Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
224c ommunit y, led by it s imā m, to wage war on the enemies of the faith. Even if the
imā m does not lead in war, the jihād is inc umbent on eac h believer t o fulfill by
himself, for he falls in error if he fails t o do so.
T he Khārijī c onc eption of the jihād, in c ontrast to the Sunnī doctrine is that of
violence rather than strife or religious propaganda. To them true belief is a matter
of conviction whic h should be imposed on reluc tant individuals, not a subjec t of
debate and argumentation; for, if evil is to be exterminated and justic e re-
established, obstinate heretics must be either forced to believe or be killed by the
sword. This is based on a hadīth in whic h the Prophet Muhammad is reported to
have said: "My fate is under the shadow of my spear."^33
Strict and fanatical, the Khārijīs were as fierce and brutal in war as their desert
life was austere and puritanic al. The humane and moral aspec t of religion made
lit t le impac t on t heir t ribal c harac t er. In war t hey killed women and c hildren and
c ondemned to death prisoners of war. Although these rules were not always
followed, the extremist Khārijīs, such as the followers of Nāfi' ibn al-Azraq (A.H.
686), insisted that they should always be enforc ed...^34
“Allah gave the Prophet Muhammad four swords (for
fight ing t he unbelievers): t he first against polyt heist s,
whic h Muhammad himself fought with; the sec ond against apostates,
which Caliph Abū Bakr fought with; the third against the
People of the Book, whic h Caliph ‘Umar fought with;
and the fourth against dissenters, which Caliph 'Alī fought with.”Shaybānī, Kitāb al-Siyar al-Kabīr, I, 14-5.(^33) Bukhārī, Vol. II, p. 227.
(^34) Shahrastānī, Kitāb al-Milal wa’l-Nihal, ed. Cureton (London, 1840), pp. 90, 93; and
Ras'anī's Mukhtasar, pp. 73, 80, 97.