Lesson video

Hello there, my young scholars of religion.

My name is Ms. Marks, and I'm going to be your religious education teacher today.

Today, we're going to be doing all about the conditions of a lesser jihad had within Islam.

And so for this, we will be talking about war and battles and the aftermath and reasons for violence, so be prepared for that.

We'll also be using a theological discipline, as well as being quite historical in looking at some of the battles that the Prophet Muhammad took part in.

So when you're ready, let's go.

So by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain what the conditions are for a lesser jihad and how this relates to the actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

So let's start with our key terms. Abu Bakr, companion of the Prophet Muhammad and an early leader of the Muslim community.

After the Prophet Muhammad's death.

Criteria, a way something is judged, a standard or principle.

Jihad, to struggle, the personal or collective struggle against evil.

Lesser jihad, this refers to the military struggle to defend Islam and is carried out according to strict and clear rules.

So look out for those in today's lesson.

So our lesson today will have two sections, Muhammad and the lesser jihad and the criteria for a lesser jihad.

So let's start with our first section, Muhammad and the lesser jihad.

When, if ever, might war be justified? Have a think about this question.

You can pause the video and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, Lucas, Izzy, and Alex are discussing this question.

Let's see what they've come up with.

Lucas says, "Well, when a group is being attacked," and Izzy says, "I'm not sure it can ever be justified in the modern world." And Alex says, "To protect innocent lives being threatened." So maybe there are some reasons why we may feel that war is sometimes justified, and so we can see from this, there can be a range of views as to whether war is ever justified, and we'll see that in today's lesson too.

For Muslims, a war may be justified if it meets the conditions of a lesser jihad.

So these conditions, these criteria can help a Muslim to know whether a war is justified and seen as right.

So what's the first source of authority a Muslim's going to go to to be able to make this judgement and to kind of think about what the conditions are for a lesser jihad? Well, the Qur'an is going to be the first source of authority a Muslim goes to.

Why do you think that is? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, that's right.

For Muslims, the Qur'an is the direct words of Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, and so this is the direct commands and instructions and guidance from Allah.

We've got the direct words of Allah, and it does allow war for certain reasons.

So Muslims can look to the Qur'an to see what those reasons are.

And there's also guidance for how those wars should be fought.

So not just the reasons why the war happens, but then how it should be actually conducted.

So let's have a look at some of these passages then.

So the Qur'an allows for some war to be justified, and let's see what it says.

In Surah 22, it says, "Permission is given to those who are fought against and God is able to give them victory." And then secondly, in Surah eight, "But if they inclined to towards peace, then incline towards it and put your trust in God." So what does this show a Muslim about fighting wars then? Pause the video and have a reread, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, here we've got the permission is given to those who are fought against, so if someone fights against you, you are not the aggressor, but you're fighting in defence, then perhaps there could be permission to fight.

And then secondly, the idea that if that site inclined towards peace or offer peace or want to make peace, then that is what Muslims should do.

We've got here, war could be fought in self-defense, but if the enemy offers peace, Muslims should make peace.

And then in Surah two, we have a passage that emphasises that wars again should not be aggressive but defensive.

So we've got here in Surah two, "And fight in the cause of God, those who fight you but do not commit aggression.

God does not love the aggressors." So what does this passage say about aggression? Pause the video again and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well done, it's got this idea here of not committing aggression, not being the one that is going out seeking that war and causing the war to happen, but it can be fought in self-defense if someone is fighting you.

Wars can be fought, but they must be defensive, not aggressive.

Well done.

Let's do a quick check.

Which two of the following statements are accurate about the Qur'an and the lesser jihad? The Qur'an does not allow for Muslims to fight, the Qur'an allows for war of defence, not aggression, the Qur'an says Muslims should not put their trust in God, and the Qur'an encourages Muslims to accept peace from their enemies.

Which two of these did we just read in those passages of the Qur'an? Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you got in a moment.

Well done, we've got here, B, the Qur'an allows for wars of defence, not aggression, and then D, the Qur'an encourages listeners to accept peace from their enemies.

Well done.

So we've got the Qur'an as important source of authority for Muslims to know about whether war is ever justified, but also what the conditions might be for that and then how it must be fought.

But the second source of authority a Muslim is going to turn to is the example of the Prophet Muhammad as the walking, talking Qur'an, as Aisha called him, the one who lived out the Qur'an in his life.

So we can look at how he lived and the battles that he fought in, and that can help us understand the conditions of a lesser jihad more.

So the Prophet Muhammad did fight in battles, and we can look to those battles to understand a bit more the conditions of the lesser jihad.

And on the map here, I've got the site of three different battles that happened, the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud, and the Battle of the Trench, and these are three important battles that happen that can show us something about the conditions of a lesser Jihad.

The Prophet Muhammad fought in several battles during the early years of Islam.

These were fought as the Muslim community was under threat from those who opposed it, so here, we have this idea of not being the aggressors, but being in defence.

And Muslims Scholars have looked at the behaviour of the Prophet Muhammad in these wars, so not just the reasons why the wars happened, but how the prophet Mohammad behaved in it in order to put together the criteria for when a lesser jihad can be declared.

So one example of a battle Muhammad fought in was the battle of Badr in 624 CE.

This was the first major battle for Muhammad and the Muslims and was against a tribe in Mecca who'd been persecuting the Muslims for several years, including taking their property.

The battle was fought in defence of Muslims in both Mecca and the new community of Madinah and for their right to practise Islam.

This battle was won despite the Muslims being outnumbered by their enemies.

As a response to losing the Battle of Badr, the tribe against the Muslims at Mecca launched an attack on them near the city of Madinah.

This is known as the Battle of Uhud.

The tribe against the Muslims brought many more soldiers this time, and so the Muslims were even more outnumbered, but fought to protect the community.

Companions of the Prophet Muhammad who had important leadership roles after his death fought alongside him in this battle.

For example, Abu Bakr and Ali.

Whilst the Muslims lost this battle, they managed to secure Madinah as a Muslim city.

Two years after the Battle of Uhud, the enemy tribe had gathered more tribes to fight against the Muslims and decided to attack them in Madinah.

One of the companions of Muhammad suggested building a trench around the city where these tribes were advancing from.

This would slow them down, as their horses would not be able to run across this and the Muslims managed to hold off the attack for around two weeks.

The tribes against the Muslims finally withdrew, defeated, and did not attempt to invade Madinah in such a way again.

So what instruction from the Qur'an allowed for these battles to be justified then? Can you remember the instructions we read in the Qur'an earlier? What instruction there could link to these battles? Pause the video and have a think and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well done.

These battles were fought in defence, not aggression.

So for example, the Battle of the Trench there we had, it was defending Madinah as the city where the Muslims were living.

So Muhammad's conduct during these wars shows Muslims that each battle was in the defence of the Muslims against an aggressor, Muhammad ruled that innocents must not be harmed, Muhammad forbade the mutilation of enemy bodies and protected those who surrendered, and non-combative defence strategies should be used where possible to avoid bloodshed.

So again, we got that idea of the Battle of the Trench there, so the city was defended by the trench being built around it rather than attacking those soldiers, so they just retreated rather than had too much bloodshed.

Now, after the passing of the Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr was one of the early leaders of the Muslim community, and again, the Muslim community was under threat.

And so he needed to lead the Muslims in some of these battles.

And he built on the instructions of the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad, who he'd fought alongside, to then say how the Muslim army should conduct themselves.

Abu Bakr was one of the Prophet Muhammad's close companions and had fought alongside him in battles, such as the Battle of Uhud.

He was an early leader of the Muslims following the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and so was involved in battles to protect the religion.

He's reported to have instructed the Muslims who fought in these battles to follow strict rules when fighting.

One account states that he said do not kill women or children or an aged infirm person.

Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees.

Do not destroy an inhabited place.

Do not slaughter sheet or camels except for food.

Do not burn bees.

Do not scatter them.

Do not steal from the booty and do not be cowardly.

And that's in a hadith.

Let's do a quick check.

When Abu Bakr led Muslims into war, he said not to burn bees or scatter them.

Is that what he was reported to have said? Pause the video and have a think, and see what you've got in a moment.

Well done.

That is true.

Let's do a practise task to see what we've learned.

Explain how the Prophet Muhammad followed the guidance of the Qur'an when taking part in battles.

Include these words in your answer: lesser jihad; defence; the Qur'an; persecution; Madinah; innocent; and protected.

So using those words, explain how the Prophet Muhammad followed the guidance of the Qur'an when taking part in battles.

Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, some great thinking there.

Your response might look something like this, and using the words in the box, "The Qur'an allows for wars to be fought that are in defence, but not wars that are aggressive.

This is one of the criteria of a lesser jihad.

Muhammad fought in different wars in order to defend the early Muslim community who faced persecution and were under attack.

When Madinah was under attack, he protected it via the Battle of the Trench.

Muhammad ruled that innocent people and those who surrender must be protected.

In this way, he was following the instructions of the Qur'an." Well done.

So onto our second section then, the criteria of a lesser jihad.

So Muslim scholars have used various sources to agree on the conditions of a lesser jihad.

We've already spoken about the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad.

So we've got the Qur'an, as the in errant or without error, direct words of Allah.

We got the example of the Prophet Muhammad is the walking, talking Qur'an, as Aisha called him, and he's the person Muslims look to for the example for how to live out the Qur'an.

And then we've also got the example of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad.

So we just saw that the example of Abu Bakr, and then we've got examples of people like Ali as well.

Why might all three sources be needed by Muslim scholars to decide on this? Why not just the Qur'an or just the example of the Prophet Muhammad? Pause a video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, the Qur'an gives some instructions about when war can be fought and how it should be fought, but we can really see more of how that can be done through the example of the Prophet Muhammad.

And then of course, after the Prophet Muhammad passes away, the companions who fought alongside him were faced with new situations and able to apply those principles too.

So all of that can feed into what Muslim scholars would say could be the condition of the lesser jihad today.

So using these sources, Muslim scholars have compiled what is known as the criteria of jihad.

The conditions for a lesser jihad can also be known as the criteria for a lesser jihad, and these include that it must be called by the correct religious leader, just as of the Prophet Muhammad called the different battles that happened during his lifetime.

Crops, land, and animals cannot be targeted.

So not only have we got the idea of innocent lives not being lost, but also what have crops and animals got to do with this battle or this war between two human groups? So they must also be protected, especially if you think about Muslims being khalifas or vice-regents looking after the world.

It must not be for land or money.

So it's not being aggressive again here, so going out and searching for and grabbing land or money, it must be for in a defensive position.

Innocents and civilians must not be harmed.

People cannot be forced to become Muslims. There's another really important passage in the Qur'an that says there's no compulsion in religion, so people can't be forced.

It must be a free choice if people choose to become Muslim.

Peace must be restored and mercy must be shown.

So again, we had that passage in the Qur'an about if your enemy inclines towards peace, then you should do, and there's many passages in the Qur'an about the importance of mercy and showing mercy to others.

So how does the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad support these then? I've just said some.

Can you think of any others? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

So now Izzy's asking Hassan, who is a Shiite Muslim, "Why is one criteria of a lesser jihad the innocents are protected, Hassan?" And Hassan says, "The Qur'an says that if you kill one life, it is as if you've killed the whole of mankind, showing how important this is.

Imam Ali showed respect for life when he did not take the armour of a deceased enemy soldier, but made sure it got back to the soldier's family.

He was respecting the life and heritage of the soldier's family even though he was his enemy." Thank you, Hassan.

And Alex is asking Iqbal, who's a Sunni Muslim, "Why is the criteria of a lesser jihad that it's not fought for land or money, Iqbal?" And Iqbal says, "A lesser jihad is not fought to gain land, resources, or money of any kind.

This is not permitted by Allah, as that would be a war of aggression.

The Battle of the Trench is an example of a battle that was fought to protect land, the city of Madinah.

This was permitted as their enemies were attacking the Muslims, who found a way to protect the city whilst minimising the bloodshed of the enemy." Thank you, Iqbal.

And Alex is also asking Jamila, who's a Sunni Muslim, and Jamila says, "The Qur'an says there could be no compulsion in religion.

This means people must freely choose if they want to become Muslim, it cannot be forced on them.

The protection of Muslims under attack could be permitted as a lesser jihad, but not a war that forces people to become Muslim.

Allah is just and merciful and forcing people to become Muslim is not in Allah's nature." Thank you, Jamila.

Let's do a quick check to see what we've learned.

Which three of the following are a criteria for a lesser jihad? The war doesn't harm civilians.

Peace is restored after the war.

A Muslim declares the war.

The war is defensive, not aggressive.

Which three of these are part of the criteria of a lesser jihad? Pause the video and how a go, we'll see what you got in a moment.

Well done.

The war does not harm civilians, peace is restored after the war, and the war is defensive, not aggressive.

It isn't just that any Muslim declares the war.

It must be the correct religious leader that declares the war.

Well done.

So now Alex is asking Mustafa, "Why is a criteria of a lesser jihad that it doesn't target the land, crops or animals, Mustafa?" And Mustafa says, "As Muslims, we're instructed to care for Allah's creation as his vice-regents on Earth.

The land and animals are not part of our battles and disputes, so should not be harmed during them.

Also, by harming the environment through war, we're harming future generations of people on the planet.

When the pollution of the land is used as a war tactic, this goes against the protection of innocents too." So if you remember, we had Bu Bakr saying you can't even burn the bees, which are gonna be pollinating the plants, and we know how important bees are for ecosystems and our planet today too, don't we? Thank you, Mustafa.

Now, let's have a look at a case study that shows something Mustafa just said there.

Mustafa said something about polluting the land being used as a war tactic.

So not even just a side effect, but a very deliberate tactic.

And here, we've got a helicopter during the Vietnam War dropping something called Agent Orange over some trees.

And this was very deliberately done in order to damage the trees that caused 'em to drop their leaves, not produce fruit, and basically mean that the population wouldn't have enough food and might be starved into surrender.

So it's an interesting case study to see whether this would fulfil the criteria for a lesser jihad or not.

So the criteria is not to target trees and crops.

During wars, chemicals have been used to prevent crops and trees growing as a war tactic.

So not just a side effect, but a deliberate tactic.

This can destroy forests, farmlands, and whole ecosystems, 'cause it's not just the tree, is it? It's all the animals that might be living on the tree or that might have been feeding off of the fruit from the trees.

And then this can also lead to birth defects and different forms of cancer and diseases that outlast the war.

So the war might be over, peace might be established, but people are still living with the effects of this, and this is going into the ground, and as things grow, it still has those chemicals within it.

So as we know more and more about the impact that these different weapons can have, can that influence whether we think it fulfils that criteria of a lesser jihad? So Izzy and Alex are discussing that harm done to the environment by warfare then, and Izzy says, "There must be a huge environmental impact of war, not only when weapons are used to harm the land, but also in their production and transportation.

I think modern warfare does too much harm to the environment to ever be justified." And Alex says, "I can see your point, Izzy.

The atomic bombs used at the end of World War II had a huge impact on the environment.

Some people, though, would say it couldn't have ended without that and that had to be done to protect the innocent lives threatened." So we kind of have to weigh up, don't we, what the impact is going to be of an action like this and whether it's worth it or not.

And I wonder who you might agree with more here, Izzy or Alex.

You can pause the video and have a think, and talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

So now, we can think a little bit more about modern weapons and the criteria of a lesser jihad.

Weapons used during battles are very different today to the time in the Prophet Muhammad.

So we've seen those sources of authority of the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad, but that was a very different time, and the way that battles were fought was very different than to how it is now.

During Muhammad's lifetime, battles were fought fighter to fighter, so it might be two soldiers are fighting against each other from the two different enemy sites.

And so yes, lives may be lost, but they are still two fighters that are against each other here rather than innocent people who had nothing to do with the battle.

However, modern weapons harm vastly more civilians than soldiers.

So around 90% of deaths in war today are civilians, so they're not the soldiers, they're not the people who were fighting or employed to fight or trained to fight, but just the people who were there perhaps at the wrong place and the wrong time.

Modern weapons can also harm water supplies, trees, and land as well.

So we've just seen that example of when it's a deliberate war tactic, but sometimes, it's just through the weapons themselves being produced and then being fired and then going into the ground and what impact they can have, particularly on water supplies can have a huge impact too.

So here we've got the idea that more civilians, so innocent lives, are lost in modern warfare, but also the land and the trees and the water supplies are damaged too.

So therefore, some Muslims do not think a lesser jihad can happen today.

So whilst in the time of the Prophet Muhammad, there were battles that were fought the Muslims would say were justified and the Qur'an allowed for battles to be fought, some Muslims would say that today, we can no longer fulfil that criteria.

So this leads to a diversity of views within Islam, whether a modern war could fulfil that criteria of a lesser jihad or not.

So Meyrem's gonna share one Sunni Muslim viewpoint with us, and she says, "If in a modern warfare, innocent lives could be protected and they are fought as a last resort to protect life, then yes, it could fulfil the criteria of a lesser jihad.

So Meyrem says, yep, there could be a lesser jihad in modern warfare if those criteria are fulfilled.

And Iqbal, who's also Sunni Muslim, has a different view, so let's see what he says.

And Iqbal says, "The criteria of the lesser jihad also involves protecting the land, and modern weapons do so much damage that no, it can't fulfil the criteria." I wonder which view you find the most convincing, Meyrem or Iqbal's.

Pause the video and have a think, and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

So let's do another check to see what we've learned.

What criteria of a lesser jihad had could this image relate to? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what we come up with in a moment.

Well done, not targeting trees and crops.

So let's do another practise task to see what we've learn.

Izzy and Alex have each written a paragraph as part of an answer to the evaluation of the statement.

"Modern wars do not fulfil the criteria of a lesser jihad." They've been asked to include a point, a source of authority, an explanation, and evaluation of the point.

You're going to read each of their paragraphs and decide which side of the argument is stronger, and give a reason why.

So let's have a look at their paragraphs then.

Izzy's paragraph, "Some Muslims may agree because the weapons used in modern warfare harm not only innocent lives, but also the land and animals that live on it.

Abu Bakr stated that in war, Muslims must not cut down fruit-bearing trees.

This means the land must be respected.

In Islam, there are many teachings about caring for the environment, so this is a strong argument that modern wars do not fulfil the criteria." And Alex's paragraph says, "Some Muslim may disagree because whilst many modern wars do not fulfil the criteria of a lesser jihad, there may be a need for a lesser jihad in the future which will.

The Qur'an states that Muslims have a right to fight those who fight them, but not as the aggressors.

There may be a time that Muslims need to do this.

This is a strong argument as, for a Muslim, that Qur'an is the direct words of Allah without error." And you can see that each of them here have given a point, a source of authority, an explanation, and an evaluation of the point, but which one do you think is the strongest argument and why? Pause the video and have a think, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

I asked you to read each of those paragraphs and decide which of the argument is stronger and give a reason why, and your response may be something like this.

"The arguments for this statement are stronger because the impact on the environment of modern warfare is much greater than the battles the Prophet Muhammad fought in." This shows that even though his battles fulfilled the criteria, modern warfare cannot." Or you might have said, "The arguments against the statement are stronger because the protection of innocent life is so important in Islam that sometimes a lesser jihad may be necessary if it's the last option, even if the land is harmed during this, such as with the atomic bombs dropped at the end of World War II." Well done.

So let's summarise everything we've learned today then, conditions for declaring a lesser jihad.

A lesser jihad is a military struggle or war fought to defend Islam and innocents and has strict criteria.

The Qur'an allows for war, but only in defence, and urges peace if the enemy wants peace.

The Prophet Muhammad took part in battles which were necessary to protect Muslims. Abu Bakr and Imam Ali also took part in these battles.

Following the Qur'an and examples of the Prophet Muhammad and early leaders, there are conditions set as criteria for a lesser jihad.

These include it being a defensive war and not targeting innocents, the land, crops, or animals.

So well done for your hard work today, and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye-bye.