218 ISLAM AT WAR
- Lo!Those who disbelieve after their (profession of) belief, and af-
terward grow violent in disbelief: their repentance will not be accepted
[italics added]. And such are those who are astray. - Lo! Those who disbelieve, and die in disbelief, the (whole) earth full
of gold would not be accepted from such an one if it were offered as a
ransom (for his soul). Theirs will be a painful doom and they will have no
helpers.
Surah III, 105.And be ye not as those who separated and disputed after
the clear proofs [that Islam was the true faith] had come unto them. For
such there is an awful doom[italics added].- On the day when (some) faces will be whitened and (some) faces
will be blackened; and as for those whose faces have been blackened, it
will be said unto them: Disbelieved ye after your (profession of) belief?
Then taste the punishment for that ye disbelieved.
Though the surah does indicate a chance for redemption for the indi-
vidual who accepted Islam and later returned to his disbelieving ways,
recidivists were seldom given an opportunity to exploit this opportunity.
Historically, they tended to meet their “doom” quickly when discovered.
Islam contains an interesting problem within the context of the jihad.
Any war can become a holy war, even when Muslims fight Muslims. Both
sides can and do invoke the name of Allah. In 1980 both Iraq and Iran,
then engaged in a bitter war, proclaimed a jihad against the other. This
cleaved along the rift between the Sunni and the Shia sects, both of which
have a strong antipathy for the other. Iraq used poison gas against the
Iranians and both bombed each other’s cities. Where this becomes inter-
esting is in Surah IV, 93–94:
93.Whoso slayeth a believer of set purpose, his reward is Hell for ever
[italics added].Allah is wroth against him and He hath cursed him and
prepared for him an awful doom.- O ye who believe!When ye go forth (to fight) in the way of Allah
[the jihad],be careful to discriminate[italics added], and say not unto one
who offereth you peace: “Thou are not a believer,” seeking the chance
profits of this life (so that ye may despoil him). With Allah are plenteous
spoils. Even thus (as he now is) you. Therefore take care to discriminate.
Allah is ever Informed of what ye do.
One must accept, by these two surah, that one true believer killing
another true believer sentences the murderer to hell for eternity. If the war
between Iraq and Iran was seen by both as a legitimate holy war, then
each must have rationalized the other as being an infidel. This would also