The Jurisprudence of Jihād: The Use of Force and the Ethics of Violence through the Prism of the Islamic Law of War

By A. Yousef Al-Katib

Beginning with a general introduction to Islamic law and its sources (uṣūl al-fiqh), this study examines the Islamic law of war, or fiqh al-jihād. It opens with a discourse on Islamic public international law, including the bifurcation of the world into dār al-Islām (abode of peace) and dār al-ḥarb (abode of war). The reader's attention is then turned to jus ad bellum (the legitimacy of resorting to armed force) and jus in bello (the laws governing the use of force in armed conflict) within the framework of classical Islamic law. Next, the book discusses contemporary militant jihādī fiqh (jurisprudence), with a view towards examining the views on killing, the targeting of civilians and the means and methods of warfare espoused by armed groups operating in the name of Islam, including the Taliban and al Qaeda. This is followed by a discussion of Yusuf Al-Qaradawi's treatise, Fiqh al-Jihād, and Qaradawi's response to the views of contemporary jihādī militants. Finally, the book concludes with a discussion on the challenges of using public international law and Islamic law to increase Islamic armed groups' compliance with humanitarian law.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TellerBooks
• Release date: Oct 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781681090979

Book preview

The Jurisprudence of JihAd

The Use of Force and the Ethics of Violence

through the Prism of the Islamic Law of War

THE JURISPRUDENCE OF JIHaD

The Use of Force and the Ethics of Violence through the Prism of the Islamic Law of War

A. Yousef Al-Katib

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The Jurisprudence of Jihad

The Use of Force and the Ethics of Violence

through the Prism of the Islamic Law of War

© 2021 by TellerBooks™. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or copying to any storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the copyright holder.

ISBN (13) (Paperback): 978-1-68109-096-2

ISBN (10) (Paperback): 1-68109-096-1

ISBN (13) (ePub): 978-1-68109-097-9

ISBN (10) (ePub): 1-68109-097-X

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DISCLAIMER: The opinions, views, positions and conclusions expressed in this volume reflect those of the individual author and not necessarily those of the publisher or any of its imprints, editors or employees. Nothing in this book is intended to constitute legal advice in any form.

Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction to Islamic Law

I. What is Islamic Law

II. The Ḥukm and Its Discovery

A. Overview

B. Who discovers what the ḥukm is

III. Fiqh (فقه)

IV. Probability in Islamic law

V. Sources / Uṣūl al-fiqh

A. Qur’ān

1. Overview

2. Abrogation

B. Sunna / ḥadīth

1. Overview

2. Authenticating Aḥādīth

3. Aḥādīth Collections

4. Muhammad’s Capacity as the Source of Aḥādīth

C. Ijmā‘

D. Qiyās

VI. Islamic law beyond the four sources: Equity under the Sharī‘a

A. Overview

A. Example

Chapter 2. Islamic Public International Law

I. Introduction

A. Overview

B. Background: From Caliphate to Colonies to Nation States; The Future Caliphate?

II. General Principles of Islamic International Law

A. Customary International Law

B. Islamic Law and the Law of the Sea

C. Treaties in Islamic International Law

D. Islamic Diplomatic Practice

1. Overview

2. Islamic Diplomatic Practice in the Mediterranean Region in late Middle Ages (13th - 16th Centuries)

3. Muslim-European Diplomacy in the Early Modern Period (16th - 18th Centuries)

4. Inter-Muslim Diplomacy

III. Bifurcation of the World Into Dār al-Islām (Abode of Peace) and Dār al-Ḥarb (Abode of War)

A. Introduction

B. Justification for the Distinction

C. Consequences of the Dār al-Ḥarb/Dār al-Islām Distinction

D. Legal Recognition of Non-Muslims in the Islamic State

1. Contract of Dhimma (ذِمّة) (Permanent Residence)

2. Contract of Amān (أَمان) (Safe Passage)

3. Contracting Parties

E. Choice of Law

1. Choice of Law Consequences

2. Choice of Law Examples

Chapter 3. Classical Islamic Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello

I. Jus ad Bellum

II. Warfare within Dār al-Islām and with Dār al-Ḥarb

A. Within the Islamic State

B. Between the Islamic State and Dār al-Ḥarb

III. Early Islamic Treatises on War

A. Kitāb al-Siyar by Shaybānī (d. 804 G.)

B. Kitāb al-Siyar by Ṭabarī (d. 923 G.)

IV. Classical Fiqh: The Book of Jihād of Ibn Rushd (d. 1198 G.)

A. Overview

B. Political precepts

C. The Seven Questions

1. The Ruling (Ḥukm) on the Activity of Jihād

2. Identification of the Persons to Be Fought

3. Identification of the Harm to Be Inflicted Upon the Enemy

4. The Condition for the Declaration of War

5. The Number from Whom Retreat is Not Permissible

6. Permission for Truce

7. Jus Ad Bellum: Why wage war?

Chapter 4. Contemporary Militant Jihādī Fiqh

I. Philosophical Analysis

II. Contemporary Militant Fiqh

A. Overview

1. Context

2. Legal and Political Assumptions

3. Juridical Issues not Treated by the Classical Sources

B. Aymān Al-Ẓawāhirī’s "General Guidelines for Jihād"

1. Jus Ad Bellum: Legality of the Use of Force

2. Jus in Bello: The Law of War

C. Specific Issues

1. Targeting Regime-Sponsored Schools

2. Targeting Non-Muslim Civilians

D. Permitted Killing

1. On Killing Civilians in the Absence of Specific Contracts of Security

2. On Killing Women

3. On Mass Killing

4. On Killing Muslim Civilians

5. Targeting Muslim Civilians

E. Taliban Statement

F. On the Question of Authority

G. True Muslims Are to be Wary of Christians and Jews

H. No Shame in Terrorism (Irhāb)

Chapter 5. Yusuf Al-Qaraḍāwī’s Fiqh al-Jihād

I. Yusuf Al-Qaraḍāwī

II. Introduction to Fiqh al-Jihād

III. Volume I

A. Bab I: The Truth, Concept, Ruling of Jihād

B. Bab II: Types and Classifications of Jihād

C. Bab III: Jihād between defense and attack, discussion of the proofs of the attackists and the defensivists

1. Faṣl 1: Is the basic principle of the Sharī‘a in relations with others war or peace?

2. Faṣl 2: The rule on fighting non-warring peoples and a discussion of the proofs on its permissibility

3. Faṣl 3: On the verse Fight them until there is no fitna [فِتْنَة, sedition]

4. Faṣl 4: The Verse of the Sword and the view that it has abrogated 140 verses

5. Faṣl 5: The ḥadīth I was sent with the sword until they all worship one God

6. Faṣl 6: I was commanded to fight until they say ‘There is no God but God’

7. Faṣl 7: The Prophet’s campaigns were all begun with attacks

8. Faṣl 8: Wars of the Rightly Guided Caliphs were wars of expansion

9. Faṣl 9: Unbelief alone is a sufficient ratio for fighting

10. Faṣl 10: On the purported consensus of the scholars that expansionary jihād is a fard kifaya and is necessary once a year

11. Faṣl 11: The philosophy of subduing the oppressive authority and disbelieving institutions into the system of Islām

12. Faṣl 12: The proof-texts of