Witnesses to Faith?

Martyrdom in Christianity and Islam

Brian Wicker

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781351872560
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christianity

11 September 2001 in New York; 11 March 2004 in Madrid; 7 July 2005 in London: these dates remind us that suicide bombings, or 'martyrdom operations', have become the common coin of international politics in the West. What exactly is meant by 'martyrdom' today, whether in Islam or Christianity? This book tries to give an answer. Muslim and Christian scholars come together to find a common understanding, based on the scriptures and traditions of each faith, of martyrdom in today's violent world. Part One presents the historical background and contemporary relevance of each tradition. Part Two asks whether martyrs from one tradition could be recognized as such by the other, as well as discussing the practice of 'venerating' martyrs and examining two dramas of martyrdom by twentieth century writers. Part Three includes a study of martyrdom in Shia Islam and some short studies of past and present suicidal operations. Three appendices reproduce some classic discussions of martyrdom frequently referred to in the book, plus a plea for non-violent options within the Muslim tradition.

PART ONE

Chapter One

Competing Perspectives on Jihad and ‘Martyrdom’ in Early Islamic Sources

Asma Afsaruddin

Introduction

Jihad and martyrdom have arguably become the most common words associated with Islam and Muslims in the post-September 11 period. More misconceptions than historically accurate perspectives abound in regard to these two emotive issues, among both Muslims and non-Muslims. Ideological assertions and political claims have muddied the waters considerably in discussions of these topics in the contemporary period. The main purpose of this chapter is to outline broadly the historical trajectory of the meanings ascribed to jihad in early Islamic sources, starting with the Qur’an followed by hadith works containing statements attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions, and thus to offset them against later, post-classical meanings to indicate the semantic transformations that occurred over time. It will be argued that the Arabic terms for ‘martyr’ and ‘martyrdom’ also evince a similar evolution in their spectrum of meanings, which were tied to a considerable degree to the particular inflections of the term jihad in varying historical circumstances. This study is far from being an exhaustive treatment of this subject.¹ Other important perspectives such as the Sufi and the Shia are not part of our discussion, primarily due to constraints on length and also because they fall somewhat beyond the temporal purview of this essay. More modestly, I seek to establish the wider range of meanings associated with these terms in the early period when these groups, which were themselves influenced by these early trends in their subsequent development, had not fully emerged.

By the early third century of the Islamic era – that is, in the ninth century ceM – jihad as primarily ‘armed combat’ had become the accepted meaning in influential circles, particularly in the administrative and juridical ones. This occurred despite the fact that the term jihad in Qur’anic usage is clearly a polyvalent word and, as even a cursory reading of some of the related literature reveals, was understood as such by several early religious authorities and scholars. Exegetical glosses on the full Qur’anic phrase ‘aljihad fi sabil Allah’ (translated as ‘striving or struggling in the path of God’) explain it as referring to a wide array of activities: embarking on pursuit of knowledge, earning a licit livelihood and engaging in charitable works, in addition to military defence of Islam. Concomitantly, extra-Qur’anic literature (primarily exegesis and hadith) records various perspectives on martyrdom (Ar. shahada, a term which does not occur in the Qur’an in this sense) that reflect the polyvalence of the term jihad. As we shall see later, a believer who met with death while struggling in any licit and noble pursuit during his mundane existence on earth could be called a martyr (Ar. shahīd, pl. shuhada’).

The different legal and ethical articulations of war and peace that have emerged in Islamic thought testify to the different – and conflicting – ways of reading and interpreting some of the key Qur’anic verses dealing with this topic. Some of these variant ways of understanding the text will be outlined below. A comprehensive understanding of the Qur’anic treatment of the term jihad and other related terms is a necessary prelude to our discussion of the concept of martyrdom which appears to be a later, extra-Qur’anic, development.

The Qur’anic Discourse

The specific Qur’anic terms that have a bearing on our topic are jihad, qital, and harb. Jihad is a much broader term and its basic Qur’anic signification is ‘struggle’, ‘striving’, ‘exertion’. The lexeme jihad is frequently conjoined to the phrase fi sabil Allah (lit. ‘in the path of God’). The full locution in Arabic, al-jihad fi sabil Allah, consequently means ‘struggling/striving for the sake of God’. This translation points to the polyvalence of the term jihad and the potentially different meanings that may be ascribed to it in different contexts, since the phrase ‘in the path of/for the sake of God’ allows for human striving to be accomplished in multiple ways. Qital is the term which specifically refers to ‘fighting’ or ‘armed combat’ and is a component of jihad in specific situations. Harb is the Arabic word for war in general. The Qur’an employs this last term to refer to illegitimate wars fought by those who wish to spread corruption on earth (5:64); to the thick of battle between believers and nonbelievers (8:57; 47:4); and, in one instance, to the possibility of war waged by God and His Prophet against those who would continue to practise usury (2:279). This term is never conjoined to the phrase ‘in the path of God’.

At the semantic level, the simplistic translation of jihad into English as ‘holy war’, as is common in some scholarly and non-scholarly discourses, constitutes a severe misrepresentation and misunderstanding of its Qur’anic usage. According to the Qur’anic world-view, human beings should be constantly engaged in the basic endeavour of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. The struggle implicit in the application of this precept is jihad, properly and plainly speaking, and the endeavour refers to both an individual and a collective one. The means for carrying out this struggle may vary, depending on individual and collective circumstances, Competing Perspectives on Jihad and ‘Martyrdom’ and the Qur’an often refers to those who ‘strive with their wealth and their selves’ (jahadu bi-amwalihim wa-anfusihim; for example, 8:72).

Many of the Qur’anic strictures pertaining to both non-violent and armed struggle against evil and to uphold good cannot be properly understood without relating them to specific events in the life of the Prophet. A significant number of Qur’anic verses are traditionally understood to have been revealed in connection with certain episodes in the Prophet Muhammad’s life. Knowledge of the ‘occasions of revelation’ (Ar. asbab al-nuzul), as obtained from the biography of the Prophet and the exegetical literature, is indispensable for contextualizing key verses that may at first sight appear to be at odds with one another.² A specific chronology of events needs to be mapped out so that the progression in the Qur’anic ethics of warfare and the taking of human life may be understood against its historical backdrop, to which we proceed next.

The Meccan Period

According to our sources, from the onset of the revelations to the Prophet Muhammad in c. 610 ce until his emigration to Medina from Mecca in 622 ce, which marks the end of the Meccan period and the onset of the Medinan, the Muslims were not given permission by the Qur’an to physically retaliate against their persecutors, the pagan Meccans. Verses revealed in this period counsel the Muslims rather to steadfastly endure the hostility of the Meccans. While recognizing the right to self-defence for those who are wronged, the Qur’an maintains in this early period that to bear patiently the wrongdoing of others and to forgive those who cause them harm is the superior course of action. Three significant verses (42:40–43) reveal this highly significant, non-militant dimension of jihad in this early phase of the Prophet’s career:

The requital of evil is an evil similar to it: hence, whoever pardons and makes peace, his reward rests with God – for indeed, He does not love evil-doers. Yet surely, as for those who defend themselves after having been wronged – no blame whatever attaches to them: blame attaches but to those who oppress people and behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right; for them is grievous suffering in store!

But if one is patient in adversity and forgives, this is indeed the best resolution of affairs.

Further,

Pardon and forgive them until God gives His command. (2:109; cf. 29:59; 16:42)

Sabr (‘patience’; ‘forbearance’) is thus an important component of jihad as well. The verses quoted above underscore the non-violent dimension of jihad during the Meccan period, which lasted 13 years compared to the Medinan period of ten years. The Qur’anic verses which were revealed during this period and dictated the conduct of the Prophet and his Companions are thus of extremely important consideration in any discussion on the permissibility of engaging in armed combat within the Islamic context. As these early verses show, the Muslims were allowed to engage in self-defence but without resorting to fighting in the early period. For the most part, this meant resisting the Meccan establishment by first secret and then active public propagation of the faith, through manumission of slaves who had converted to Islam, and, for some, by emigration to Abyssinia/Ethiopia, whose Christian king was sympathetic to the early Muslims, and later to Medina.

Both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars, medieval and modern, however, have tended to downplay the critical Meccan phase in the development of the Qur’anic doctrine of jihad. It is, however, practically impossible to contextualize the Qur’anic discourse on the various meanings of jihad without taking the Meccan phase into consideration. The introduction of the military aspect of jihad in the Medinan period can then be appropriately and better understood as a ‘last resort’ option, resorted to when attempts at negotiations and peaceful proselytization among the Meccans had failed during the first 13 years of the propagation of Islam.

The Medinan Period

In 622 ce, which corresponds to the first year of the Islamic calendar, the Prophet received divine permission to emigrate to Medina, along with his loyal followers. There he set up the first Muslim polity, combining the functions of prophecy and temporal rule in one office. The Medinan verses, accordingly, now have increasingly more to do with organization of the polity, communitarian issues and ethics, and defence of the Muslims against Meccan hostilities. A specific Qur’anic verse (22:39–40) permitting fighting was revealed in Medina, although its precise date cannot be determined. The verse states:

Permission [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged, and indeed, God has the power to help them: those who have been driven from ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Appendices
• Index