Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
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The Shī'ī and Kharijī Doctrines of the Jihād
Generally speaking, the Shī'ī law of t he jihād is not different from the Sunnī;
but in linking the spec ial duty of prosec uting the jihād with the doc trine of wālaya
(allegianc e t o t he imām), the c onc ept of jihād assumed in Shī'ism a spec ial
doc t rinal signific anc e. In Shī’ī legal theory, not only would the failure of a non-
Muslim t o believe in Allah just ify waging a jihād, but also the failure of a Muslim t o
obey the imām would make him liable for punishment by a jihād. While to a Sunnī
the jihād is the sure way to Heaven, a jihād wit hout an allegianc e t o t he imām
would not c onstitute an imān (a nec essary requirement for salvation) in the Shī’ī
creed.
The jihād is regarded as one of the c hief func tions of the imāmate, the
performanc e of whic h would fulfill one of the requirements for the best (afdal)
qualified person for t his posit ion. If t he imām fails t o fulfill t he jihād obligat ion, he
disqualifies his c laim as t he best c andidat e, ac c ording t o t he Zaydī creed. The
imām, as an infallible ruler, is the only one who c an judge when the jihād should be
dec lared and under what c irc umstanc es it would be advisable not to go to war with
the enemy. If t he imām finds it necessary to come to terms with the enemy, he
may do so; he may even deem it necessary to seek the support of non-Muslims
(inc luding polytheists) in order to avoid risking defeat by the enemy. Under no
c irc umstanc es, however, should t he imām ris k a jihād if he considers the enemy
t oo powerful for him t o win a vic t ory, namely, if t he enemy is at least t wic e as
powerful as t he Muslims.
The disappearance of the imām, however, has left the duty of dec laring the
jihād unfulfilled.^31 Opinion differed as to the capacity of the mujtahids to act in the
name of the imā m in fulfilling t he jihād obligat ion; but sinc e t he dut y of c alling t he
believers t o bat t le is a mat t er in whic h an infallible judgment is nec essary – sinc e
the interest of the entire c ommunity would be at stake – only an imā m is c apable of
fulfilling suc h a dut y. Furt her, it is deemed impossible t o c ombat evil during t he
absence of the imā m; the jihād, ac c ordingly, is regarded unc onsequential. Thus in
the Shī’ī legal theory, the jihād has entered into a dormant stage-it is in a st at e of
suspension. In c ontrast to the Sunnī doc trine whic h requires the revival of the
d o rma n t jihād when Muslim power is regained, the resumption of the jihād in the
Shī’ī doc trine would be dependent on the return of the imā m from his ghayba
(absence), in the capacity of a Mahdī, who will t riumphant ly c ombat evil and re-
establish justic e and righteousness.
In contrast to the Shī’ī doc trine of the jihād, t he Khārijīs maintain that the
jihād is a fundamental artic le of the faith whic h c ould not possibly be abandoned or
relaxed. To them the jihād is a sixt h pillar of t he fait h, binding individually on every
believer and on the c ommunity as a whole.^32 They also go as far as to enforce imā n^
on all who do not accept t heir version of Islam, Muslims as well as non-Muslims, by
the jihād; for, they argue, that sinc e the Prophet Muhammad had spent almost all
his life in war, all t rue believers must also do so. T heir st ric t belief in t heir religion
and their fanaticism made t hem unc ompromis ing in t he fulfillment of t heir jihād
duty. Thus their c onc eption of the state was that of a garrison state; an ever-ready
(^31) This situation has not arisen among the Zaydis, since technically they elect their imāms.
(^32) The Khārijīs d o not actually add a sixth pillar to the already recognized five pillars of the
Sunnīs, because they substitute jihād for imān (which to them is synonymous with Islam)
and thus the number of the pillars is not increased.