CAIRO – Another question related to Quranic interpretation, other than having some verses been taken out of context, the point this corner dealt with last week, is the principle of abrogation within the Qur'an itself. For example, in 5:82 it says: "You will surely find that the nearest in affection to believers are those who say: 'We are Christians'," and 2:62 says: "Believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabaeans – whosoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right – they shall have their reward with the Lord; they have nothing to be afraid of and shall not be grieved." But some Quranic interpretations, while asserting that the first verse is still valid, assert that the second is negated by 3:85 which says: "He who chooses a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and in the next world he will be one of the lost." But the fairest approach, and the most consistent with Quranic teaching, is to understand that the Qur'an shows respect towards, acceptance of, and enlightened tolerance to people of different faiths, all the while inviting them to engage in dialogue in the search for truth. Muslims learn from the Qur'an that God's objective in creating the human race with different communities, religions, ethnicity, etc. was that they should relate to each other peacefully amid this diversity (49:13). They also learn that war is hateful (2:216); that it is a blessing to transform fear into a sense of safety (24:55); that Paradise, not this earthly life alone, is the perfect and absolute Land of Peace (6:127); and that the cause of peace is encouraged throughout the Qur'an, through working for the elimination of poverty, social injustice, oppression, greed, over-consumption and similar excesses. Even more importantly, the Qur'an states that it is God's will for peoples on this earth to remain different (11:118), including that they will follow different religions. (5:48) God tells the Prophet Mohamed that most people will not believe, "even if you are eager that they should." (12:103) At the time of the Prophet and for more than ten years in Mecca (Makkah), Muslims were persecuted by their neighbours, yet he instructed them through God's words to restrain themselves (4:77) and endure hard times with patience and fortitude. (2:109) After the Muslims were forced out of their homes in Mecca, those who remained behind were subjected to even more abuse. At that time, God gave them permission to fight back in self-defence and to safeguard their freedom of religion and worship. But it was made clear that fighting back was granted because Muslims were victims of aggression. The Qur'an also stresses that permission to fight back for reasons of self-defence and religious freedom is legitimate even if one's place of worship is other than a mosque: "Permission is given to those who fight because they have been wronged, and God is indeed able to give them victory; those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said, 'Our Lord is God' – for had it not been for God's repulsion of some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, in which the name of God is much mentioned, would certainly have been destroyed. Truly, God helps those who help Him. Lo! God is strong, the Almighty. To those who maintain worship, give charitably to the poor, pursue what is good and avoid evil, God will give power in the land..." (22:39-41) Another key verse clearly defines who is to be fought: "Fight in the way of God those who fight against you, but do not transgress. God does not love the transgressor." (2:190) And note that "those who fight against you" means actual soldiers – uninvolved civilians are protected. The Prophet and his successors, whenever they sent out an army, gave soldiers clear instructions not to attack civilians – women, children, the elderly, religious people engaged in worship – nor to destroy, if at all possible, the enemy's property, crops or animals. And according to strict ethical proportions and discernment, only combatants are to be fought, and no more harm should be caused to them than they have caused. (2:194) Thus, wars and weapons of mass destruction that destroy civilians and their homes are categorically ruled out by the Qur'an, in which the divinely-given words and deeds of the Prophet are the only binding authorities in Islamic law. The prohibition against war is repeatedly reinforced by corollary teachings, such as, "Do not transgress; God does not love the transgressor", in which the term "transgress" has been interpreted by Quranic exegetical scholars as meaning, "the initiation of fighting, fighting those with whom a treaty has been concluded, ambushing the enemy without first inviting them to make peace, destroying crops, or killing those who should be protected." (from Baydawi's commentary on 2:190). As one can conclude from the examples given previously, the Qur'an's teaching directives and orders for right conduct are always couched in restraining language, with much repetition of commandments such as, "do not transgress" followed by warnings of God's imminent displeasure with those who ignore Him, or promises of approval towards those who obey, such as, "He loves those who are conscious of Him." From the outset, such instructions are given to people who are expected to live daily with the intention of acting "in the way of God". Linguistically we notice that the verses in this passage always restrict actions in a legalistic way, which appeals strongly to a Muslim's conscience and sense of duty. In one passage of only six verses (2:190-5), for example, there are four prohibitions ("do not" phrases), and six restrictions that include two each of the phrases "until", "if," and "who attack you." The same brief passage also contains a series of cautionary advisements using the phrases "in the way of God," "be conscious of Him", "with those who do good deeds," and "God is forgiving, the All-Merciful." Overall, it can be seen that when taken in a thoughtfully interpreted context, the Qur'an regularly gives reasons and justifications for any action it demands, not only in treating the problematic issues of war, but with numerous other themes of life and right-living. However, the definitive interpretation of the Qur'an, or any other holy writings, still remains a complex human challenge – one that is historically vulnerable to extremism, sometimes with fatal results. Thus it is all the more vital that people of faith should speak out against extremism from within, using the word of God in the context and wholeness with which it was revealed.
