The root of interaction between the Islamic State and the other states is the duty to propagate the call of Islam (da‘wah). The method by which to achieve this is the declaration of Jihad. This was the method of Muhammad (saw) as soon as the Islamic State was established in Madinah. It must be stressed that the Muslims are not permitted to start fighting with the enemy without first presenting them with the opportunity to accept and embrace Islam, thereby becoming part of the Islamic State. This is the first process of the three stage method of delivering the call of Islam through Jihad.
If this offer is turned down, they are asked to pay jizyah (head tax) and to be part of the State. They would be treated as dhimma (non- Muslim citizen of the State), i.e. the State would be responsible for their security and protection. They would be ruled by the Islamic Shari‘ah and their land would become Muslim land and part of the Islamic State.
If the enemy on the other hand refused both of these options, namely to reject the Islamic Belief and System or reject the System and the payment of jizyah, the Muslims would proceed to the third stage and declare war upon them. Muslim narrated on the authority of Sulaiman ibn Buraid that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the jizyah. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the jizyah, seek Allah’s help and fight them.”.
Allah (swt) says,.
“And fight them (on) until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevails justice and faith in Allah, altogether and everywhere.”” [TMQ 8:39].
This third and final stage of Jihad has various implications that should expose many of the misconceptions held about Jihad :
Jihad, contrary to the slander propagated by the West, is not barbaric. In fact, when the Muslims declare war, as offensive Jihad, the purpose is to remove any obstacle in the way of implementing Allah’s (swt) deen, and the fighting is regulated by the rules of the Shari‘ah. Therefore, in the third stage of Jihad after the first two options have failed, the Islamic army, when they enter and fight, are not allowed to kill women, children or the elderly. Nor will they fight civilians who are not supporting or participating in the fighting. Indeed, Islam defines a specific code of conduct for the Muslim army, that ensures justice even in the battle field. These rules include : no destruction of trees or buildings unnecessarily, no ‘civilian targets’, no mutilation of dead bodies, no raping of women, no torturing prisoners of war, etc. This lies in stark contrast with the practices of the kuffar in war, where every conceivable act of barbarity and transgression is perpetrated against the people.
By principle, Jihad is offensive, i.e. the Muslims initiate it to spread the boundary and domain of Islam, and offensive Jihad is the responsibility of the State. The foreign policies of all the existing Muslim regimes, such as Sudan, Iran or Saudi Arabia are clearly in contradiction to this fundamental principle of Islam, for they recognise and accept the national borders and their integrity, as laid down by the ‘International Law.’.
Jihad linguistically means to exert oneself to the utmost. Therefore, the word ‘jihad’ can be used to describe the effort put into studying, working or looking after children etc., but the Shari‘ah definition of Jihad is very specific and is defined by the classical scholars as, “To fight the disbelievers (kuffar) to the utmost, to make the word of Allah (swt) the highest in all the lands (i.e. sovereign).” Therefore, Jihad is linked by the Islamic Shari‘ah to the physical fighting.
Since Jihad by principle is offensive and requires the State, that which is associated with it, i.e. defensive Jihad, is also integral to Islam. However, defensive Jihad, i.e. the repelling of kuffar who fight the Ummah or take her land, is not part of the foreign policy. Thus it is a duty that must be performed by the Ummah, whether they have a state or not.