Countering Islamic Propaganda: 4:95

TheReligionofPeace

TROP is a non-political, fact-based site which examines the ideological threat that Islam poses to human dignity and freedom

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It's much easier to act as if critics of Islam have a problem with Muslims as people than it is to accept the uncomfortable truth that Islam is different

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What can we learn about
Islam from this woman?

"Discover the Truth's" Game

4:95
"Not Equal are the
Believers Who Sit at
Home and Those Who
Fight in the Cause of Allah"

From Discover the Truth:

The objective of Jihad (‘Fighting in the cause of God’) is to protect religious freedom for all.
(September 27, 2014)

What the Quran Says

4:95. Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home), except those who are disabled (by injury or are blind or lame, etc.), and those who strive hard and fight in the Cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred in grades those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and their lives above those who sit (at home). Unto each, Allah has promised good (Paradise), but Allah has preferred those who strive hard and fight, above those who sit (at home) by a huge reward

What the Apologists Want You to Believe

DTT would have you believe that this is not a call to holy war, but rather a call to defend the oppressed and preserver religious freedom for all:

Fighting in the cause of God, does not mean killing of civilians. Muslims are told in the passage to fight oppression, practiced against them or against others (i.e., non-Muslims). The objective of Jihad (‘Fighting in the cause of God’) is to protect religious freedom for all.

How They Do It: 'Adding' to the Quran

DTT appeals to part of the text in a prior verse, 4:75. Accordingly, Allah should have said something like:

Go out and strive hard for the oppressed people - in a non-violent way, if possible - and make sure that everyone has the freedom to worship whomever or whatever they choose.

How They Do It: Citing Contemporary Apologists and Weak Hadith

The 'expert' opinion DTT relies on is from Brian Wicker and Indrid Mattson. We're guessing that Brian and Ingrid weren't 9th century hadith compilers.

How They Do It: Ignoring Reliable Sources

According to the sahih hadith, verse 4:95 pertains to the Battle of Badr and the division of captured loot afterwards.

How They Do It: Sleight of Hand

The original Arabic offers an exception (ghayru) to those who are disabled (uli I-darari). DTT leaves this part out of their quote of the Quran, because it reveals the fact that the passage refers to physical combat. This is a problem for them because the word for Jihad is used in the passage and apologists usually like to pretend that Jihad means inner struggle instead of holy war. That interpretation would not make sense here, since there is an exclusion for the physically disabled... therefore DTT leaves it out.

Why They are Wrong

Verse 4:95 does not tell Muslims to fight for the weak and oppressed; it tells them to fight for the "cause of Allah." Even the prior verse that DTT cites distinguishes the two.

Far from suggesting that Muslims were waging a noble campaign on behalf of religious freedom or oppressed people, the true historic context is a successful raid by Muhammad against a Quraish caravan at Badr that escalated into a bloody battle in which many caravan defenders were killed. It was an act of unnecessary and aggressive warfare forced on others for the cause of killing these merchants and capturing their wealth.

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4:95 "Not Equal are the Believers Who Sit at Home and Those Who Fight in the Cause of Allah"