War muft be
carried on
againft the
infidels, at all
times, by
fome party of
the MuJfuU
titans.
Chap. VI. O f the Laws concerning Moojlâmins.
Chap. VII. O f Tithe and Tribute.
Chap. VIII. O f Jizyat, or Capitation Tax.
Chap. IX. O f the Laws concerning Apoftates.
Chap. X. O f the Laws concerning Rebels.
C H A P . I.
T h e facred injunfHon concerning war* is fufficiently obferved when
it is carried on by any one party Or tribe of Mujfulmans; and it is then
no longer of any force with refpeft to the reft- It is eftablifhed as a
divine ordinance, by the word of God, who has faid, in the Koran,
“ s l a y t h e i n f i d e l s -j-; and alfo by a faying of the prophet, “ war
“ is permanently eftablijhed until the day o f judgment,” (meaning the
ordinance refpefting war.) The obfervance, however, in the degree
above mentioned fuffices; becaufe war is not a pofitive injunfHon £,
as it is, in its nature, murderous and deftruftive, and is enjoined only
for the purpofe of advancing the true faith, or repelling evil from the
* Meaning the jih a d F a rz, or ordained war, enjoined, in various pailages o f the
Koran, to be waged againft infidels. I t is termed, by fome , th e h o l y war.
f Arab. Moojharikeenj literally, ajfociators; i. e. polytheifs, or idolaters.
t Arab. F a rz J in . T h is is a technical expreffion which cannot well be tranflated :
it means an injunction or ordinance unconditional in its nature, and general in its application,
and the obligation o f which extends alike to every individual. T h u s fa jlin g and
prayer are o f the clafs o f F a rz J in : in oppofition to fuch duties as are merely conditional
and occajtonal.
fervants of G od ; and when this end is anfwered by any fingle tribe
or party of Mujfulmans making war, the obligation is no longer binding
upon the reft; in the fame manner as in the prayers for the dead*;
(if, however, no one Mujfulman were to make war, the whole of the
Mujfulmans would incur the criminality of neglefting it;) and alfo,
becaufe, if the injunction were pofitive, the whole of the Mujfulmans
muft confequently engage in war, in which café the materials for war
(fuch as horfes, armour, and fo forth) could not be procured. Thus
it appears that the obfervance of war, as aforefaid, fuffices, except
where there is a generalfummons, (that is, ■ where the infidels invade a
Mujfulman territory, and the Imam for the. time being iffues a general
proclamation, requiring all perfons to ftand forth to fight,) for in this
cafe war becomes a pofitive injunfHon with refpedt to the whole of
the inhabitants, whether men or women, and whether the Imam be a
ju ft or an unjufi perfon: and if the people of that territory be unable
to repulfe the infidels,, then war becomes a pofitive injunfHon with
refpeft to all in that neighbourhood; and if thefe alfo do not fuffice,
it then becomes a pofitive injunflion with refpefl to the next neighbours;
and in the fame manner, with relpeft to all the Mujfulmans,
from eaft to weft.
T he deftruftion of the fwórd -j* is. incurred by infidels, although infidels may
they be .not the firft aggreflors, as appears from various palfages in the ^ “óut^ro-
facred writings which are generally received to this effeft. vocation.
It is not incumbent upon infants to make war, as they are ob- War is not a
. . . n duty required
■ jefts* of compaffion: neither is it incumbent upon /laves, or women, as of infants!
the right of the mafter or of the hulband have precedence: nor is it
fo upon the blind, the maimed, or the decrepid, as fuch are incapable.
* A ll Mujfulmans are direcfted to pray for the dead: but the injunftion is fufficiently
fulfilled by the adt o f the Imam, or the relations, or Mawlas o f the deceafed.
f Arab. Kattal-, meaning war in its operation, fuch as figh tin g, fa y in g , & c,.