Sword verse
As a sword verse ( Arabic آية السيف, DMG āyat as-saif ) in classical Islamic law and in classical Koran exegesis a part of the Koran verse from Sura 9: 5, which was used as a legal justification for jihad . The sword verse abrogates ( abrogate ≈ abrogate) according to the classical legal exegesis of the Koran, all other verses of the Koran about dealing with non-Muslims - a method and point of view generally criticized by Muslims today. The term sword verse is not Koranic and does not appear in the canonical collections of hadiths . However, it appears relatively early in the Koran exegesis, especially in the works of abrogation literature.
The text and the traditional interpretation
The sword verse is only part of the fifth verse of the 9th sura (Surat at-Tauba ) of the Koran . The sura begins with the following verses:
- A denunciation (of the previous legal relationship and state of peace) on the part of God and his Messenger to those of the heathen (i.e. those who associate other gods with one god) with whom you have entered into a binding agreement.
- Now roam the country for four months (undisturbed)! But you must know that you will not be able to escape God's grasp and that God will (sooner or later) shame the unbelievers -;
- and a statement from God and His Messenger to the people (all of them, published) on the day of the great pilgrimage that God and His Messenger are free from the Gentiles (and no longer guarantee them anything). - If you are converted now, it will be better for you. But if you turn away, you must know that you will not be able to escape God's grip. And announce to those who disbelieve (that one day they will have to expect a painful punishment)! -
- Except for those of the heathen with whom you have entered into a binding agreement and who have not neglected anything (your contractual rights) and have not supported anyone against you.
You have to fully comply with the agreement you have made with them until the period granted to them has expired. God loves those who fear (him).
This is followed by the sword verse:
« فَإِذَا انسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَاحْصُرُوهُمْ وََاقْعُدُا لٍمْ لد المْ »
«Fa-iḏā nsalaḫa l-ašhuru l-ḥurumu fa-qtulū l-mušrikīna ḥaiṯu waǧadtumūhum wa-ḫuḏūhum wa-ḥṣurūhum wa-qʿudū lahum kulla marṣadin"
"And when the holy months have passed, then kill the heathen where (always) you find them, seize them, surround them and lie in wait for them everywhere!"
In the sequel it says:
« فَإِن تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَءَاتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْ ۚ »
"Fa-in tābū wa-aqāmū aṣ-ṣalāta wa-ātū z-zakāta fa-ḫallū sabīlahum"
"But if they convert, keep up the prayer and give the alms tax , then let them go on their way!"
In at-Tabari , in one of the most important Koran commentaries in classical Islamic literature, the quoted passage is explained in detail in its individual parts of the sentence:
- And when the holy months have passed ... :
Comment: for those who do not have a contract (with the Muslims), or have a contract but have violated it through their enmity towards the Messenger of God and his companions, or for those who had either a fixed-term or permanent contract ...
- then kill the heathen ... :
Comment: Kill them "wherever you can find them", i. H. where you meet them, in the holy district or in the non-holy district, in the holy or non-holy months.
- she grabs ... :
Comment: Capture them.
- surrounds them ... :
Comment: Prevents them from moving freely in the land of Islam and from entering Mecca.
- and lie in wait for them everywhere. :
Comment: lie in wait for them to kill or capture - anywhere you are, i. H. at every roadside and at every observation point (...).
- But if they are converted ... :
Comment: If they turn away from what was forbidden, i. H. associating the one God other ( shirk ) and the prophecy of his prophet Muhammed to deny and return it to faith in the one God and to his sincere devotion to worship without other deities.
- perform the prayer ... :
Comment: They do what God has imposed on them as a divine ordinance of prayer, they pay alms tax, which God has made their duty out of their property.
"Then let them go their way!"
Comment: Then let them move freely in their settlements and enter the sanctuary.
The reference to the four holy months of the peace obligation ( Muharram , Rajab , Dhu l-qaʿda and Dhu l-Hiddscha ) also means that the fighting should be resumed afterwards. The alternative translation to when they are converted is namely: when they repentfully repent .
Acceptance of Islam is a prerequisite for stopping the fight. This view appears in the interpretation of the sword verse, which is traced back to the Medinese Zaid ibn Aslam al-ʿAdawī († 753) and handed down by the Egyptian scholar ʿAbdallāh ibn Wahb in his exegesis of the Koran.
Role in abrogation theory
The view that the sword verse abrogated other verses calling for peaceful intercourse with non-Muslims can already be found in the early Koran exegete Qatāda ibn Diʿāma (d. 736). He quotes the Qur'anic sura 2:83 “And speak kindly to the people” from the companion of the Prophet ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAbbās (died around 687) with the words: “That was at the beginning. He (the verse) has been abrogated by the sword verse. ”According to Qatāda ibn Diʿāma, the Koranic verse also became Sura 8:61“ And if they (ie the enemy) incline towards peace, then incline (you too) towards it (and let go of the fight)! And trust in God! He is the one who hears (everything) and knows. ”Abrogated by the sword verse. However, the statement regarding the abrogation of this verse is weak and has been criticized by classical commentators such as Imam At-Tabari and Ibn Kathir. At-Tabari says: “As for those who repeat what Qatada and others have said regarding the abrogation (of the verses) by the sword verse, it is a baseless statement which is unfounded in the Qur'an and the Sunnah […] ”Ibn Kathir says:“ There is no contradiction, abrogation or specification [In this verse] ”.
The Egyptian scholar Abū Jafar an-Nahhās (d. 949), author of a work on the abrogation of Qur'anic verses, presented in a separate chapter entitled Explanation of the Abrogate in the Qur'an through the sword verse (Bayān al-mansūḫ fī l-Qurʾān bi- āyat as-saif) 113 Quranic verses, which in his opinion have been abrogated by the "sword verse".
Hibatallāh ibn Salāma (d. 1019), who was active in Baghdad, took the view in his work on abrogation that the sword verse had abrogated a total of 124 verses from the Koran. In his opinion, for example, he canceled the call to Mohammed to be patient (ṣabr) with his sinful and unbelieving compatriots in Sura 76:24. Also the request to Mohammed in sura 4:81 to turn away from those who did not obey him is said to have been canceled by the sword verse. Even another instruction from sura 9, which is in the immediate vicinity of the sword verse, is said to have been abrogated by it, namely: “With the exception of those with whom you have made a covenant at the holy place of worship (al-masǧid al-ḥarām) . What they have kept to you, also keep to them. ”However, Hibatallāh also said conversely that the second part of the sword verse (“ But if they convert, do the prayer and give the alms tax, then let them go on their way! God is merciful and ready to forgive ”) the first part of which I abrogated.
The Hanbali jurist and theologian Ibn al-Jschauzī († 1200) said that Sura 88 , verse 22 “and have no power over them (so that you could force them to believe” ) had been abrogated by the “sword verse”.
The legal scholar asch-Shaukānī (1760–1839), who is counted among the forerunners of Islamic modernism and is praised by Raschīd Ridā as a mujaddid among the scholars of modern times, is of the opinion that the closing words in sura 10, verse 108 “… and if one goes astray, to his own disadvantage. I am not your trustee " by the" sword verse "was abrogated.
Modern interpretations
Most modern Muslim writers only consider wars legitimate that serve to defend Islamic states and the freedom of Muslims to proclaim Islam outside of them, as well as those to protect Muslims under non-Islamic rule. So they relate the sword verse to the Quraysh , who broke their armistice agreement with Mohammed, and thus - contrary to classic Koran comments - do not interpret it as a command for a general fight against people of different faiths. The relevant Koranic verses for the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims are such as 8:61, which the early Koran exegetes regarded as abrogated.
literature
- Abū l-Qāsim Hibatallāh ibn Salāma: Kitāb al-Nāsiḫ wa-l-mansūḫ . Maktabat al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī, Cairo 1379 H./1960 AD. Digitized
- Theodor Nöldeke : History of the Qorāns .2. Edition, edited by Friedrich Schwally . Part One: On the Origin of the Qorān. Leipzig 1909
- Rudi Paret : The Koran . Commentary and Concordance. Stuttgart 1980, pp. 193-194 ISBN 3-17-005657-3
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rudolph Peters: Islam and colonialism. The Doctrine of jihad in Modern History . Mouton Publishers, 1979. p. 14
- ^ Fuat Sezgin: History of Arabic literature . Volume 1. pp. 405-406. Brill, Leiden 1967
- ↑ ʿAbd Allaah ibn Wahb: al-Ǧāmiʿ.ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān . Volume 3. P. 72 (Ed. M. Muranyi. Beirut 2003)
- ↑ Cf. al-Qurṭubī: al-Ǧāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān 1st edition. Beirut 2006.
- ↑ Kitāb an-nāsiḫ wal-mansūḫ fī kitābi ʾllāh taʿāla . P. 42 (Ed. Ḥātim Ṣālḥ aḍ-Ḍāmin. Beirut 1988)
- ↑ (Tafsir At-Tabari to 8:61)
- ↑ (Tafsir Ibn Kathir to 8:61)
- ^ Carl Brockelmann: History of the Arabic literature. Second edition adapted to the supplement volumes. Brill. Leiden 1943. Volume 1, p. 138
- ↑ 2nd edition. Beirut 1996. p. 267
- Jump up to him Fuat Sezgin: History of Arabic literature. Brill. Suffer. 1967. Volume 1. pp. 47-48
- ↑ Cf. Hibatallāh ibn Salāma: Kitāb al-Nāsiḫ wa-l-mansūḫ . 1960, p. 51.
- ↑ Cf. Hibatallāh ibn Salāma: Kitāb al-Nāsiḫ wa-l-mansūḫ . 1960, p. 97.
- ↑ Cf. Hibatallāh ibn Salāma: Kitāb al-Nāsiḫ wa-l-mansūḫ . 1960, p. 38.
- ↑ Cf. Hibatallāh ibn Salāma: Kitāb al-Nāsiḫ wa-l-mansūḫ . 1960, p. 51.
- ^ The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition. Brill, suffering. Volume 3, p. 751
- ^ The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition. Brill, suffering. Volume 9, p. 38
- ^ Rudolph Peters: Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam . Markus Wiener Publishers, 2005. p. 125. Cf. Fred M. Donner: The Sources of Islamic Conceptions of War . In: John Kelsay and James Turner Johnson (Eds.): Just War and Jihad: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives on War and Peace in Western and Islamic Traditions . Greenwood Press, 1991. p. 65, note 75
- ↑ Rudolph Peters: Islam and colonialism. The Doctrine of jihad in Modern History . Mouton Publishers, 1979. p. 129
- ↑ Rudolph Peters: Islam and colonialism. The Doctrine of jihad in Modern History . Mouton Publishers, 1979. p. 128