And fight in the cause of Allah against those who fight against you, but do not transgress. Surely, Allah loves not the transgressors. [2; 190]
And kill them wherever you meet them and drive them out from where they have driven you out; for persecution is worse than killing. And fight them not in, and near, the Sacred Mosque until they fight you therein. But if they fight you, then fight them: such is the requital for the disbelievers. [2; 191]
But if they desist, then surely Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful. [2; 192]
193. And fight them until there is no persecution, and religion is freely professed for Allah. But if they desist, then remember that no hostility is allowed except against the aggressors.
[2; 193]
It is easy to promote terrorism by simply citing “And kill them wherever you find them . . . .” At the same time, it is easy to claim that The Holy Recitation, or Religion, condones violence, killing, “slaying.” However, the Verses above have been provided so that you may notice that, when read in context, they neither contribute to the promulgation of “terrorism, nor violence, killing, slaying.”
Furthermore, it should be noted that when The Holy Recitation was being revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him at times, “killing, slaying” was ordained. However, it must be understood that:
- The order to “kill / slay” was coming down from the One, All-Knowing God (Allah)–to a Prophet,
- The order to kill / “slay” was accompanied by an order to “not transgress,”
- The order to “kill them wherever you meet them” and to “drive them out from where they have driven you out” was accompanied with the reasoning / justification that “persecution is worse than killing,”
- The order came with the command to “fight them until there is no persecution … But if they desist, then remember that no hostility is allowed except against the transgressors.” Thus, if these Verses are interpreted with truth, it becomes clear why killing was ordained.
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Now, centuries later, to take individual Verses from The Holy Recitation in order to use them to either promote terrorism or to claim that The Holy Recitation, or Religion itself condones “violence, killing, Slaying,” is simply ill-mannered.