Is Jihad in accordance with Divine Justice?

This verse tells us that the Taurat provides the Muslim guidance and light. The Holy Torah is composed of the following from the Holy Tanakh (Holy Old Testament Scriptures): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Let us search for guidance and light from the Holy Wisdom bestowed upon the great Prophet Moses:

Genesis 1:26 - "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

Genesis 1:27 - "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

The Holy Torah tells us in the words of the Prophet Moses that all men and women are made in the image of God. This means that men and women are precious among all His creatures because each of us looks like God. For this reason, the great Prophet Moses has written the Ten Commandments of God, among which are:

Exodus 20:13 - "Thou shalt not kill."

In this verse, the word 'murder' is commonly used as a substitute synonym for the word 'kill'. This verse tells us that we should never murder another man or woman. In fact, there can be no peace on earth until the crime of murder is eradicated from all mankind. This admonition is amplified in the Qu'ran:

Sura 2:178 - "O you who believe! Al-Qisas (the Law of Equality in punishment) is prescribed for you in case of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But if the killer is forgiven by the brother (or the relatives, etc.) of the killed against blood money, then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood money, to the heir should be made in fairness. This is an alleviation and a mercy from your Lord. So after this whoever transgresses the limits (i.e. kills the killer after taking the blood money), he shall have a painful torment."

Sura 5:32 - "Because of that We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind. And indeed, there came to them Our Messengers with clear proofs, evidences, and signs, even then after that many of them continued to exceed the limits (e.g. by doing oppression unjustly and exceeding beyond the limits set by Allah by committing the major sins) in the land!."

All faithful Muslims are in agreement with all that has been taught here so far. The Holy Torah also sets forth punishments for transgressors of the Ten Commandments. Some of these include the penalty of putting the transgressor to death. This penalty, however, can only be imposed by the holy people of God. For more information on this topic, we must study further what the Qu'ran would have us do.

Sura 5:46 - "And in their footsteps, We sent 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), confirming the Taurat (Torah) that had come before him, and We gave him the Injeel (Gospel), in which was guidance and light and confirmation of the Taurat (Torah) that had come before it, a guidance and an admonition for Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V.2:2)"

This verse tells us that the Injeel (Gospel) provides the Muslim guidance and light. The Holy Gospel is composed of the the following books from the Holy New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In these books, the faithful Muslim is given the wonderful opportunity to discover the great lessons and Holy Wisdom that came from the mouth of Jesus the Christ. Please note that the Qu'ran tells the faithful Muslim that Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the Christ:

Sura 3:45 - "(Remember) when the angels said: 'O Maryam (Mary)! Verily, Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word ['Be!' - and he was! i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus) the son of Maryam (Mary)] from Him, his name will be the Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), held in honour in this world and in the Hereafter, and will be one of those who are near to Allah.'"

Sura 3:45 is translated by Yusuf Ali as: "Behold! the angels said: 'O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah.'"

Sura 3:45 tells the faithful Muslim that Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the Messiah and the Christ. Therefore, Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the source of Holy Wisdom and guidance and light. "The company of those nearest to Allah" (The Holy Angels of God) give Jesus due honour "in this world and (in) the Hereafter."

Let us turn now to the Holy Gospels to hear what Jesus, the Son of Mary, has to say on the subject of how to treat Law Transgressors:

Matthew 6:22 - "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

Matthew 6:23 - "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"

Matthew 6:24 - "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

Matthew 7:1 - "Judge not, that ye be not judged."

Matthew 7:2 - "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

Matthew 7:3 - "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

Matthew 7:4 - "Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?"

Matthew 7:5 - "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

The plain history of man since the fall of Adam and Eve, our first parents, is that we all have sinned and fall far short of the glory of God. This means that the faithful Muslim should follow the words of Jesus, the Son of Mary, when He says: "Judge not, that ye be not judged." In this way, we can understand that the killing of any man or woman is a justiciable affair and that those who kill another man or woman will be judged by the mechanism of Divine Justice in the manner set forth in Matthew 7:2, "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged." and "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

If we each acknowledge our guilt under the law, (and we should!) we must acknowledge that we will be judged by God for our transgressions. Now, the Gospel tells us some good news concerning our transgressions and the impending Judgment of God:

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3:17 - "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

John 3:18 - "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

John 3:19 - "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

John 3:20 - "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."

John 3:21 - "But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."

Thanks be to our God that He is merciful for our transgressions as long as we do truth and come to the light. The Gospel tells us that we must needs spread the good news and teach all nations to approach the light. We must not kill transgressors. We are called to give service (agape) to transgressors of the law and be merciful to them just as God is merciful to us.

Murder is wrong. Let us all repent of that sin. Then, we can live in peace and harmony in the guidance and light of the Holy Torah and the One Holy Gospel.

Grace and Peace be with you, my beloved brothers and sisters from Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Now, please visit with the Orthodox Christian Priest nearest you to learn more about the Holy Gospel (given to us by God).