Ibn-e- Taymiyyah's Jihad Fatwas Spawned Modern Radical Jihadism

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 11 October 2023 Ibn-e-Taymiyya’s 14th century Mardin Fatwas have been used by generations, Ibn-Abdul Wahhab in 18th century and modern radical Jihadis from latter part of 20th century onwards to justify modern day radical Jihadism and Islamist terrorism. However, fatwas should be read contextually. Ibn-e-Taymiyyah does not hold any relevance in the modern era. Jihadi radicals are being mischievous in invoking medieval fatwas to pursue their inhuman Jihad idea, to kill innocents. Such killings of civilians can never have any justification in Islam. Main Points: 1) Jihadi Radicals deploy the fatwas of Ibn Taymiyyah to justify their nefarious activities, abusing the high stature of Ibn-e-Taymiyyah among the Muslims. 2) The 14th century scholar has been an intellectual and religious motivation behind the radical’s spreading violence and chaos. 3) According to Islamic jurisprudence, fatwas should be read contextually and spatially and thus a medieval scholar has no relevance in the contemporary time. ----- Two fatwas by ibn Taymiyyah are being disproportionately employed by wily radical elements to bolster their Jihadi ideology. They use Ibn Taymiyyah to get wider currency as he is revered for his scholarship. Many a times his fatwas have been wrongly deployed by radical groups to spread their dangerous ideology. These groups misinterpret Fatwas to suit their vulgar Jihadi ideology. Two of his fatwas have been abused most by radical groups to target civilians and call for attack against West. These two were context specific when Muslim community were reeling under the cruelty of Mongols. His fatwas have been used many times by radical elements in Indian subcontinent and outside. 1. The assassin of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981 was motivated by Ibn Taymiyya’s Fatwa. 2. Osama bin Laden exhorted Muslims to attack American civilians in 1996 and subsequent Fatwas asking Muslims to migrate from European lands to Muslim lands where Sharia is operative. 3. The fringe group migrated from India to fight with ISIS Jihad Fatwas of Ibn Taymiyyah The main ideas of two fatwas are given below. The date of Mardin’s fatwa is still unknown, but the city of Mardin was then under the rule of the Ilkhanid Mongols, and its position is now in southeastern Turkey. There are four questions answered in this fatwa, the questions are: “About the land of Mardin, is it Dar al-Ḥarb or Dar al-Silm? Is it obligatory for the Muslim population to emigrate to an Islamic country or not? If it is obligatory for him to emigrate and he has not emigrated, then helping the enemy of Muslims with his soul or property, is it a sin? Is it sinful those who accuse them hypocritically and abuse them or are they innocent?” (Ibn Taymiyyah, 2004, p. 28:240) Briefly and emphatically, Ibn Taymiyyah answered the above questions in four paragraphs: “All praise is due to Allah. The soul and property of a Muslim must not be disturbed (he used the word haram), whether those living in Mardin or elsewhere. Helping the enemies of Islam (the law) is haram, whether those who help are residents of Mardin or others. People who live there, if they cannot worship according to the Sharia, then they are obliged to emigrate. Otherwise, it is better (Mustaḥab) to move but they are not obliged to do so.” “It is forbidden for them to help the enemies of the Muslims with their lives and property. They must resist it in whatever way they can, such as disappearing, avoiding or trying to flatter. If the only way is Hijrah, then that is what they must do." “It is forbidden to slander and accuse them of hypocrisy. Badmouthing and accusing hypocrites must be based on the evidence of the Qur’an and Sunnah and this applies specifically to a few people, be it residents of Mardn or anywhere else." “Whether the area is a war zone or a peaceful one, this is a complicated situation (Murakkabah). It was not a peaceful residence (Dar Al-Silm or Dar-al-Islam) where Islamic law was enforced and guarded by Muslim troops. The area is also not to be fought (Dar Al-Ḥarb) because its inhabitants are not infidels. The region is in the third group. The Muslims who live there should be treated according to their rights as Muslims, while the non-Muslims who live there and are outside the rule of Islamic law must be treated according to their rights.” (Ibn Taymiyyah, 2004, pp. 28: 240-1) If you read this fatwa in its entirety, it actually rejects the Jihadists' interpretation, which uses it as justification for fighting both Muslims who hold legal power and non-Muslims who coexist peacefully with Muslims. The following response from Ibn Taymiyya states that Hijrah is not required if Muslims can continue to practice their faith and that Mardin does not have the status of either a war zone or an Islamic area, but rather a combination (Murakkabah) of the two. Ibn Taymiyyah goes on to say that the area of peace is where Islamic law is enforced because the army is made up of Muslims, whereas the area of war is where the infidel population resides. The fallacy of the Jihadists is to exploit this fatwa to support two claims: first, that Muslim nations are war zones (Dar Al-Harb) because they do not have an Islamic form of government, and second, that people must migrate (Hijrah) from war zones to peaceful/Islamic places (Dar Al-Silm). Because most scholars before and during his time only divided the territory into two conditions—Dar Al-Harb and Dar Al-Silm—Ibn Taymiyyah added a new group of "regions," which did not result in violence. In fact, his attitude was very moderate in creating the concept of the third region, namely the condition he called "Murakkabah" (complicated), which is neither Dar Al-Harb nor Dar Al-Silm. The result is that Muslims who reside there must be treated in accordance with their rights as Muslims, and non-Muslim persons who live there but are not subject to Islamic law must also be treated in accordance with their rights. This is purportedly an effort by Ibn Taymiyyah to lessen tension and dispel the notion that Muslims in Mardin reside in an Islamic region or vice versa, i.e., a conflict zone. The next error made by Jihadists in their interpretation of Mardin's fatwa was made by Faraj and 'Abd Allah Azzam (d. 1989), who claimed that an Islamic institution was equivalent to a place of peace (Dar al-Silm), whereas a modern institution—not an Islamic government—was equivalent to a place of war (Dar Al-Harb). They comprehend that even if the majority of the population is Muslim, a war zone is one where the Islamic legal system is not applied, and a peace region is one where Islamic law is imposed by the state. Following this perspective, war on Anwar Sadat's Egypt was justified using this reasoning. Ibn Taymiyyah asserts that the absence of Muslims in a region genuinely determines whether it is at war. Hijrah Concept Of Ibn Taymiyyah In the same way, Ibn Taymiyya's concept of "Hijrah" is explained to mean escaping from sin rather than simply leaving a location if you read his other works holistically. He asserts that there are two categories of migration: escaping sin and negative relationships and avoiding evildoers to spare them punishment. Ibn Taymiyyah issues a sound fatwa on hijra in both situations, stating that hijra is only performed when the harm associated with it surpasses the positive. First, in the current context, based on Ibn Taymiyya's opinion, the inferences that may be taken from his text on hijrah are as follows. He did not state definitively whether Muslims living in non-Muslim nations today—such as the West—should leave for a nation with a majority of Muslims or not. A Muslim, on the other hand, needs to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of their circumstances. Second, Ibn Taymiyya's treatment of the idea of Hijrah is ethical rather than political; it is not mentioned in relation to Islamic law-based government. Ibn Taymiyyah was a contentious thinker who could be viewed from a variety of angles. On the one hand, he was revered as the founder of Islamic radicalism, but on the other hand, he also served as an inspiration for Muslim reformers. Because he is also a "polymath," it is not surprising that many academics and scholars discuss him from a variety of angles. How Osama bin Laden misused Ibn Taymiyyah can be understood, for example, in his 1996 fatwa: “Ibn Taymiyyah , after mentioning the Moguls (Tatar) and their behaviour in changing the law of Allah, stated that: the ultimate aim of pleasing Allah, raising His word, instituting His religion and obeying His messenger (Allah's Blessing And Salutations On Him) is to fight the enemy, in every aspects and in a complete manner; if the danger to the religion from not fighting is greater than that of fighting, then it is a duty to fight them even if the intention of some of the fighter is not pure i.e. fighting for the sake of leadership (personal gain) or if they do not observe some of the rules and commandments of Islam. To repel the greatest of the two dangers on the expense of the lesser one is an Islamic principle which should be observed. It was the tradition of the people of the Sunnah (Ahlul-Sunnah) to join and invade fight- with the righteous and non-righteous men. Allah may support this religion by righteous and non-righteous people as told by the prophet (Allah's Blessing and Salutations on Him). If it is not possible to fight except with the help of non-righteous military personnel and commanders, then there are two possibilities: either fighting will be ignored and the others, who are the great danger to this life and religion, will take control; or to fight with the help of non-righteous rulers and therefore repelling the greatest of the two dangers and implementing most, though not all, of the Islamic laws. The latter option is the right duty to be carried out in these circumstances and in many other similar situations. In fact, many of the fights and conquests that took place after the time of Rashidoon, the guided Imams, were of this type. (Majmoo' al Fatawa, 26/506). ----- A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist. 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