108. Ainee again quoted and refuted.
Ainee, the author of the commentary on the Hedaya, called Binayah, in justifying the war of aggression against the unbelievers, quotes two verses from the Koran,[301] and two traditions from the Prophet,[302] and says,—"If it be objected that these absolute injunctions are restricted by the word of God, 'if they attack you, then kill them' (II, 187), which shows that the fighting is only incumbent when the unbelievers are the aggressors in fighting, as it was held by Souri, the reply is that the verse was abrogated by another, 'So fight against them until there be no more persecution' (II, 189), and 'fight against those who do not believe in God.' (IX, 29)."[303] But he is wrong in asserting that the verse II, 187 was abrogated by II, 189, and IX, 29. There is no authority for such a gratuitous assumption. And besides, both these verses (II, 189, and IX, 29) relate to defensive wars as it has been already explained in paras. 96-99.
109. Continuation of the above.
The verse 189 shows by its very wording the existence of fitnah or persecution, torture, and fighting on the part of the aggressors. By suppressing the Meccans' persecution, the Moslems had to regain their civil and religious liberty, from which they were so unjustly deprived. And this war of the Moslems to repel the force of their aggressors was the war of defence and protection enjoined in the verse. The 29th verse of the ninth Sura appertains to the expedition of Tábuk if not to that of Khyber. These expeditions were of a defensive character. Vide pages 37 and 41.
110. Traditions quoted and refuted.
The jurists further quote a tradition from the compilation of Abú Daood that the Prophet had said, "The Jihád will last up to the day of the Resurrection:" But in the first place, Jihád does not literally and classically mean warfare or fighting in a war. It means, as used by the classical poets as well as by the Koran, to do one's utmost; to labour; to toil; to exert one's-self or his power, efforts, endeavours, or ability; to employ one's-self vigorously, diligently, studiously, sedulously, earnestly, or with energy; to be diligent or studious, to take pains or extraordinary pains. Vide [Appendix A].
In the second place, Yezid bin Abi Shaiba, a link in the chain of the tradition, is a Mujhool,[304] i.e., his biography is not known, therefore his tradition can have no authority.
There is also another tradition in Bokháree to the effect that the Prophet had said, "I have been enjoined to fight the people until they confess that there is no god but the God." This tradition goes quite contrary to the verses of the Koran which enjoin to fight in defence,—that is, until the persecution or civil discord was removed.—(Vide Sura II, 189; VIII, 40.) Thus it appears that either the whole tradition is a spurious one, or some of the narrators were wrong in interpreting the words of the Prophet.
111. Early Moslem legists quoted against Jihád.
That the Koran did not allow war of aggression either when it was revealed, or in future as the early jurisconsults did infer from it, will be further shown from the opinions of the early Moslems; legists of the first and second century of the Hegira, like Ibn (son of) Omar the second khalif, Sotian Souri, Ibn Shobormah, Atá and Amar-bin-Dinar. All these early legists held that the fighting was not religiously incumbent (wájib), and that it was only a voluntary act, and that only those were to be fought against who attacked the Moslems.[305]