Jihad
The concept of jihad, which comes from the Arabic root “chd /jahd”, means to strive in literature, to be able to. In religious freedom, jihad means to fight all kinds of material and spiritual evils such as sedition, fucur, fisk, cruelty, with the enemy, the soul, the devil, showing patience for hardships. In other words, jihad is a concept that includes both the struggle with the soul (great / spiritual jihad) and the struggle with the enemy (small / material jihad).
As can be understood from the definition of the concept, jihad refers to the struggle that a Muslim individual makes with the enemy, as well as the relentless struggle that a person makes with his soul in the name of “being a human being” despite all kinds of tricks and designs of Iblis. As long as a person cannot win this war, his jihad on the battlefields is also in danger. In such cases, the purpose of the expedition for Allah is faced with the risk of turning into wars for the sake of glory, fame and booty. That is when jihad, whose center is “keeping a person alive humanely and giving him life”, loses this sensitivity and turns into a means of taking lives and gaining booty.
The history of war is as old as the history of humanity. But the logic of war in Islam is quite different from the logic and justifications of war of other religions and ideologies. Islam makes war not to persecute, but to establish justice. He never wages jihad to collect goods, seize land, dominate people, be arrogant towards them, kill them, enslave them, plunder their wealth, establish colonies, take revenge. Hz. The banner of the Prophet on the occasion of Tabuk Hazrat. What they said when handing over to Ali is actually very important for understanding the meaning that Islam attaches to war: “O Ali! Inform the Jews you are fighting for their rights. It is better for one of them to be guided by your hands than for you to own red camels.”Islam sees war as a method that it can apply as a “last resort” in order to prepare an environment where people can live humanely, saving them from becoming an instrument of economic, social and political hegemony. Hz. The Prophet called this Adi b. He described to Hatem; “a world where a woman can travel from Mecca to Qadisiya alone without suffering any harm” and dedicated his life to it. In the Arabia of that day, even in the world, this was nothing but utopia. All kinds of actions that will be undertaken to realize this dream of the Messenger of Allah and spread it to the whole world enter into the concept of jihad and gain meaning and value to the extent that a lifetime can be devoted to it. In other words, life consists of faith and jihad for a believer.
The Qur’an uses the concepts of jihad and war in the form of “struggle in the way of Allah” (fi sabilillah). Therefore, any kind of struggle style that goes beyond the consent of Allah is not jihad ordered by Islam. Muslims are ordered to behave well towards unbelievers who do not wage war on them and do not persecute them, and are reminded that unbelief alone will not be a cause of war. “As for those who disbelieve, who did not fight you because of your religion, and did not expel you from your land, Allah does not forbid you from being kind to them, and from observing justice and mercy. Indeed, Allah loves the just.” (Mumtahina, 60) “Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight you. But do not attack unjustly. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors.” (Baqara, 190) “Fight them until sedition (oppression and cruelty) disappears and religion and obedience are reserved for Allah alone. If they desist from disbelief and transgression, then know that there is no enmity except for the wrongdoers.” (Baqara, 193) It should be remembered that the order to fight for the “elimination of sedition” is not only an order to save Muslims from the persecution of polytheists, but also in the name of protecting freedom of religion and conscience, which is a human right. If there is no such risk, there is no war. The Messenger of Allah said, “Do not wish to meet the enemy, but rather seek forgiveness from Allah on this matter. If you encounter them, be patient and know that paradise is under the shadows of swords.” says. These statements are an important emphasis in terms of showing that Islam places peace at the center, not war.