JIHAD AND ONENESS QUESTION

Q. Write a description of the Muslim teachings about jihad. [10]

Answer : Definition of jihad and types (handout of jihad)

Q. Write an account of:

(i) The Prophet’s teachings about armed warfare (jihad ).

(ii) Under what circumstances is jihad thought to be compulsory? [10]

Answer

i. mention all the points of physical jihad (handout)

ii.
● For self defence : jihad becomes obligatory when not only the ideology and beliefs, but the
life and property of muslims are threatened. The Qur’an clearly allows armed fighting for the
sake of self defence by stating: “Fight in the way of Allah thosewho fight you, but do not
transgress limits”.
● Fighting against evil and injustice: it is a sin if a muslim sees injustice being done, and is
capable of stopping it, yet does not do anything about it. This can include war on drugs, war
on child labour, and also war against terror and protecting the freedom of muslims to practice
their faith.
● Broken treaties : If treaties made by the enemy are broken, then war may be waged upon
them. The Qur’an says: “ but if they break their oath after their covenant(agreement) and
taunt you for your faith, then fight the leaders of unbelief, for their oaths are nothing to them:
that thus they may be restrained”.

Q. Describe the meaning of the term jihad and say how Muslims can practise jihad in their everyday
lives. [10]

Answer : handout of jihad (mention individual and communal importance aswell).

Q. Muslims believe that God alone is Lord, that He alone should be worshipped and that His names and
attributes are unique to Him. Outline Muslim beliefs in the oneness of God. [10]

Answer:

Belief in Unity and Oneness of Allah is an article of faith as Iman-e-Musfasil says, “I believe in Allah and His
Angels and His Books and His Prophets…” which shows that belief in Unity and Oneness of Allah (Tawhid)
is imperative for Muslims and without it faith is incomplete. Hence, if a Muslims would not believe in Unity and
Oneness of Allah he would be out of the folds of Islam. The Holy Qurans say, “It is righteousness to believe
in Allah and the last day...”.This means that belief in Tawhid is an act of piety (taqwa).
THREE TYPES OF UNITY AND ONENESS OF ALLAH

Belief in Unity and Oneness of Allah can be divided into three parts.

Allah is Unique in Person. This means that Allah is only One God, as the Holy Quran says, “Do not take two
gods as there is only One God”.

Quran also says, “There is no God but Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful”.
Surah Al-Ikhlas says,“He is Allah, the One. Allah the Eternal, the Absolute. He begets not, nor is He
begotten. And there is none like Him”. This surah makes 1/3 of the Holy Quran as it is based on Tawhid
clarifying that Allah is One and Only. He was there when nothing was there and He will be there will no one
else will be there. He is not dependent upon any of His creation rather His creation is dependent upon Him.
He does not have any type of physical relationship with anyone so He has no relations like father and son. He
is not bound by the laws of nature. He has no predecessors.
The Holy Quran says, “All praise is for Allah, Creator of the Heaves and the Earth, Who made Angels
messengers with wings 2, 3 and 4..."
Thus, we can see the signs and prove Allah’s Oneness as the system of universe is perfect. If there were more
than one god there would have been wars among them and the system would have collapsed, which clarifies
that God is one.

Allah is unique in Names and Attributes. This means that qualities of Allah are perfect. He is all seeing and
All-knowing. Although man can see and know as well but he is bound by space but Allah listens and sees
everyone without any doubt and the names of Allah indicate his majesty, power and perfection.

The holy Quran says: “and the most beautiful names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them”. Among His 99
names are: Al-Ahad, Al-Tawaab, Al-hayy, Al-Aleem. Allah’s two most invoked names are Ar-Rehman and
Ar-Raheem. Muslims start their day with them name of Allah and remind themselves of His supremeness and
mercy everytime they eat , drink or do anything.

His attributes are unique; He stands in need of none as He is perfect. Allah has the power to create and this
can be seen by the fact that He made heavens, and that too without pillars, the shine of the sun, the soothing
light of the moon, the earth spread like a carpet for mankind, water bodies like seas, rivers for the benefits of
mankind and different types of sustenance like crops. The Holy Quran say, “ Who (Allah) has made earth a
resting place for you, the Heavens a canopy, He has sent down rain from the Heavens, brought forth
fruit for sustenance for you, so do not associate partners to Allah as you know”.
He also made man out of clay as Surah Alaq says, “Read in the name of your Lord; Who created; Created
man out of mere clot of congealed blood…”
Allah can destroy and this can be seen by the fact that at the end of time Allah will destroy all objects of
nature. The Holy Qurans says, “ and mountains will be like carded wool” and “when the sun is folded
up, when the stars fall losing their luster, when the mountains vanish” and it also says “when the sky is
split open, when the stars fall scattering, and when the seas are flowed away”.
Allah also says “Every soul shall have a taste of death,then to Us shall you be brought back”

Allah is unique in worship. This means that actions of Allah are perfect and actions cannot be performed by
His creation, with the same level of excellence e.g. His Judgement is flawless so we should only worship Allah.

In Islam, Allah’s right to be worshipped cannot be questioned or over-emphasised. Allah has the exclusive
right to be worshipped inwardly, and outwardly, by one’s heart, body and soul. No one should be
worshipped other than Him and no one should be worshipped along with Him. Muslims should ask only Allah
for fulfillment of their wishes or needs as that power lies only with Him.