Does the Qur'an really contain dozens of verses promoting
violence?
Does the Qur'an really contain dozens of verses promoting
violence?
Summary Answer:
The Quran contains at least 109 verses that
call Muslims to war with nonbelievers. Some are quite graphic,
with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels
wherever they may be hiding. Muslims who do not join the fight
are called 'hypocrites' and warned that Allah will send them to
Hell if they do not join the slaughter.
These verses are mostly open-ended, meaning
that the historical context is not embedded within the
surrounding text - as are nearly all of the
Old Testament verses of violence. They are part of the
eternal, unchanging word of Allah, and just as relevant or
subjective as anything else in the Qur'an.
Unfortunately, there are very few verses of
tolerance and peace to abrogate or even balance out the many
that call for nonbelievers to be fought and subdued until they
either accept humiliation, convert to Islam, or are killed.
This proclivity toward violence - and Muhammad's own martial
legacy - has left a trail of blood and tears across world
history.
The Qur'an:
Qur'an (2:191-193) -
"And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the
places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims]
is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]...and fight them
until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah."
There is a good case to be made that the textual context of this
particular passage is defensive war, even if the
historical context was not. However, there are also two
worrisome pieces to this verse. The first is that the killing
of others is authorized in the event of "persecution" (a
qualification that is ambiguous at best). The second is that
fighting may persist until "religion is for Allah." The example
set by
Muhammad is not reassuring.
Qur'an
(2:244) - "Then fight in the cause of Allah, and know that
Allah Heareth and knoweth all things."
Qur'an
(2:216) -
"Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is
possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that
ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye
know not." Not only does this verse establish
that violence can be virtuous, but it also contradicts the myth
that fighting is intended only in self-defense, since the
audience was obviously not under attack at the time. From the
Hadith, we know that Muhammad was actually trying to motivate
his people into
raiding caravans with this verse.
Qur'an
(3:56) - "As
to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible
agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have
anyone to help."
Qur'an
(3:151) -
"Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers,
for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had
sent no authority". This speaks directly of polytheists,
yet it also includes Christians, since they believe in the
Trinity (ie. what Muhammad incorrectly believed to be 'joining
companions to Allah').
Qur'an
(4:74) - "Let
those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world
for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain
or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward."
The martyrs of Islam are unlike the early Christians, led meekly
to the slaughter. These Muslims are killed in battle, as they
attempt to inflict death and destruction for the cause of
Allah. Here is the theological basis for today's suicide
bombers.
Qur'an
(4:76) - "Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah…"
Qur'an
(4:89) - "They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they
do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): But take not
friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah
(From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them
and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no
friends or helpers from their ranks."
Qur'an
(4:95) - "Not equal are those believers who sit (at home)
and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause
of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted
a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods
and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith)
Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He
distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special
reward,-" This passage criticizes "peaceful" Muslims who do not
join in the violence, letting them know that they are less
worthy in Allah's eyes. It also demolishes the modern myth that
"Jihad" doesn't mean holy war in the Qur'an, but rather a
spiritual struggle. Not only is the Arabic word used in this
passage, but it is clearly not referring to anything spiritual,
since the physically disabled are given exemption. (The Hadith
reveals the context of the passage to be in response to a blind
man's protest that he is unable to engage in Jihad and this is
reflected in other translations of the verse).
Qur'an
(4:104) - "And be not weak hearted in pursuit of the enemy;
if you suffer pain, then surely they (too) suffer pain as you
suffer pain..." Is pursuing an injured and retreating enemy
really an act of self-defense?
Qur'an
(5:33) - "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah
and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is
only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their
hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they
should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in
this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous
chastisement"
Qur'an
(8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who
disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off
every fingertip of them" No reasonable person would interpret
this to mean a spiritual struggle.
Qur'an
(8:15) - "O ye who believe! When ye meet those who
disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. (16)Whoso on
that day turneth his back to them, unless maneuvering for battle
or intent to join a company, he truly hath incurred wrath from
Allah, and his habitation will be hell, a hapless journey's
end."
Qur'an
(8:39) - "And fight with them until there is no more
persecution and religion should be only for Allah" From the
historical context we know that the "persecution" spoken of here
was simply the refusal by the Meccans to allow Muhammad to enter
their city and perform the Haj. Other Muslims were able to
travel there, just not as an armed group, since Muhammad
declared war on Mecca prior to his eviction. The Meccans were
also acting in defense of their religion, since it was
Muhammad's intention to destroy their idols and establish Islam
by force (which he later did). Hence the critical part of this
verse is to fight until "religion is only for Allah." According
to Ibn Ishaq (324), Muhammad justified the violence further by
explaining that "Allah must have no rivals."
Qur'an (8:57) - "If thou comest on them in the war, deal
with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them,
that haply they may remember."
Qur'an (8:59-60) - "And let not those who disbelieve suppose
that they can outstrip (Allah's Purpose). Lo! they cannot
escape. Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and
of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of
Allah and your enemy."
Qur'an (9:5) - "So when the sacred months have passed away,
then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them
captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every
ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the
poor-rate, leave their way free to them." According to this
verse, the best way of staying safe from Muslim violence is to
convert to Islam. Prayer (salat) and the poor tax (zakat) are
among the religions Five Pillars.
Qur'an (9:14) - "Fight them, Allah will punish them by your
hands and bring them to disgrace..."
Qur'an (9:20) - "Those who believe, and have left their
homes and striven with their wealth and their lives in Allah's
way are of much greater worth in Allah's sight. These are they
who are triumphant." The "striving" spoken of here is Jihad.
Qur'an (9:29) - "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor
the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden
by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of
Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they
pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves
subdued." "People of the Book" refers to Christians and Jews.
This was one of the final "revelations" from Allah and it set in
motion the tenacious military expansion, in which Muhammad's
companions managed to conquer two-thirds of the Christian world
in just the next 100 years. Islam is intended to dominate all
other people and faiths.
Qur'an (9:30) - "And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah;
and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these
are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those
who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are
turned away!"
Qur'an
(9:38-39) - "O ye who believe! what is the matter with you,
that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye
cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world
to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as
compared with the Hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish
you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place."
This is a warning to those who refuse to fight, that they will
be punished with Hell.
Qur'an
(9:41) - "Go forth, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive
with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah! That is
best for you if ye but knew." See also the verse that follows (9:42)
- "If there had been immediate gain (in sight), and the journey
easy, they would (all) without doubt have followed thee, but the
distance was long, (and weighed) on them" This contradicts the
myth that Muslims are to fight only in self-defense, since the
wording implies that battle will be waged a long distance from
home (in another country and on Christian soil, in this case,
according to the historians).
Qur'an (9:73) - "O Prophet! strive hard against the
unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and
their abode is hell, and evil is the destination." Dehumanizing
those who reject Islam, by reminding Muslims that they are
merely firewood for Hell, makes it easier to justify slaughter.
It also explains why today's devout Muslims have little regard
for those outside the faith.
Qur'an
(9:88) - "But the Messenger, and those who believe with him,
strive and fight with their wealth and their persons: for them
are (all) good things: and it is they who will prosper."
Qur'an (9:111) - "Allah hath purchased of the believers
their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the
garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are
slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the
Gospel, and the Qur'an: and who is more faithful to his covenant
than Allah? then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded:
that is the achievement supreme."
Qur'an
(9:123) - "O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers
who are near to you and let them find in you hardness."
Qur'an
(8:65-81) - This parable lays the theological groundwork for
honor killings, in which a family member is murdered because
they brought shame to the family, either through apostasy or
perceived moral indiscretion. The story, which is not found in
any Jewish or Christian source, tells of Moses encountering a
man with "special knowledge" who does things which don't seem to
make sense on the surface, but are then justified according to
later explanation. One such action is to murder a youth for no
apparent reason (74). However, the wise man later explains that
it was feared that the boy would "grieve" his parents by
"disobedience and ingratitude." He was killed so that Allah
could provide them a 'better' son.
Qur'an
(21:44) - "We gave the good things of this life to these men
and their fathers until the period grew long for them; See they
not that We gradually reduce the land (in their control) from
its outlying borders? Is it then they who will win?"
Qur'an
(25:52) - "Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers, but
strive against them with the utmost strenuousness..." "Strive
against" is Jihad - obviously not in the personal context. It's
also significant to point out that this is a Meccan verse.
Qur'an
(33:60-62) - "If the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts
is a disease, and the alarmists in the city do not cease, We
verily shall urge thee on against them, then they will be your
neighbors in it but a little while. Accursed, they will be
seized wherever found and slain with a (fierce) slaughter."
This passage sanctions the slaughter (rendered "merciless" and
"horrible murder" in other translations) against three groups:
Hypocrites (Muslims who don't act like Muslims should), those
with "diseased hearts" (which include Jews and Christians
5:51-52), and "alarmists" or "agitators who include those
who merely speak out against Islam, according to Muhammad's
biographers. It is worth noting that the victims are to be
sought out by Muslims, which is what today's terrorists do. If
this passage is meant merely to apply to the city of Medina,
then it is unclear why it is included in Allah's eternal word to
Muslim generations.
Qur'an
(47:3-4) - "Those who reject Allah follow vanities, while
those who believe follow the truth from their lord. Thus does
Allah set forth form men their lessons by similtudes. Therefore
when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite the
necks until when you have overcome them, then make (them)
prisoners," Those who reject Allah are to be subdued in
battle. The verse goes on to say the only reason Allah doesn't
do the dirty work himself is in order to to test the
faithfulness of Muslims. Those who kill pass the test. "But if
it had been Allah's Will, He could certainly have exacted
retribution from them (Himself); but (He lets you fight) in
order to test you, some with others. But those who are slain in
the Way of Allah,- He will never let their deeds be lost."
Qur'an
(47:35) - "Be not weary and faint-hearted, crying for peace,
when ye should be uppermost (Shakir: "have the upper hand") for
Allah is with you," This very important verse asserts that the
Religion of Peace is not to grant peace to the broader society
until Islamic rule has been established.
Qur'an
(48:17) - "There is no blame for the blind, nor is there
blame for the lame, nor is there blame for the sick (that they
go not forth to war). And whoso obeyeth Allah and His messenger,
He will make him enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow; and
whoso turneth back, him will He punish with a painful doom."
Contemporary apologists sometimes claim that Jihad means
'spiritual struggle.' Is so, then why are the blind, lame and
sick exempted?
Qur'an
(48:29) - "Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those
with him are hard (ruthless) against the disbelievers and
merciful among themselves" Islam is not about treating everyone
equally. There are two very distinct standards that are applied
based on religious status.
Qur'an
(61:4) - "Surely Allah loves those who fight in His way"
Religion of Peace, indeed!
Qur'an
(61:10-12) - "O ye who believe! Shall I lead you to a
bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty?- That ye
believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that ye strive (your
utmost) in the Cause of Allah, with your property and your
persons: That will be best for you, if ye but knew! He will
forgive you your sins, and admit you to Gardens beneath which
Rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in Gardens of Eternity."
This verse was given in battle. It uses the Arabic word, Jihad.
Qur'an
(66:9) - "O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the
hypocrites, and be stern with them. Hell will be their home, a
hapless journey's end." The root word of "Jihad" is used again
here. The context is clearly holy war, and the scope of
violence is broadened to include "hypocrites" - those who call
themselves Muslims but do not act as such.
From the Hadith:
Bukhari
(52:177) - Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be
established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind
which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew
hiding behind me, so kill him."
Bukhari
(52:256) - The Prophet... was asked whether it was
permissible to attack the pagan warriors at night with the
probability of exposing their women and children to danger. The
Prophet replied, "They (i.e. women and children) are from them
(i.e. pagans)." In this command, Muhammad establishes that it
is permissible to kill non-combatants in the process of killing
a perceived enemy. This provides justification for the many
Islamic terror bombings.
Bukhari
(52:220) - Allah's Apostle said... 'I have been made
victorious with terror'
Abu
Dawud (14:2526) - The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said:
Three things are the roots of faith: to refrain from (killing) a
person who utters, "There is no god but Allah" and not to
declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits, and not to
excommunicate him from Islam for his any action; and jihad will
be performed continuously since the day Allah sent me as a
prophet until the day the last member of my community will fight
with the Dajjal (Antichrist)
Abu
Dawud (14:2527) - The Prophet said: Striving in the path of
Allah (jihad) is incumbent on you along with every ruler,
whether he is pious or impious
Muslim
(1:33) - the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded
to fight against people till they testify that there is no god
but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah
Bukhari
(8:387) - Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to
fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be
worshipped but Allah
Muslim
(1:149) - "Abu Dharr reported: I said: Messenger of Allah,
which of the deeds is the best? He (the Holy Prophet) replied:
Belief in Allah and Jihad in His cause..."
Muslim
(20:4645) - "...He (the Messenger of Allah) did that and
said: There is another act which elevates the position of a man
in Paradise to a grade one hundred (higher), and the elevation
between one grade and the other is equal to the height of the
heaven from the earth. He (Abu Sa'id) said: What is that act? He
replied: Jihad in the way of Allah! Jihad in the way of Allah!"
Muslim
(20:4696) - "the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)
said:
'One who died but did not fight in the way of Allah nor did he
express any desire (or determination) for Jihid died the death
of a hypocrite.'"
Muslim
(19:4321-4323) - Three separate hadith in which Muhammad
shrugs over the news that innocent children were killed in a
raid by his men against unbelievers. His response: "They are of
them (meaning the enemy)."
Tabari 7:97 The morning after the murder of
Ashraf, the Prophet declared,
"Kill
any Jew who falls under your power." Ashraf was a poet,
killed by Muhammad's men because he insulted Islam. Here,
Muhammad widens the scope of his orders to kill. An innocent
Jewish businessman was then slain by his Muslim partner, merely
for being non-Muslim.
Tabari 9:69
"Killing Unbelievers is
a small matter to us" The words of Muhammad, prophet
of Islam.
Ibn Ishaq: 327 - “Allah
said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A
slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved
the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives
would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the
religion.’”
Ibn Ishaq: 990 - Lest anyone
think that cutting off someone's head while screaming 'Allah
Akbar!' is a modern custom, here is an account of that very
practice under Muhammad, who seems to approve.
Ibn Ishaq: 992 - "Fight
everyone in the way of Allah and kill those who disbelieve in
Allah." Muhammad's instructions to his men prior to a military
raid.
Additional Notes:
Other than the fact that Muslims haven't
killed every non-Muslim under their domain, there is very little
else that they can point to as proof that theirs is a peaceful,
tolerant religion. Few verses in the Qur'an can be construed to
fit the contemporary virtues of religious tolerance and
universal brotherhood. Those that do are earlier "Meccan"
verses that are obviously abrogated by later ones. Small wonder
that Muslim apologists spend a lot of time speaking of the
"risks" of trying to interpret the Qur'an without their
"assistance."
Far from being mere history or theological
construct, the violent verses of the Qur'an have played a key
role in actual massacre and genocide. This includes the brutal
slaughter of tens of millions of Hindus for five centuries
beginning around 1000 AD with Mahmud of Ghazni's bloody
conquest, including the massacre of those who defending their
temples from destruction. Buddhism was very nearly wiped off
the Indian subcontinent. Judaism and Christianity met the same
fate (albeit more slowly) in areas conquered by Muslim armies,
including the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe,
including today's Turkey. Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion
of a proud Persian people is despised by Muslims and barely
survives in modern Iran.
So ingrained is violence in the religion
that Islam has never really stopped being at war, either with
other religions or with itself.
Muhammad was a military leader, laying siege
to towns,
massacring the men,
raping their women, enslaving their children, and taking
what was once the property of others for his own. On several
occasions he rejected offers of surrender from the besieged
inhabitants and killed those whom he could take
prisoner. He inspired his followers to battle even when
they did not feel it was right to fight, promising them slaves
and booty if they did and threatening them with Hell if they did
not. Muhammad allowed his men to rape traumatized women
captured in battle.
It is important to emphasize that Muslim
armies waged aggressive campaigns, and it was the companions of
Muhammad who made the most dramatic military gains in the
decades following his death. The principle set in motion early
on was that the civilian population of a town was to be
destroyed (ie. men executed, women and children taken as slaves)
if they defended themselves. Although modern Muslim apologists
often claim that Islam only attacked in self-defense, this is
not only an oxymoron, but it is
flatly contradicted by the accounts of Muslim historians and
others going back to the time of Muhammad.
Consider the example of the
Qurayza Jews, who were completely wiped out only five years
after Muhammad arrived in Medina. Their leader opted to stay
neutral when their town was besieged by a Meccan army, sent to
take revenge for Muhammad's deadly caravan raids. The tribe
killed no one from either side and even surrendered peacefully
to Muhammad after the Meccans had been turned back. Yet the
prophet of Islam had every male member of the Qurayza beheaded,
and every woman and child enslaved, even raping one of the
captives himself (what Muslim apologists call same day
"marriage").
Muhammad's failure to leave a clear line of
succession resulted in perpetual internal war following his
death. Those who knew him best first fought to keep remote
tribes from leaving Islam and reverting to their preferred
religion (the Ridda or 'Apostasy wars'). Then within the closer
community, early Meccan converts battled later ones. Hostility
developed between those immigrants who had traveled with
Muhammad to Mecca and the Ansar at Medina who had helped them
settle in. Finally there was a violent struggle within
Muhammad's own family between his favorite wife and favorite
daughter - a jagged schism that has left Shias and Sunnis at
each others' throats to this day.
The strangest and most untrue thing that can
be said about Islam is that it is a Religion of Peace. If every
standard by which the West is judged and condemned (slavery,
imperialism, intolerance, women's rights, sexuality, warfare...)
were applied equally to Islam, the verdict would be absolutely
devastating. Islam never gives up what it conquers, be it
religion, culture, language or life. Neither does it make
apologies or any real effort at moral progress. It is the least
open to dialogue and the most self-absorbed. It is convinced of
its own perfection, yet brutally shuns self-examination and
represses criticism.
This is what makes the verses of violence so
dangerous. They are given the weight of divine command. While
Muslim terrorists take them as literally as anything else in the
Qur'an, and understand that Islam is incomplete without Jihad,
moderates offer little to contradict them - outside of opinion.
Indeed, what do they have? Speaking of peace and love may win
over the ignorant, but when every twelfth verse of Islam's
holiest book either speaks to Allah's hatred for non-Muslims or
calls for their death, forced conversion, or subjugation, it's
little wonder that sympathy for terrorism runs as
deeply
as it does in the broader community - even if most Muslims
personally prefer not to interpret their religion in this way.
In fact, many Muslims are simply unaware of
the Qur'an's near absence of verses that preach universal
non-violence. This is because their understanding of Islam
comes from what they are taught by others. In the West, it is
typical for Muslims to come to believe that their religion must
be like Christianity - preaching the New Testament virtues of
peace, love, and tolerance - because Muslims are taught that
Islam is supposed to be
superior in every way. They are somewhat surprised and
embarrassed to learn that the evidence of the Qur'an and the
bloody history of Islam are very much in contradiction to this.
Others simply accept the violence. In 1991,
a Palestinian couple in America was convicted of stabbing their
daughter to death for being too Westernized. A family friend
came to their defense, excoriating the jury for not
understanding the "culture", claiming that the father was merely
following "the religion" and saying that the couple had to
"discipline their daughter or lose respect." (source).
For their part, Western liberals would do
well not to sacrifice critical thinking on the altar of
political correctness, or look for reasons to bring other
religion down to the level of Islam merely to avoid the
existential truth that this it is both different and dangerous.
There are just too many Muslims who take the
Qur'an literally... and too many others who couldn't care less
about the violence done in the name of Islam.
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