Maybe I’m right or maybe I’m wrong, but the book never lies
People say no main steam religion endorse violence. They can have their opinion about that. But there are some verses in the holy books of Islam that endorse violence. If I am wrong correct me. Disclaimer, I cannot read or understand Arabic, so I am not going to pretend that I know. But I do know English, and all these translations are from so-called experts of Islam and Quranic Arabic. if I am wrong, your experts are also wrong. I am going to take verses in the Quran and hadiths at their face value. No interpretations. Let’s start dancing, shall we?
The first verse I am going to choose is the famous wife-beating verse. In the Quran chapter 4 verse 34, “Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband’s] absence what Allah would have them, guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance — [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand (Sahih International)”. Yes, in the first part of the verse Allah has explained the situations in which man can beat her wife.
In a traditional family background, as the Quran verse interprets, a man should protect his wife, and the wife should take care of the husband’s wealth and manage household stuff. But in modern times, those gender roles have changed, and now women do not mealy have to stay in the home. No, they can travel, earn money, and disobey their husband if they want. I do not endorse that notion; I am simply saying that she has the right and opportunity to do so. If All Mighty Allah is saying that a husband can beat her wife in some situations, it shows that Islam is not a religion of peace on the family level. Because the Quran is encouraging violent actions against women.
The second verse is also from the Quran. I am talking about the Quran chapter 9 verse 29. “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture — [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled (Sahih International)”. For this, at least for me, there are two interpretations at first. But when I look deeper if it wasn’t for the last day, there could have been two interpretations.
Some moderate Muslims say that this is only for the prophet’s time. I mean how do they say that? This clearly talks about people who do not accept Islam. Some can say that fight in the sense of fight ideologically. But come on! For me, fight means in this context is clearly means fighting physically. And for the idea that this is only for prophet’s time, dude! What do you mean last day? this does not imply the idea that this is only for that specific time. This implies until the arrival of the judgment day. This verse alone can show that Islam is not a religion of peace, at least for me.
Just put the nail in the coffin let me give another verse from a sahih hadith. Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 41:
“Narrated Abdullah bin Masud:
“I asked Allah’s Apostle, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is the best deed?” He replied, “To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times.” I asked, “What is next in goodness?” He replied, “To be good and dutiful to your parents.” I further asked, what is next in goodness?” He replied, “To participate in Jihad in Allah’s Cause.” I did not ask Allah’s Apostle anymore and if I had asked him more, he would have told me more.” This is a Hadith from Sahih Bukhari, one of the most authentic books in Islam according to great Zakir Naik. If you say this is a week hadith, then deal with your scholars.
This verse talks about the best deeds a Muslim can do. The third best thing a Muslim can do is Jihadi. Okay, this is somewhat tricky because there are two interpretations for Jihad. According to the dictionary, it is the holy war against non-believers. But according to some, “Jihad is a struggle to do good and to remove injustice, oppression, and evil from oneself and from society. This struggle is spiritual, social, economic and political”. What do people do in a war? They kill each other! So, to some, it is mean the internal struggle for others it is means beheading a non-believer or a “filthy Jews”. A good example is ISIS, they do holly war on behalf of Islam.
Muslims say that those so-called extremists misunderstood Islam, and they do not represent real Islam. Yes, that is true to some degree, because they do not represent the whole of Islam. But they do represent part of Islam that surely endorse violence against non-believers. Hope I am able to show that through this essay. And this is not intended to harm anyone’s feelings or to encourage violence against anyone else, this is merely to show my opinion and my interpretation of the scripture.
References
Wife beating verse-https://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=4&verse=34
Fight non believers-https://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=9&verse=29
Sahih Bukhari- https://thereligionofpeace.com/quran/bukhari/052-sbt.htm
Zakir Naik- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSPhRL3ExLc
Jihad- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jihad
Muslim explanation-https://islamexplored.org/what-is-jihad/
