass inadvertently because of a misunderstanding about the date). Moreover, what the disbelievers have committed is graver than this, because the disbelief, the placing of idols in the Holy Mosque and the expelling of Muslims from there is a greater evil than killing a disbeliever in a state of war.

Injunctions and related considerations

1. The injunction declaring Jihad as obligatory appears in the first of the three verses under comment in the words: كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ "Fighting is enjoined upon you..." which means that 'Jihad. has been made obligatory on you'. These words apparently seem to say that Jihad is obligatory on every Muslim in every condition. Some other verses of the Qur'an and the sayings of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، however, have clarified that this obligation is not absolute, that is, every Muslim is not charged to perform it as Fard ` Ayn فرضِ عین ، (absolute and mandatory obligation on every Muslim) instead, it is Fard ` ala al-Kifayah فرض علی الکفایہ whereby, should a group of Muslims come forward to discharge this obligation, other Muslims would be considered absolved from it. However, should there remain just no group ready to discharge the obligation of Jihad at any time or in any country, the result will be that all Muslims will fall into the sin of abandoning an obligation. The saying of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the hadith: الجھاد ماض الی یوم القیامہ means that it is necessary that there be, right upto the Day of Doom, a group of Muslims which keeps discharging the obligation of Jihad. Another verse of the Holy Qur'an says:

فَضَّلَ اللَّـهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ دَرَ‌جَةً

And Allah has given precedence to mujahidin, who carry out jihad with their properties and lives, over those who sit away, and Allah has promised good for both. (4:95)

Here, the promise of good has been extended to those also who may not be able to take part in Jihad because of some compulsive excuse or because of engagement in some other religious service. It is obvious that the promise of good would have never been made for those who are absent from Jihad, in the event that it were an absolute obligation on every individual Muslim. Similarly, this is what appears in another

فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ‌ مِن كُلِّ فِرْ‌قَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ

Why could a small group from every large community of yours not come forward so that they pursue understanding in religion? (9:122)

Here, the Holy Qur'an itself suggests a division of work whereby some Muslims carry out Jihad and some keep serving the cause of religious education. This can be done only when Jihad is Fard ` alit al-Kifayah فرض علی الکفایہ and not Fard ` Ayn فرضِ عین .

In a hadith appearing in al-Bukhari and Muslim, it is said that a person sought the permission of the Holy Prophet ﷺ to take part in Jihad. He asked him: 'Are your parents alive?' He said, 'Yes, they are alive.' He said: 'Then, go. Serve your parents and earn the reward of Jihad'. Incidentally, this also tells that Jihad is a Fard ` ala al Kifayah فرض علی الکفایہ . When a group from among the Muslims is staunchly discharging the obligation of Jihad, remaining Muslims can engage themselves in other services and duties. But, should there come a time when the 'Imam' or the leader of Muslims gives a general call under the compulsion of need and invites all Muslims to take part in Jihad, then, Jihad becomes an absolute obligation on everybody. In Surah al-Taubah, the Holy Qur'an says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَا لَكُمْ إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمُ انفِرُ‌وا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ اثَّاقَلْتُمْ

O those who believe, what has happened to you that, when you are asked to come out in the way of Allah, you become heavy? (9:38)

This verse carries the injunction relating to the general call of Jihad mentioned above. In the same way, should it be that disbelievers, God forbid, invade an Islamic country and the group engaged in defence is not fully capable of it, being weak or insufficient in number, then, at that time as well, this obligation becomes 'contagious', passing on from that first group to all Muslims close by, as an equally effective obligation. And in case, they too are weak or incapable, the obligation will pass on to Muslims close to them. This situation may reach a point when Jihad becomes an absolute obligation on each and every individual Muslim all over the world. It is in view of these verses from the Holy Qur'an that the majority of Muslim jurists and scholars of hadith have set up the rule that Jihad is Fard ala al-Kifdyah فرض علی الکفایہ under normal conditions.

2. Therefore, as far as Jihad remains a Fard Kifayah, it is not permissible for the off-spring to go for Jihad without the permission of their parents.

3. It is not correct for one who has a debt to pay to take part in this Fard Kifayah فرض علی الکفایہ until such time that he clears his debt off. But, should there come a time when, either due to a general call for Jihad or an aggressive encirclement of Muslims by the disbelievers, Jihad becomes Fard ` Ayn فرضِ عین ، an absolute obligation on all, then, no condition such as that of the permission of parents or of the husband or of the creditor remains operative. Towards the end of this verse, it is as a mode of persuasion that Jihad has been identified as something which may, temperamentally, appear 'hard' but one must remember that human intelligence and effort fails so many times when it comes to the outcome. It is not at all surprising that the most intelligent person around may take the beneficial to be harmful and vice versa. If everyone was to look back into the events of his or her life, it will be noticed right there that there was something they were going after as beneficial turned out ultimately to be very harmful, or there was something they were avoiding as harmful which later on proved to be very beneficial. This scenario of human reasoning and planning failing time and again is a matter of repeated experience, therefore, it was said that fighting in the way of Allah may obviously appear to be a loss of life and property, yet the time will come when realities will be unveiled and we shall find out that this loss was no loss, instead, it was the ultimate in gain, and a source of eternal peace.