By Sheikh: Essam Derbalah

It is no doubt that the world of Islam today witnesses several acts of jihad; some of which represent unique examples of sacrifice while the rest are breaking the law (Sharia) whether out of goodwill or out of ignorance.

To explain the true meaning of jihad we should mention the mistakes that may occur also.

We will devote the following few pages to speak about the nature, types and reasons of such errors and the solution.

But first we should answer a question that some people may ask:

Do mujahedeen commit mistakes? Why do you tackle such issues? Aren't you turning men from the way of Allah by your words? Aren't you discouraging mujahedeen and defaming them?

To say that mujahedeen do not err contradicts with our faith because one cannot deny that they are human beings and all humans commit mistakes. There must be errors committed throughout fourteen centuries of jihad. However, we are not saying that the whole history of jihad is black but as it has honorable examples, it includes faulty ones as well. We will introduce some wrong conducts of great mujahedeen in order to learn.

First; we will focus on the prophet's saying, "O Allah, I am innocent of what Khaled has done". The prophet- peace be upon him- said that when he was told that Khaled ibn El-Waleed ordered his soldiers to kill bani Gozaima after they said "we have blasphemed, we have blasphemed" they meant "we have surrendered to Allah" but they did not know how to say it. The prophet blamed Khaled for that and sent Ali ibn Abi Taleb to see the murdered.

Ibn Katheer commented on this incident saying" Khaled wanted to achieve victory for Islam and Muslims but he made a mistake. Nevertheless, the prophet did not depose him. He declared himself innocent from Khaled's conduct and paid compensations to the families of the victims".    

Here we stop and contemplate how the prophet- peace be upon him- did not deny that one of the greatest leaders of the Islamic army has made a mistake that must be redeemed.

So, if Khaled ibn el-Waleed, the Drawn Sword of God, has erred, then any one else, who is less in faith, may do wrong also.

Another example of mujahedeen's errors is the accident of killing a man after he declared that there is no god but Allah. Osama ibn Zaid killed this man. Then he went to the prophet- peace be upon him. The prophet said " did you kill him after he said there is no god but Allah? Osama replied: he just wanted to rescue himself. The prophet said " did you open his heart and see whether he was honest or not? Then Osama said he repeated this sentence till I wished that I were not a Muslim till this moment."

A third example when the prophet saw a woman of the unbelievers killed, he said "this woman should not be killed". Then he ordered his soldiers not to kill a woman or a worker.

There are so many such examples when the prophet- peace be upon him- interfered to correct the mistake to keep his Ummah on the right path. This quick and decisive reaction shows the Islamic method of handling such situations; to confess there is a problem then solve it.

The revelation method to deal with mistakes:

Yes, the revelation method to deal with mistakes, all kinds of mistakes, made by Muslims in all fields of life. Allah has blamed His messenger, peace be upon him, not for committing mistakes but for not doing the best in some situations when He said, "He frowned and turned away. Because the blind man came unto him. And "Allah forgive thee (O Muhammad)! Wherefore didst thou grant them leave"

Allah has also corrected the conducts of some believers in the Quran such as "O ye who believe! If an evil liver bring you tidings, verify it, lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of what ye did." and "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget, or miss the mark".

Another example when ibn Latebya, an employee in the charity house, said to the prophet-peace be upon him- this is for you and this is a gift for me. The prophet replied "

Thus, our prophet teaches us how we must correct errors instantly. This way goes in accordance with the Quranic way of behaving Muslims. The Quran focuses on the wrong acts in order to be avoided. It also highlights the good aspects in order to be followed.

We cannot do but to follow this method especially with jihad issues since we know the consequences of such mistakes.

Those who misunderstand the concept of jihad and perform terrorist attacks do not only kill innocent people or illegally take their money; they also make people go against jihad.

 Those people fight only to be called mujahedeen. They have no aims. They do not know the priorities they must put in mind. And they do not think of the ramifications of their deeds. Moreover, they misinterpreted the rules of jihad to the extent that some of them allow the killing of women and children, killing of civilians, killing for nationality and they refuse to make peace with the enemies and consider that cowardice  and treachery.

Such wrong conducts are used against our religion when some accuse Islam for being unmerciful and unforgiving religion that forces people to adopt it.

Translated by: Fatima Suleiman

Back to Jihad