Islam is a religion of Peace

There are over a billion Muslims in the world, and the great majority of them are peaceful, moderate practitioners of mainstream Islam and those Muslims who have succumbed to violence are motivated by politics, not religion.

There are about 10% Egyptian Coptic Christian and non-Muslims living in Arab since Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) time till now. If Islam is a nontolerance or violence religion, all of them would probably be killed already. But that did not happen, did it?

The word jihad in Islam has different meanings. It can be translated to holy war, but its primary meaning is to struggle, and in the Quran, this refers to the internal and external effort to be a good Muslim.

The actual meaning of the word 'kafir' is 'concealer', one who conceals the truth of Islam, not non-believers or non-Muslims. To simplified it, not all non-believers are kafir and not all kafir are non-believers because kafir existed amongst the believers too.

Now that we are cleared on this, let's look at the verses in the Quran that depicts jihad and the killing of kafir. There are 3 famous verses in the Quran that fits these criteria. They are;

1) "When your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike them upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip." (QS 8:12)

Explanation: I am not going to elaborate on this verse because this is an instruction for the angels (malaikat). This is an Order from God to the angels during the Battle of Badr but many ignorants uses this verse to describe the cruelty of Islam.

- The Battle of Badr fought on Tuesday, 13 March 624 CE. Army strength; Islam 300 - Enemy 1000. Victory to Islam. Get the picture?

Reason of Revelation; God revealed this verse to remind the Muslims that victory was achieved through the Mercy of God and not because of army strength or weaponry. Success is achieved through piety and righteousness.

2) "So when you meet those kafir in battle, strike their necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them..." (QS 47:4)

Explanation: This is one of the most logical verse in the Quran. Just ask yourself, what were you suppose to do during a battle in a war? Just stand there and let the enemy chop of your head? Of course not, any logical mind would tell you that we must defend ourselves by fighting back.

So, what's the problem with this verse? God is teaching the believers to strike back if enemies attacked them. The reason God reveal this verse (QS 47:4) is because there are so many other verses that warn Muslims against killing. For example;

“…if any one killed a person, it would be as if he killed the whole of mankind; and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole of mankind…” (QS 5:32)

The Muslims during the Prophet (pbuh) time was so pious and they wouldn't dare to go against God instructions. If God didn't revealed that 'defending' verse (QS 47:4), the Muslims would've stood back and waited for martyrdom (syahid).

3) "And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush." (QS 9:5)

Explanation: This is the infamous verse that was often referred to as 'the verse of the sword'. This verse was revealed by God after the 'Treaty of Hudaybiyyah' was broken by the pagans Arab and war was waged.

The reason God revealed this verse was actually to boost the morale of the Muslim soldiers during the battle. What the Qur'an is telling Muslim soldiers is, 'don't be afraid during battle; wherever you find the enemies kill them'.

God is telling the Muslim soldiers if the enemy would not cease their hostilities towards the Muslims, then they were to be fought back. This is to commands the Muslims to protect those who seek peace that are non-combatants during and after the 4 month grace period.

The enemy was given a four months grace period to repair the damage done or make peace. If the enemy still insist on killing the Muslims and harm those who had 'surrendered' (local non Muslim peasants), then the enemy should be vanquished by relentless fighting. This is what the verse (QS 9:5) meant.

If you look at the verses immediately before and after QS 9:5, the context of the verse becomes clear. The Quran says:

“There is a declaration of immunity from Allah and His Messenger to those of the pagans with whom you have contracted mutual alliances. Go then, for four months, to and fro throughout the land.” (QS 5:1-2)

In these verses, we can see that the pagans were granted a four-month amnesty period with an indication that when the four months were over, fighting would resume if hostilities towards the Muslims continues. Yet again, this is just another verse instructing the Muslims to protect themselves by fighting back.

This is why we say that Islam is a 'complete religion' that fit the innate nature of humanity. Unlike other religion that teaches strictly 'No Killing' full stop or strictly 'No Alcohol Consumption' full stop.

If strictly 'No Killing', then how to defend our family and country if enemies attacked? Or what if a person choke himself and all he can find is a bottle of beer? Become a hypocrite and break the rules they preached?


Wallahu'alam