# Should Muslims deny that jihad exists in Islam to counter extremism?

*Tackling ISIS by reclaiming traditional Islam and owning the concept of jihad*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vzrrlx3livk/s/9/
- Date: 2015-04-06 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (31:30–35:25)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZRrlX3lIVk&t=1890s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vzrrlx3livk/

**Topics:** Public law and governance; Extremism, crime and justice; Islam and modernity

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** No: he says denying jihad or reducing it to self-defence feeds extremists, who use it to call scholars sellouts. The answer is to reclaim traditional Islam and own the concept with its context and conditions.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth holds that extremism is tackled by reclaiming traditional Islam and owning the concept of jihad, which exists in the Quran and Sunnah with its context and conditions, rather than by denying it, which feeds groups such as ISIS.

**Evidence, his words at 32:05:** “I do feel that in order to tackle it we need to reclaim traditional Islam” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZRrlX3lIVk&t=1925s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says crimes must be treated equally: countries cannot loot, deceive or kill indiscriminately with drones and call it good intention while a crime against them is heinous. To tackle ISIS, he says, Muslims need to reclaim traditional Islam rather than become apologetically defensive, which helps such groups. Jihad, for example, exists in the Quran and Sunnah and the majority of the ummah historically accepted it, including its offensive use by Muslim empires where strategic. Denying this, saying there is no jihad in Islam or that it is only a struggle against the self or only the last resort of self-defence, is a quick exit that feeds the frenzy of fanatics, who then tell people that these scholars are sellouts who do not know the sources. The true way is to take the bull by the horns and take ownership: these things exist in Islam but have a context and conditions and are not used at anyone's whim, as any civilisation has had its military aspect. Only by taking the questions head on, he says, can one be heard by those who find radical groups appealing, and he prays for the ability to reclaim traditional Islam and spread its harmonious message.

## Sources and names cited

- ISIS
- jihad

## Transcript (machine tier, 31:30–35:25)

[30:47] taking place The Joint special ops that were taking place within Iraq and the documentary still available and it showed and it demonstrated how the rise of Isis was a byproduct that they had just that you know there's many people who had been kind of just taken up impr prisoned and then they show in the documentary all these these prisons which ran for so long and how people were just there and obviously when they were released the what the documentaries suggested was that these people made up a huge number of what was to become Isis but it is interesting that's what I'm saying and I think this denial of foreign policy playing a role is also fundamental to

[31:26] the to the ongoing problem that until people don't acknowledge that we can't like people countries can't just go off and continuously just Loot and Rob and and deceive or attack people that all crimes have to be treated equally it can't just be a crime done to a particular thing is a crime is a is a heus crime and we're as sending drones and you know just killing people indiscriminately or whatever that's that's okay it was done with a good intention you can't crimes have to be seen it there has to be an equal an egalitarian approach um so I do feel

[32:05] that said I mean the issue of Isis is there and the do need to um treat it I do feel that in order to tackle it we need to reclaim traditional Islam uh I feel that the what we don't want to do is just become so apologetically defensive which will actually help the cause of these groups so for example the topic of jihad and things like this Jihad as always the topic the concept of jihad has existed within the Quran within the Sunnah it's it's been there the majority

[32:44] of the umah traditionally have always accepted these Notions now there has been some debate usually most of the umah historically the scholarship um from what they've interpreted from the Quran and Sunnah is that Jihad was served and utilized by the you know by the Muslim empires offensively as well where it was strategic to do so historically they did do these type of things now to deny this you see to deny this concept to deny these things sometimes it fuels it's an easy way out like somebody

[33:24] sometimes you get some people saying oh there's no such thing as Jihad in Islam it's all J it's a struggling against the self or some people say oh not the only time Jihad has ever existed was when you in absolute dire threat and a form of ultimate last self-defense but the problem with this quick exit is that it actually feeds the the frenzy of these Fanatics like Isis all these other people because they then say Oh look see these people are getting it all wrong they don't even know the de they don't even know the

[34:00] sources so the true way is to take to tackle the bull by the horns you take true ownership you appropriate it that yes these things have existed yes they are within Islam but however they have a context to them they have conditions to them they have it it's not just you know something that is just used at the whims and desires of anybody but it's like any type of uh you know you'd say any type of civiliz ization has had its military aspect so I mean to to Really tackle to take these questions head on is the way to also deal with threats like Isis

[34:39] because to just ignore to just play wash down or play Down uh these type of Concepts it feeds into their da their type of what they're preaching because they will preach to people that most Scholars you come across most people you come across will be sellouts there will be people that will deny things there will be people that say this doesn't even exist but yet look here it is in this Hadith here it is in this verse of the Quran here it is so if you just speak that rhetoric you won't even be listened to by people who are maybe contemp or who find the appeal of radical groups like

[35:16] Isis appealing so I think you know may Allah give us toi to really reclaim traditional Islam I mean and to you know to really uh help and Aid the spread of the true harmonious message of this thing uh I think it's a it's it's an interesting question that the media suggest toward the general narrative out there um or a narrative rather out there suggests that there is a rise in radicalization do I agree with this

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment VZRrlX3lIVk/s/9. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vzrrlx3livk/s/9/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.