Jihad Not Licence for Indiscriminate Violence, Says Colonel Tahir
A researcher in Islamic scholarship and security affairs, Colonel Abubakar Tahir, mni, has cautioned against the misuse of the concept of jihad to justify indiscriminate violence, rebellion or attacks on non-Muslims, arguing that classical Islamic scholarship ties legitimate armed struggle to aggression, self-defence and recognised authority.
Tahir made the submission in a paper titled, “The Reality of Fighting, Conquests, and Jizyah in Islam: Ibn Taymiyyah’s Perspective,” in which he examined the writings of the renowned Islamic jurist and theologian, Ibn Taymiyyah, alongside classical sources and contemporary scholarship.
According to the scholar, misconceptions surrounding jihad, Islamic conquests and the jizyah levy have persisted among Muslims and non-Muslims, with some preachers also attributing positions to Ibn Taymiyyah that do not reflect the context or substance of his writings.
He said such misinterpretations could arise from language barriers, inadequate understanding of historical context and unfamiliarity with the scholar’s broader principles.
Tahir argued that Ibn Taymiyyah rejected the proposition that non-Muslims should be fought simply because of their religious beliefs, maintaining instead that aggression and hostility constituted the legitimate basis for fighting.
Citing the Qur’anic injunction that “there is no compulsion in religion,” the paper noted that Ibn Taymiyyah maintained that Prophet Muhammad did not compel people to embrace Islam and fought those who engaged in aggression.
The scholar also highlighted the protection of non-combatants during warfare, saying women, children, the elderly, monks and persons with disabilities who were not participating in hostilities were not legitimate targets.
Tahir further challenged the popular description of jihad as “holy war,” arguing that Islamic teachings do not categorise war as holy but rather distinguish between justified and unjustified fighting.
He said armed groups or individuals could not simply constitute themselves into forces and declare their activities jihad, stressing that legitimate authority and communal responsibility were central to the classical understanding of armed jihad.
“The concept of jihad in relation to fighting can only be declared by a legitimate leader who holds the allegiance of the community,” the paper stated, adding that insurrection by non-state actors should not ordinarily be regarded as jihad.
The paper, however, distinguished such activities from legitimate self-defence by genuinely oppressed or subjugated people where the state fails to protect them. It maintained that such resistance must be directed against oppression rather than pursued as a vehicle for political ambition.
Tahir said this distinction was particularly important in understanding Ibn Taymiyyah’s anti-Mongol fatwas, which he described as responses to specific historical circumstances rather than blanket authorisation for violence against non-Muslims.
The paper recalled that Ibn Taymiyyah lived between 1263 and 1328 during a turbulent period characterised by Mongol incursions into Muslim territories.
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His family relocated from Harran to Damascus as Mongol forces advanced, while subsequent invasions of Bilad al-Sham shaped much of his thinking on political authority, warfare and communal defence.
Tahir noted that Ibn Taymiyyah supported resistance to Mongol military aggression and participated in efforts to mobilise the defence of Damascus, while also joining delegations that negotiated with Mongol leaders for the release of prisoners.
The security expert also addressed historical Islamic conquests, rejecting the characterisation of such campaigns as principally designed to force conquered populations to convert to Islam.
According to his analysis, the campaigns were historically associated with repelling aggression, confronting oppressive regimes and ensuring the free transmission of the Islamic message.
He said Islamic rules also required acceptance of peace where an opposing side sought a truce or settlement, citing the Qur’anic injunction to incline towards peace when the other party does so.
Tahir noted that Ibn Taymiyyah recognised peace treaties under certain circumstances and did not advocate permanent warfare, describing his approach as one that combined defence with diplomacy.
The paper also examined jizyah, a levy historically imposed on certain non-Muslim subjects under Islamic governance.
Tahir argued that jizyah should be understood within the fiscal and security arrangements of the period rather than simply as an instrument of religious humiliation.
According to him, the levy applied to financially capable adult men eligible for military service, while women, children, the poor, sick, elderly and monks were exempt.
He explained that those paying jizyah were exempted from military service, while Muslims were obligated to pay zakah, with revenues going into the public treasury for defence and other public services.
Tahir further maintained that Islamic jurisprudence recognised peaceful relations with neutral non-Muslim states.
He said Ibn Taymiyyah’s position was that rulers who neither attacked Muslims nor obstructed them should not be fought or subjected to jizyah, but could maintain relations founded on treaties, diplomacy, trade and mutual security.
The paper cited the historical relationship between Prophet Muhammad and the Christian ruler of Abyssinia, the Negus, who provided refuge to Muslims fleeing persecution and was not required to pay jizyah.
Concluding, Tahir called for a contextual understanding of classical Islamic scholarship, warning that taking historical rulings outside the political and security circumstances in which they were formulated could encourage distorted interpretations.
He maintained that Ibn Taymiyyah’s writings, when considered within their proper context, linked armed struggle to legitimate authority and defence against aggression while emphasising restraint, protection of non-combatants, diplomacy and peaceful coexistence.
The scholar said revisiting such teachings was particularly important for students, preachers, scholars and wider audiences seeking to understand jihad and related concepts without allowing extremist interpretations or misconceptions to distort their meaning.
By PRNigeria
