Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and Jihad: Difference between revisions

The early Islamic tradition delineates two distinct phases to the career of the prophet: the Meccan period, characterized by peaceful exhortations to the pagan people of Mecca to abandon their gods and embrace Islam, and the Medinan period, characterized by expanding conflicts with neighboring Jewish tribes and the pagans of Mecca. According to the [[sira]] and many [[hadith]] traditions, during this period Muhammad both ordered and condoned numerous confrontations and assassinations against his enemies in Mecca and Medina. These military operations constitute [[Jihad]], Arabic for struggle, a holy duty incumbent upon all able-bodied Muslim men to engage in armed struggle to expand the reach of Islam. Men who die "on the path of Allah" will be [[Shaheed (Martyr)|shahids]] who will enjoy [[Houri (Heavenly Virgin)|72 Virgins]] in paradise, and those who live and are victorious will enjoy divinely-approved [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and Booty|booty]] in this world. In the Quran, fighting is urged upon the believers against the oppressive pagans of Mecca who control the holy shrine the [[Ka'bah]] until "the religion, all of it, is to Allah" ({{Quran|8|39}} - see also {{Quran-range|2|190|194}} with a similar command linked to ending religious oppression). Verses and hadiths on this theme were studied by scholars to determine the circumstances in which Jihad [[Jihad as Obligation (Fard)|is an obligation]] upon believers. Muhammad was the leader of these military campaigns and played the role of supreme commander. He also took part in the battles himself, fighting and even being wounded. Jihad was thus a fundamental part of early Islam according to its own tradition and a central occupation of its prophet.

The primary source of information on Islamic history is the Quran itself, which mentions and alludes to a small number of specific battles, as well as containing general commands on the conduct and conditions of fighting. Through this lens and modern historical methods academic scholars have come to regard the biographical/expeditionary literature as unreliable, though with some value when approached cautiously. Modernist Islamic scholars prefer to minimise this material as much as possible. One early source considered to be relatively credible are the letters of 'Urwa b. Zubayr to the late Umayyad court. For further discussion see [[List of expeditions of Muhammad]] and [[Jihad in Islamic Law]].