Misquoting Quran: 2:216 || Jihad Series

2:216

كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

Fighting has been made obligatory upon you ˹believers˺, though you dislike it. Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Battle has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.

— Saheeh International

The first mistake in this translation is that this Quranic verse actually does not use the word "Jihad". This verse actually uses the word "Qital", which refers to physical fighting. Fighting is ordained for Muslims in order to defend themselves and their rights, as well as the rights of others. The obligation to physically defend one's rights, and to establish justice was elaborated on in the previously mentioned article on Jihad. It is sufficient to quote a verse from the Quran in this regard:

4:75

And what is it with you? You do not fight in the cause of Allah and for oppressed men, women, and children who cry out, “Our Lord! Deliver us from this land of oppressors! Appoint for us a saviour; appoint for us a helper—all by Your grace.”       

It is most certainly a duty of all human beings to help each other from oppression and injustice. This is what Islam teaches. Commenting on verse 2:216, Abdullah Yusuf Ali writes:

To fight for the cause of Truth is one of the highest forms of charity. What can you offer that is more precious than your own life? But here again, the limitations come in. If you are a mere brawler, or a selfish aggressive person, or a vainglorious bully, you deserve the highest censure. (Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran, Text, Translation and Commentary)

Therefore, the fighting ordained by God in the Quran is the fighting to establish justice and security in the land, and this is a duty upon all human beings. We will always hope for peace, but we must realize that without justice, freedom, rights, and equity, peace will never be able to survive. Likewise, in verse 2:216, Abdul Majid Daryabadi writes:

War, it has been truly saying, is sanctioned by the law of nature - the constitution of man and the constitution of society - and is at times a biological and sociological necessity. Islam, the ideal and practical religion has allowed it, but only in cases of sheer necessity. (Daryabadi, The Glorious Quran, emphasis added)

Islam has designated war as the last resort and only in cases of sheer necessity, in order for us to defend the rights of ourselves and others. Also, the picture becomes even more clear when we take into consideration the historical context of the revelation. Abdullah Yusuf Ali goes on to explain the historical context in his commentary on verse 2:217:

The intolerance and persecution of the Pagan clique at Mecca caused untold hardships to the holy Messenger of Islam and his early disciples. They bore all with meekness and long-suffering patience until the holy one permitted them to take up arms in self-defense... (Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran, Text, Translation, and Commentary)

In light of the above quote, it becomes apparent that fighting has been specially ordained in conditions of severe persecution and hardship. Consequently, Muslims are required to defend themselves from oppression and establish justice. To abstain from helping those under oppression is cowardice. Abdul Majid Daryabadi also explains the historical context of the verse:

Persecuted, harassed, afflicted, poverty-ridden, exiled, and small in number as the Muslims were at the time of the enactment of warfare, it was but natural that they were none too fond of crossing swords with the mighty forces that had conspired for their extirpation. Nothing short of express and emphatic Divine Command could urge them on to the field of battle [in order to defend their rights]. And yet the Islamic jihads are declared to be 'designed by the Prophet to satisfy his discontented adherents by an accession of plunder!' (Margoliouth). Such is this European scholar's love of veracity! Such is his wonderful reading of history! (Daryabadi, The Glorious Quran)

The commentary on this verse makes it very clear that Muslims have always understood this verse as the legal right to defend one's rights from the forces of oppression, but never to transgress limits in defense.

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