“Fight those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the Religion of Truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.”
Above is Al-Bukhari’s quotation of Surah 9:29 from the Quran and it answers the question: “Why all the war and violence in Islam?” Yusuf Ali’s rendering of this verse amounts to basically the same. Pickthall (1997:129) renders it as follows:
“Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.” According to Dawood’s (1999) rendering, unbelievers must be fought “until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued.”
According to Islam, these are the words of Allah himself and it is clear that he commands Muslims to fight all non-Muslims until they are subjected to Islam's rule. This seems contrary to what is written in Surah 2:256 of the Quran:
“There is no compulsion in religion.”
The meaning of this verse is unclear. If it serves to deny that violence used in Islam is for the purpose of spreading itself, then it is contrary to the abovementioned verse (Surah 9:29) and also to the rest of the Quran, the Hadis and the history of Islam. It is perhaps an acknowledgement that no one will accept a religion in his heart, even if he is forcefully subjected to it.
It is, however, certain that there is a purpose behind it, and that it is not just for the sake of violence. Contrary to what Jesus said: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), Allah wants Islam to triumph as the only religion on earth. Allah wants to be honoured and worshipped throughout the world. The purpose is that Islam must dominate and prevail on earth, at all costs.
The Quran assures its readers that Islam will prevail:
Surah 48:28: “It is He (Allah) who has sent His Apostle with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to make it prevail over all religions;”
The Hadith agrees; Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:1:14w (Vol.1):152) the messenger of Allah said:
“There will be left no house of clay or tent of camel-hair on the surface of the earth but wherein Allah will not admit the word of Islam with the honour of an honourable man and disgrace of a dishonourable man. Either Allah will give them honour and make them dwellers thereof or He will put them to disgrace and they will be subject to it.”
If there is still uncertainty, the following excerpts from the Quran and Hadith should suffice to remove it:
Surah 2:193: “And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah.” (Pickthall, 1997:22)
Al-Bukhari (Khan, 1987(Vol.9):167) renders this verse in his Hadith as:
“And fight them until there are no more afflictions (i.e. no more worshipping of others beside Allah).”
This is virtually the same as:
Surah 8:39: “And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah.” (Pickthall, 1997:123)
In this regard, Al-Bukhari (Khan, 1987:355(Vol.4):228) reports:
"A Bedouin asked the Prophet: 'A man may fight for the sake of booty, and another may fight so that he may be mentioned by the people, and a third may fight to show his position (i.e. bravery); which of these is regarded as fighting in Allah's cause?' The Prophet said, 'He who fights so that Allah's Word (i.e. Islam) should be superior, fights for Allah's cause.'"
All the longer chapters (Surahs) in the Quran are divided into sections. In one of the English translations used, they are numbered. In the Afrikaans translation however, every section is not only numbered but also has a heading, as an indication of the meaning or intent of the section. The English meaning of some of these headings are: “Muslims shall triumph”; “Islam shall triumph in the world”; “A warning to Christians”; “The establishment of the Kingdom of Islam”; “The disappearance of all resistance”; “A victory for the Muslims”; “The defeat of the enemy”; “The end of all opposition”; “The eventual triumph of Islam”.
There is more confirmation of Islam’s wish to be superior in Al-Bukhari’s Hadith:
Al-Bukhari (Khan, 1987:65,355(Vol.4) &550(Vol.9): “The Prophet said: ‘The one who fights that Allah’s Word (Islam) should be superior, fights in Allah’s cause.’”
Al-Bukhari (Khan, 1987:196(Vol.4):124): “Allah’s Messenger (Mohammed) said, ‘I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, ‘none has the right to be worshipped but Allah.’ and whoever says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,’ his life and property will be saved by me.’”
It is understandable when violence is used to discipline or protect a nation so that the world can be blessed through it (as it happened in the Bible). The God of the Bible does not expect his followers to use violence to force the world into submission to Him. He created people not as robots, but with the ability to choose, which is necessary for a meaningful relationship with Him. For the same reason, He will never use violence to force anybody to worship Him. He will, however, punish all sin, except the sins of those forgiven through Jesus (who took the punishment upon Himself), but He does not mete out punishment through violent acts on people. All those who reject His redemption through Jesus, even though He gave them the ability to accept it, will be punished accordingly. No human being is expected to torture and kill anybody on His behalf. ‘Christians’ guilty of this are not acting on the commandment or expectation of God. The writer of the book of Hebrews writes about this in Chapter 10:30:
“For we know Him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’”
Muslims have the duty to see to it that all people are subjected to and worship Allah. They do this by means of Jihad (holy war) and every Muslim is under command of Allah himself to take part in Jihad against 'unbelievers' (non-Muslims). Some do it through suicide bombs and suicide attacks, others through fighting in conventional wars, others through terrorist attacks including kidnappings, and still others (the majority) by earning money and donating money and resources as Zakat for the purpose of, among others, Jihad. This is confirmed by Karim, (1998:8:90(Vol.2):39) in his discussion of Zakat).
As long as there are non-Muslims on earth, Muslims will fight dutifully. They have no choice, as their God (Allah) expects this of them.