The Concept of Jihad in Islam According to Ali Abuzurayk’s Man between Nature and Religions

This paper examines the concept of jihad in the thought of ʿAlī Abū Zurayk (Abuzurayk) as presented in his book Man Between Nature and Religions (2022). In this paper, I summarize and evaluate Abuzurayk’s account of jihad and its role in Islam, including the different types of jihad and their relationship to principles of justice and human rights. Abuzurayk’s book argues that the role of Islamic jihad is intended only for defensive purposes and for the protection of the weak and oppressed and that it rejects any form of aggression and violence towards others for any reason other than protection and defense. Abuzurayk’s account of the centrality of community to religions is supplement by his account of the nature of jihad as it was practiced by Prophet Muḥammad and his first two successors, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. During the time of the Prophet and the first two Caliphs, jihad was authorized for specific purposes. These purposes included the liberation of Arab lands that were under Roman and Persian occupation, as well as the establishment of a state for the Arabs as a united nation which is able to defend itself. In contrast, Abuzurayk argues that the third Caliph, ʿUthmān, had a different understanding of the nature of jihad. During the era of ʿUthmān and his successors, jihad took on an expansive political meaning known as fatiḥ or ‘conquest’ for the spread of Islam. This led to a departure from the defensive nature of jihad as initially practiced by Prophet Muhammad and his early successors.