Dar al-Harb and Dar al-Islam (the Abodes of War and Peace): Difference between revisions

Traditionally, [[Shari'ah (Islamic Law)|Islamic law]] has understood the world as divided into a number of distinct domains based upon the relationship of the ruling parties to Islam and the [[Khilafah (Caliphate)|Islamic state, or Caliphate]]. Whether or not these territories have always existed or continue to exist, virtually all Islamic scholars until today agree on the existence, at least conceptually, of such a place as the ''Dar al-Harb'' (lit. "Abode of War") and ''Dar al-Islam'', ''Dar al-Salam'', or ''Dar al-Tawhid'' (lit. "Abode of Submission", or "Peace", or "Unity"). More controversial throughout history and experiencing varying levels of intellectual assent and much definitional debate, although growing in popularity in recent times, has been the tertiary domain of ''Dar al-Sulh'' or ''Dar al-Ahd'' (lit. "Abode of Treaty", or "Truce"). The purpose of these distinctions is to delineate the imperial policy of the Islamic state. Most simplistically, the regions controlled by or subservient to the Islamic state have been considered as constituting the Dar al-Islam and those not as constituting the Dar al-Harb. Scholars have differed as to whether regions with which the Islamic state has a treaty ought to be considered part of the Dar al-Harb or the tertiary category of Dar al-Sulh. Scholars have also differed as to whether, if such a place as the Dar al-Sulh exists, it can be considered permanent. This is because most classical scholars agreed that the Islamic state, destined to conquer the entire world, was not permitted by God to have everlasting treaties with non-subservient political or military entities, with many agreeing on a 10-year maximum-limit on peaceful relations with any such entity. The questions of whether or not such treaties, albeit temporary, could be again and again renewed and to whether or not multiple independent Islamic states, as have often existed throughout history and as exist today, could together constitute the Dar al-Islam as opposed to a single unified state has complexified the debate.

==Dar al-Harb==

''Dar al-Harb'' (دار الحرب "house of war"; also referred to as ''dar al-Garb'' "house of the West" in later Ottoman sources) is an Islamic term used for countries which are not under Islamic rule.

According to ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'', the ''dar al-harb'' (lit. the "abode of war") is:

:the territories where Islam does not prevail. During colonial rule in India, the'' 'uluma'' decided that as long as the laws of Islam were not prohibited, or as long as the peculiar institution of Islam existed, the country could be considered to lie within ''dar al-islam'' ("abode of Islam"). Symbolically, the ''dar al-harb'' is the domain, even in an individual's life, where there is a struggle against or opposition to, the Will of God.<ref>Glasse, Cyril. (2002). [http://books.google.com/books?id=focLrox-frUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+new+encyclopedia+of+islam#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam:  Revised Edition of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'']. (p. 111). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.</ref>

It further explains that [[jihad]] ("Holy War") is a Divine institution of warfare to extend Islam into the ''dar al-harb'' or to defend Islam from danger.<ref>Glasse, Cyril. (2002). [http://books.google.com/books?id=focLrox-frUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+new+encyclopedia+of+islam#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam:  Revised Edition of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'']. (p.240). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.</ref>

===History and use of ''dar al-harb''===

According to Professor Gamal M. Badr, Adjunct Professor of Islamic law at New York University, in his article titled "A Survey of Islamic International Law", during the Islamic age of expansion jurists elaborated the theory that the rest of the world outside the domain of Islam was collectively ''dar al-harb'', and the normal relationship between it and the Muslim state was considered to be war.  Any truces could not exceed a duration of ten years (a precedent set during Muhammad's lifetime).<ref name="Religion and International Law">Janis, Mark W. & Evans, Caroline. (1999). [http://books.google.com/books?id=8CxMFjU12OUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=religion+and+international+law#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''Religion and International Law'']. (p. 95). The Hague, Netherlands: Kluwer Law International - Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.</ref>

During the age of expansion, the rationale for waging war against non-Muslims centered around the legal thought that it was justified by the mere fact of their disbelief.<ref name="Religion and International Law2">Janis, Mark W. & Evans, Caroline. (1999). [http://books.google.com/books?id=8CxMFjU12OUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=religion+and+international+law#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''Religion and International Law'']. (p. 96). The Hague, Netherlands: Kluwer Law International - Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.</ref>  After over a century of expansion, Muslim leaders came to the realization that carrying Islam to the four corners of the world was unattainable.<ref name="Religion and International Law"></ref>  What was once ''dar al-Islam vs. dar al-harb'' became ''dar al-Islam'', ''dar al-sulh'' ("territory of peace"), and ''dar al-harb''. The territories of peace were states that did not recognize Islamic rule over them but were not hostile towards Muslim states and made friendly treaties with them.<ref name="Religion and International Law2"></ref>