Main Subject: Islamology

Lesson 7: Islam and Violence 1

Lesson 8: Islam and violence 2

Number of slides: 23

Applied knowledge 5

Islamology

Lesson 7

Islam and violence 1

The relationship between Islam and violence

Jihad and killing and war with infidels

Enslaving captives and buying and selling them

Qissāss

Irtidād

1.     Islam and Jihad

Types of Jihad

Defensive jihad

This Jihad is obligatory according to human reason before it is obligatory according to religion. It is neither violence nor force, but anti-tyranny and anti-violence.

The initial jihad

Although this Jihad is a type of violence on the surface, but with a little reflection, it turns out that it contains the utmost kindness and tenderness, because wherever there is oppression, it must be fought against. This is also the rule of reason and nature.

The very difficult conditions of this Jihad in Islam

Some consider it special during the presence of Imam Masoom

Another view point on Initial Jihad

Others accept the possibility of it under certain conditions

– Argument, advice and preaching

– Paying taxes to the Islamic government

– Starting a war if the preaching is not effective in order to prevent their oppression

– Jihad in Islam is just a form of putting pressure on others to save them. The spirit of this jihad is compassion. Just like a parent who sees their child’s mistake and knows that there is no other way to save him but punishment, but this punishment is not due to violence, but a sea of compassion and kindness is hidden in it.

Swords, means to heaven; a historical story

At the beginning of Islam, some people were captured in one of the wars and the Muslims imprisoned them. The Holy Prophet looked at the captives and a smile appeared on their blessed lips. One of these prisoners was offended and protested and said, “You have put us in chains and are you laughing?” Hazrat said, “I laughed because sometimes a person has to drag a group of people to heaven with swords, chains, and ropes.”

ضحكت من قوم يؤتى بهم الى الجنه في كبل الحديد

2.     Islam and slavery

History of slavery

Types of slavery

1.      Selling family members by the father of the family

2.      Slavery for the purpose of generating income by force and bullying and looting property (colonization)

Prohibition of these two types of slavery

3.      Slavery as a result of wars between two governments

What should be done with the prisoners?

1.     Free everyone

2.     Kill everyone

3.     Imprison everyone

4.     Recruit everyone

Benefits of item 4:

1.      Education of both groups

2.      Enjoying the benefits of social life and friendship and marriage

3.      The production force of the society, not only the consumer, has heavy costs on the Islamic society

Important points

Existence of punishment laws for someone who oppresses a slave

The general principle of freeing the slave is recommended

The usual practice of the infallible Imams was that whenever they saw that a slave had grown morally and religiously and did not need further education, they would free him on the spot. Perhaps they would give him money so that it would be his capital and not a burden on others in the society. Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) used to buy and train a number of slaves every year, and on Eid al-Fitr, he gathered all his slaves and freed them all after praying and supplicating to God.

Imam Zaman’s mother, Narjes Khatun, was also a prisoner of war

Lesson 8

Islam and Qissāss and Hudud

3.      Islam and Qissāss and Hudud

“Qissāss” and corporal punishments are for guiding the Ummah, not for oppression and persecution.

Government laws are of two types:

1.      A law that is approved to be implemented

2.      A law that is approved but not implemented

The law of “Qissāss” and “Hudud” in Islam is of this type. That is, it is established for deterrence

و لکم فی القصاص حیاه یا اولی الالباب

The only way

The only way to fight against violence and oppression in the society is the existence of the law of “retribution”, that’s why the Qur’an says that mercy and kindness should not cause you to fail in the implementation of divine limits and fulfill the “limit”. Surah Noor, verse 2

Execution of “Qissāss” or “Had” is like cutting off a hand and foot that is infected and if it is not cut off, it will spread to the rest of the body. This apparently harsh and painful work is a great service to the patient

Is there no other solution?

1.     Dismantling the areas of corruption such as poverty, discrimination and oppression in the society

2.     Correct teaching of worldly and hereafter sins

3.     Promoting the culture of piety and strengthening the inner connection of humans with God

4.     Existence of heavy punishments for the corrupt (“Qissāss” and “Hudud”)

Useful Points

·        “Qissāss” is a right, not a mandatory law, and if the owner of the right wants, he can forgive or demand ransom.

·        Islam encourages forgiveness; therefore, “retribution” rarely happens in Islamic society.

·        The harsh conditions of Islamic punishments

The harsh conditions of Islamic punishments

Cutting off a thief’s hand or stoning is so complicated that it is rarely possible to prove cases in court:

For example, cutting off a thief’s hand in Islam has 12 conditions:

1.      Puberty (Bulugh)

2.      Wisdom (Aql)

3.      Discretion (Ikhtiyar)

4.      The thief should take the goods from the closed and locked place

5.      The thief himself broke the lock or, for example, made a hole in the wall

6.      The thief should be sure that what he took is theft and not have any doubts

7.      The price of the stolen goods should be at least a quarter of a gold dinar

8.      Theft has been done secretly

9.      The father should not steal from his son’s property

10. A slave should not steal from his master’s property

11. The theft did not happen during famine conditions

12. The thief must be summoned to the ruler to demand the lost property, and otherwise “Hadd” will not be enforced on him

4.     Islam and Irtidād (apostasy)

Doubts and slanders

Islam is against thinking, research and questioning

Islam is against human freedom

Islam is a religion of violence

The answers

Islam and the call to thinking and reasoning and research

Qur’an and invitation to think

·        افلا تتفكرون

·        لعلكم تتفكرون

·        افلا تعقلون

·        لعلكم تعقلون

The life of the Prophet and Ahl al-Bayt in encouraging the questioning and study of science and knowledge and thinking and training unique personalities and scholars in the world.

The rules and principles of religion are not Taqlidi but research

Islam and freedom

Absolute freedom is prohibited

Limit freedom in two places:

1. The freedom of one person will lead to the deprivation of the freedom of others and violation of their privacy

2. A person’s freedom can cause harm to that person’s own health and safety

Restrictions of parents at home for children or principal and teacher at school for students

Examples

Penalties and fines for transporting drugs

Not practicing medicine without official permission from the Ministry of Health, using safety equipment such as safety belts and helmets

The position of the law of Irtidād

Subject to the law of apostasy

Expression of belief

Philosophy

Preventing the spread of spiritual and intellectual diseases of the apostate to others and preserving the religion and beliefs of others

Read more

Suppose you are enrolled in a school and after studying for a while, you have come to the conclusion that the school principal has wrong opinions on educational issues. You decide to fight with him and criticize the school principal’s comments every day in the class and during recreation. Some time passes and the principal treats you harshly and says that you do not have the right to criticize my opinions in this school! If you want to stay in this school, we should not protest the school rules and make the atmosphere of the students tense! You must be silent or you will be punished!

We say, Mr. Manager! These are your opinions. In my opinion, these discussions not only make the school tense, but also wake up the students and create a reform movement.

The principal replied: This is my school and I have to manage it according to what I understand, and I consider public criticism to be a violation of my management. If someone has an opposing theory, he can leave this school, and an inexperienced student is not expected to express his opinion so easily in front of an experienced manager.

Do you think the legal director has such a word? Is this human manager violent and bully? Is it against freedom of thought? Is it an enemy to thinking and reasoning?

Yes! The Islamic community is a school whose people have gathered together by giving allegiance and voting to the Islamic government to live together according to the opinions of this school and educational center. Don’t they have the right to say that it is not permissible to promote thoughts that we think are wrong in this society? Is this anti-freedom or the right of the members of a society?!

Principles

A false belief affects human health dozens of times more than drugs

Dealing with apostasy is dealing with the most important and dangerous human mental illness

A question

Why does Islam consider the people of society to be so weak and ignorant and thinks that people are not able to distinguish right from wrong and does not allow everyone to express their opinion so that people can decide for themselves?

Answer

Is not releasing drugs an insult to people’s conscience?

Why don’t they allow every doctor to open a shop and people can recognize a real doctor from a fake one?

When people cannot be left to themselves in worldly and material matters, then they cannot be left to themselves in the most vital matters of life. The Islamic government has a difficult task in this field.