İmam Mâtürîdî’nin Te’vîlâtü’l- Ḳur’ân’ında Cihad ve Kitâl Âyetlerinin Yorumu
Interpretation of the Verses on Jihād and Qitāl in Taʼwīlāt al-Qurʼān of Imam al-Māturīdī

Summary/Abstract: In today’s world, armed organizations such as al-Qaeda, ISIS and al-Nusra try to legitimize their actions by refering to the Qur’anic verses about jihād and qitāl (fight) and some of the hadiths of the Prophet. This leads the concept of jihād to be associated with violence and terrorism. So there is a need to consider the issue of jihād in detail. Recently references have been made to the Islamic view in the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī tradition in order to prevent the aforementioned organizations from becoming more widespread. This view of Islam is said to be an alternative to the jihadist move-ments. In this study, Imam Māturīdī’s commentary on the verses related to jihād and qitāl will be exami-ned and the accuracy of the opinion that “Māturīdiyya is an alternative to the jihadist views of Salafī organizations” will be assessed. Also Imam Māturīdī’s views will be compared with Shāfi‘ī, Hanbalī and Mālikī scholars’ interpretation of the verses related to jihād and qitāl.The word jihād has a broad meaning in the Islamic literature. In this sense, jihād is defined as “showing effort, commanding good and forbidding evil, fighting against the inner self and external enemies.” However, in the Islamic legal doctrine, the word is limited to the meaning of “war against the non-muslims.” There are many verses about jihād in the Qur’ān both in the Makkī and in the Madanī surahs.According to the majority of Islamic scholars, Muslims had not been allowed to go into war during the Meccan period. The Prophet and the believers were ordered to fight in the way of Allah and to endure the difficulties they faced on this way. They are told to disobey the disbelie-vers and fight against them using the Qur’ān (al-Nahl 16/110; al-Furqān 25/52). The first Qur’anic verse (al-Hajj 22/39) declares that war is permissible was revealed in the Madinan period. The word jihād, which is found in about thirty verses as either a noun or a verb, conveys the meaning of “fight in the way of Allah” (qitāl) in verses al-Tawbah 9/41, 44, 81, 86. Thus, the word gained a similar meaning to warfare and qitāl.Māturīdī, in his work entitled Taʼwīlāt al-Qurʼān, acknowledge that the word jihād has a broad meaning and mentions that jihād has the function of seperating true believers from hypocrites. According to him, the word “haythu” in the following verse means space/place: “Kill them where-ver you overtake.” (al-Baqarah 2/191). Accordingly, polytheists must be killed everywhere except in sacred (haram) months and in the Masjid al-Haram. This generalization of the space also inclu-des time. According to most scholars in classical tafsir, the word “fitnah” in the verse, “Fight them until there is no fitna” (al-Baqarah 2/193) has the meaning of disbelief (kufr). Therefore disbelieverness is the main rationale for war. Māturīdī thinks that the verse al-Baqarah 2/193 commands us to fight against disbelievers until they accept Islam. The verse al-Anfāl 8/39 also tells us to fight the polytheists until polytheism cease and the religion, all of it, is for Allah. al-Tawbah 9/123 informs us that jihād and war against the enemy will continue forever. al-Anfāl 8/60 states that jihād and qitāl will continue until the Day of Judgment. In the verse Ali Imrān 3/97, Allah gives his messenger permission to kill all the disbelievers, and moreover imposes it as a religious duty (fard). These views and interpretations of Māturīdī indicate that he does not have a moderate approach to jihād and qitāl.Māturīdī’s views on jihād and qitāl are similar to those of Shāfi‘ī and Mālikī scholars. Shāfi‘ī and Mālikī scholars, such as Abū Bakr Ibn al-‘Arabī (d. 543/1148), Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210) and al-Qurṭūbī (d. 671/1273) comment on al-Baqarah 2/193 and state that “the reason for war is disbelief and the goal is to end it completely.” Nevertheless, Māturīdī says that “We do not fight against disbelievers because they deny Islam” and explains the reason for levying jizya on the People of the Book is “to prevent bloodshed and provide them with an opportunity to know Islam better.” Moreover, Māturīdī in his works place emphasis to the distinction between polytheist and disbeliever. According to him, every polytheist is a disbeliever, but not every disbeliever is a polytheist. The People of the Book are disbelievers, but fighting them is not emphasized as firmly as fighting the polytheists.Māturīdī, who interpret the verses al-Baqarah 2/191, al-Tawbah 9/5 and 123 as referring to war, comments on some other verses in another way. According to Māturīdī, qitāl/war is not presen-ted as a punishment for denial of Islam. Māturīdī in his interpretation of the verse al-Baqarah 2/217 states that the war itself is a great concern and people die because of war. However, he says, people are created not to die, but to live. Considering all the explanations of Māturīdī regarding jihād and qitāl, and his opinion that the sword verse (al-Tawbah 9/5) does not abrogate other verses, it can be concluded that he has different opinions in different contexts.In conclusion, it should be noted that Māturīdī’s views on the verses of jihād and qitāl don’t significantly differentiate from the views and comments of other scholars in the classical period. Given his views regarding these verses, it is not possible to say that Ḥanafī and Māturīdī scholars have a more moderate perspective on war than other sects. Furthermore, it is not right to say that the main reason for war according to Ḥanafī, Shāfi‘ī, Hanbalī and Mālikī scholars is the hostility towards Muslims. Nevertheless, it is not possible either to say that Māturīdī’s views legitimize the violence and terrorist activities committed by today’s ISIS, al-Qaeda and similar groups, for the reason that jihād and qitāl must be read in the context of revelation.

• Details
• Contents