Money/Spoils between Islamic Self-Defense Jihad and Devilish, Aggressive Fighting
Published in June 26, 2020
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Firstly: self-defense jihad wars within Islam means to pay money for the sake of Allah within self-defense endeavors; Islam has nothing to do with devilish wars of aggression launched by seekers of wealth:
The origin of self-defense jihad in Quranic legislations:
1- Fighting in Islam (i.e., the Quran only) is allowed ONLY in cases of self-defense against aggressors who initiated aggression against peaceful ones; of course, these peaceful ones, the wronged party, have the legitimate right to defend themselves: "And fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not commit aggression; God does not love the aggressors." (2:190).
2- The following is about the difference between self-defense fighting for the sake of Allah (i.e., to restore peace, to prevent religious persecution, and to stop aggressors) and the devilish fighting for money for the sake of Satan.
2/1: Fighting for the sake of Allah is only in cases of self-defense; in contrast, fighting for the sake of Satan (or Taghut; i.e., injustices, tyranny, and falsehoods) means committing military aggression against innocent, peaceful people who never committed aggression; the Lord God says the following in the Holy Quran: "Those who believe fight in the cause of God, while those who disbelieve fight in the cause of Taghut..." (4:76).
2/2: Fighting for the sake of Allah requires spending money and sparing neither wealth or souls to defend oneself or one's country/community while seeking to gratify the Dominant Lord God; this pertains to the Quranic self-defense fighting legislation: "...Whoever commits aggression against you, retaliate against him in the same measure as he has committed against you. And be conscious of God within piety, and know that God is with the pious ones. And spend in the cause of God, and do not throw yourselves with your own hands into ruin, and be charitable. God loves the charitable ones." (2:194-195). In contrast, fighting for the sake of Satan means to fight to gain more money; most human beings worship Mammon/money; money is their greatest deity/god. This means that devilish fighting (or military aggression) is committed for the sake of money: looting, robbing, stealing...etc. This applies to the devilish Arab conquests committed by the hypocritical sinful four pre-Umayyad caliphs (we assert their being included in the meaning of the Quranic verse 9:101 about those adamant in hypocrisy never known to Muhammad as they concealed their true stance against the Quran). The sinful four pre-Umayyad caliphs are among the big criminals of Arabia who committed grave injustices against conquered nations and also committed grave injustice/sin against the Lord God since they have ascribed their heinous crimes within their Arab conquests to His Holy Name and to the name of His Religion of Islam.
3- A Quran-based country is essentially a peaceful one, but it has to be fully prepared in terms of military might so as not to become weak to the extent that any potential aggressor may attack and conquer it; the Lord God says the following in the Holy Quran: "And prepare against them all the power you can muster, and all the cavalry you can mobilize, to terrify thereby God’s enemies and your enemies, and others besides them whom you do not know, but God knows them. Whatever you spend in God’s Path will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged. But if they incline towards peace, then incline towards it, and put your trust in God. He is the Hearer, the Knower. If they intend to deceive you - God is sufficient for you. It is He who supported you with His aid, and with the believers." (8:60-62); hence, we note the following points based on the Quranic context 8:60-62.
3/1: We conclude from the Quranic context 8:60-62 that military preparations in a Quran-based country are never intended for committing any form of aggression; rather, their intention is self-defense and deterrence of potential aggressors so that they stop their aggression or not to commit aggression in the first place. Of course, aggressors are the enemies of both the Lord God and the peaceful believers; military preparations should continue to deter potential aggressors in the future; this applied to the Yathreb city-state surrounded by enemies (and the Omniscient Lord God knew they will attack the peaceful ones) and to any human-rights-based & Quran-based country of Islam (if it comes into being one day).
3/2: We conclude from the Quranic context 8:60-62 that deterrence means stopping bloodshed in advance, thus sparing the lives of peaceful believers and also the lives of their enemies. Hence, military preparations and deterrence in any human-rights-based & Quran-based country of Islam is part of the endeavors to maintain peace, which is among the higher Quranic values and also among the main principles of Islamic/Quranic sharia found.
3/3: We conclude from the Quranic context 8:60-62 that both military preparations for deterrence and self-defense fighting require money; the Lord God promises large rewards for those who spend money for His sake (i.e., within His cause: self-defense fighting to end religious persecution and all sorts of aggression). Hence, spending money for the Lord God's sake means to spend it within the endeavors of military preparations and self-defense fighting.
3/4: We conclude from the Quranic context 8:60-62 that when aggressors/enemies decide to adhere to peace and end their aggression, the Quran-based country should also side with peace and end its self-defense fighting while relying on the Lord God; i.e., if the aggressors/enemies declare their adherence to peace in order to deceive the citizens of the Quran-based country, the Lord God will torment/punish the aggressors.
The call for donating money for the sake of Allah within self-defense jihad fighting:
1- It is likened to trading with Allah: "O you who believe! Shall I inform you of a trade that will save you from a painful torment? That you believe in God and His Messenger, and strive in the cause of God with your possessions and yourselves. That is best for you, if you only knew. He will forgive you your sins; and will admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow, and into beautiful mansions in the Gardens of Eden. That is the supreme success. And something else you love: support from God, and imminent victory. So give good news to the believers." (61:10-13); "God has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for Paradise. They fight in God’s way, and they kill and get killed. It is a promise binding on Him in the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Quran. And who is more true to his promise than God? So rejoice in making such an exchange - that is the supreme triumph." (9:111).
2- It is likened to lending a loan to Allah: "Believe in God and His Messenger, and spend from what He made you inherit. Those among you who believe and give will have a great reward." (57:7); "And why is it that you do not spend in the cause of God, when to God belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth? Not equal among you are those who contributed before the victory, and fought. Those are higher in rank than those who contributed afterwards, and fought. But God promises both a good reward. God is Well Experienced in what you do. Who is he who will lend God a loan of goodness, that He may double it for him, and will have a generous reward?" (57:10-11); "Fight in the cause of God, and know that God is Hearing and Knowing. Who is he who will lend God a loan of goodness, so He will multiply it for him manifold? God receives and amplifies, and to Him you will be returned." (2:244-245).
3- Believers who spent and fought within self-defense endeavors are better than those who did not and better than hypocrites: "Not equal are the inactive among the believers - except the disabled - and the strivers in the cause of God with their possessions and their persons. God prefers the strivers with their possessions and their persons above the inactive, by a degree. But God has promised goodness to both. Yet God favors the strivers, over the inactive, with a great reward." (4:95); "Those who believe, and emigrate, and strive in God’s path with their possessions and their persons, are of a higher rank with God. These are the winners. Their Lord announces to them good news of mercy from Him, and acceptance, and gardens wherein they will have lasting bliss. Abiding therein forever. With God is a great reward." (9:20-22).
4- The call for donating money for the sake of Allah comes sometimes within threatening reluctant, stingy ones: "Here you are, being called to spend in the cause of God. Among you are those who withhold; but whoever withholds is withholding against his own soul. God is the Rich, while you are the needy. And if you turn away, He will replace you with another people, and they will not be like you." (47:38).
5- The call for donating money for the sake of Allah comes sometimes within reproach: "It is not for the inhabitants of the city and the Desert-Arabs around them to stay behind the Messenger of God, nor to prefer themselves to him. That is because they never suffer any thirst, nor fatigue, nor hunger in the cause of God, nor do they take one step that enrages the disbelievers, nor do they gain anything from an enemy, but it is recorded to their credit as a righteous deed. God does not waste the reward of the righteous ones. Nor do they spend any expenditure, small or large, nor do they cross any valley, but it is recorded to their credit. That God may reward them in accordance with the best of their deeds." (9:120-121).
Historically speaking:
The Quranic Chapter Nine contains details about one of the self-defense battles of the Yathreb city-state; these details include the stance of believers and hypocrites inside Yathreb regarding self-defense fighting and spending money on it; we would like our readers to ponder deeply on the following Quranic verses: "Mobilize, light or heavy, and strive with your possessions and your lives in the cause of God. That is better for you, if you only knew. Had the gain been immediate, and the journey shorter, they would have followed you; but the distance seemed too long for them. Still they swear by God: “Had we been able, we would have marched out with you.” They damn their own souls, and God knows that they are lying. May God pardon you! Why did you give them permission before it became clear to you who are the truthful ones, and who are the liars? Those who believe in God and the Last Day do not ask you for exemption from striving with their possessions and their lives. God is fully aware of the righteous ones. Only those who do not believe in God and the Last Day ask you for exemption. Their hearts are full of doubts, so they waver in their doubts." (9:41-45); "Those who criticize the believers who give charity voluntarily, and ridicule those who find nothing to give except their own efforts - God ridicules them. They will have a painful torment. Whether you ask forgiveness for them, or do not ask forgiveness for them - even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will not forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in God and His Messenger. God does not guide the immoral people. Those who stayed behind rejoiced at their staying behind the Messenger of God. And they hated to strive with their wealth and their lives in God’s way. And they said, “Do not venture out in the heat.” Say, “The Fire of Hell is much hotter, if they only understood.”" (9:79-81); "But the messenger and those who believe with him strive with their possessions and their lives. These have deserved the good things. These are the successful. God has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great victory." (9:88-89); "There is no blame on the weak, nor on the sick, nor on those who have nothing to give, provided they are true to God and His Messenger. In no way can the righteous be blamed. God is Forgiving and Merciful. Nor on those who approach you, wishing to ride with you, and you said, “I have nothing to carry you on.” So they went away, with their eyes overflowing with tears, sorrowing for not finding the means to spend. But blame is on those who ask you for exemption, although they are rich. They are content to be with those who stay behind. God has sealed their hearts, so they do not know." (9:91-93).
Secondly: about distribution of spoils:
After victory is achieved within self-defense fighting, spoils are distributed as follows: the 1/5 of the spoils is divided into a share for military endeavors and the call for monotheism, a share for relatives/families of the soldiers/fighters, a share for orphans, a share for the destitute/poor, and a share for the wayfarers. The remaining 4/5 of the spoils are for the soldiers/fighters themselves; this includes ransoming POWs/captives captured by the enemy/aggressors. The Lord God says the following in the Holy Quran: "And know that whatever spoils you gain, to God belongs its fifth, and to the Messenger, and the relatives, and the orphans, and the poor, and to the wayfarer, provided you believe in God and in what We revealed to Our servant on the Day of Distinction, the day when the two armies met. God is Capable of everything." (8:41); "It is not for a prophet to take captives before he has subdued the land. You desire the materials of this world, but God desires the Hereafter. God is Strong and Wise. Were it not for a predetermined decree from God, an awful torment would have afflicted you for what you have taken. So consume what you have gained, legitimate and wholesome; and remain conscious of God. God is Forgiving and Merciful. O prophet! Say to those you hold prisoners, “If God finds any good in your hearts, He will give you better than what was taken from you, and He will forgive you. God is Forgiving and Merciful.”" (8:67-70). Of course, relatives or nearest of kin in general deserve individual Zakat charity (see the Meccan verses: 16:90, 17:26, 30:38, and 42:23, and see the Yathrebian verses: 24:22, 4:8, 4:36, 2:177, and 2:215) and they deserve Zakat paid officially collected and distributed by the State and shares in money gained by the State without fighting (see 9:60, 59:2, 59:6-7, and 33:36-27). In 8:41, the relatives/families of soldiers should have a share in spoils so that they are well provided for and soldiers in the battlefields would not worry about them. This means that the Quran-based country/State is responsible for families of dead/living soldiers engaged into the self-defense fighting. Of course, defeated aggressors must be forced to pay fines/compensations; this is part of international laws now; this is exemplified when some military aggressors among the Jews and Christians near Yathreb attacked the Yathreb believers but were defeated by them: "Fight those who do not believe in God, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, nor abide by the religion of Truth - from among those who received the Book - until they are forced to pay the due compensation." (9:29); this does NOT include to invade/conquer the country of aggressors as this aggression is against Islam. the distribution of compensation/fine is also according to 8:41.
Lastly: in our modern era:
1- We conclude from the above points that an Islamic or Quran-based country or State cannot make spoils of any wars part of its financial sources; rather, it bears the responsibility of the self-defense jihad for the sake of Allah and spare no money and souls within this noble endeavor. When victory is achieved within self-defense fighting, any spoils are distributed as follows: 4/5 for soldier/fighters and the remaining 1/5 for their relatives/families.
2- Of course, this Quranic legislation about such distribution of spoils contradicts the dominant culture of warfare in the past eras and even until the early 20th century A.D. Of course, most wars in history broke out because of seeking wealth; these wars typically resulted in conquest/invasion, enslavement, looting, sabotage...etc. committed by the victorious aggressors and inflicted on the defeated parties. This rule in history applies, without any differences whatsoever, to the Pharaohs, the Persians, the sinful four pre-Umayyad caliphs and other sinful caliphs after them, and the European, Japanese, and American colonialism/invasions. Hence, the only Quran-based state of Islam in history (i.e., the Yathreb city-state led by Muhammad) was like parenthesis in the lines of the record of human history. This description of wars continued until the WWII; after WWII, things have changed to the better as many countries are now based on peace, social justice, and direct democracy such as Canada, The Netherlands, Austria, and Scandinavian countries; all of them are very near to the Yathreb city-state led by Muhammad in the 7th century Arabia.
3- In history, kingdoms/States which lived off invasions and conquests, soldiers/warriors lived off looting; this is why they loved to fight all the time; this is also the case with the sinful four pre-Umayyad caliphs and other sinful caliphs after them; the fighters/warriors were allowed to loot and receive shares of stolen items. Within the countries in the modern era (a country/State based on nationalism or a communist or a racist ideology), warriors/soldiers were mobilized as per a raised banner. Within democracies and citizenship rights, soldiers in our modern times defend their countries which grant them their rights fully; this is why democracies win and achieve victory in wars whereas tyrannical regimes lose wars. For instance, Egyptian soldiers belong to an oppressed nation of Egyptians owned by the enthroned pharaoh; the Egyptian soldiers are told that it is expected from them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the enthroned pharaoh who oppresses the Egyptian nation; the Egyptian soldiers are being oppressed by his seniors in the military forces. In contrast, in Israel, which is a democracy, Israeli soldiers are being taken care of very well by the State; hence, they are very loyal to their homeland and in their defending it. enthroned tyrants/pharaohs never achieve military victory except over weaker enthroned tyrants. Forced military service inside tyrannical countries is a type of hated slavery/enslavement frowned upon by human rights activists; the soldiers in tyrannical countries are being deceived by empty banners (e.g., nationalism or mottoes from the terrestrial religion dominant in any given tyrannical country) in order to fight in devilish wars for the sake of enthroned tyrants who seek more wealth and power. Hence, the soldiers/warriors in the armies of tyrants lose both in this world and in the Hereafter.
4- We assert here the fact that the Quran-based Yathreb city-state of Islam is not mere history; it is a living model repeated and witnessed now in the direct democracies like Canada and countries in the North of Europe. Some readers may think that life has become more complicated and never as simple as it was in the 7th century Arabia the Yathreb city-state led by Muhammad; we tell these readers the following: a Quran-based country of Islam has the right to issue laws that match higher Quranic values which are similar to human rights: justice, freedom, mercy, peace, charity,...etc., and lawmakers must be specialized experts in their field. In many of our previous writings and YouTube videos, we have asserted and proved the fact that the international agreements/treaties, human rights, and the UN Charter are the nearest human writings to Islamic/Quranic legislations.