By Ahmad Aziz
Jihad in Islam is a clear and sacred concept, grounded in explicit religious rulings, defined boundaries, and noble objectives. Among these objectives are the protection of religion, the safeguarding of life and human dignity, and the establishment of justice. Yet in the modern era, groups such as ISIS have distorted this elevated and holy concept, manipulating the name of jihad to justify violence, killing, and destruction.
In truth, what this malicious organization has carried out is not jihad but a stark doctrinal deviation, thinly veiled in religious language. Under Islamic law, jihad is bound by strict conditions, legitimate purposes, and lawful leadership. It never permits the killing of innocents, the declaration of Muslims as unbelievers, or the dismantling of societies, acts that ISIS has repeatedly committed in recent years while daring to classify them as jihad.
ISIS has weaponized the term jihad for the advancement of its political and ideological goals, ripping it from the ethical, rational, and moral framework that the Sharia demands. Many within its ranks, uninformed about the group’s true nature, selectively quote verses of the Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet, presenting a shallow, literalistic, and extremist interpretation of the faith.
The world must recognize that the brutality, terrorism, and atrocities that result in the deaths of women, children, and the elderly have absolutely no basis in Islam and stand in total opposition to its teachings. Those who perpetrate such crimes must be publicly condemned by Islamic scholars, and every possible effort must be made to halt the spread of this violent extremism.
Ultimately, the core of the ISIS problem lies in a corruption of belief and a deviation in methodology. This misled faction employs takfir, declaring others to be unbelievers, in a sweeping, unrestrained, and radical manner. They have gone so far as to denounce nearly ninety percent of Muslims and even the most respected scholars of Islam. With alarming ease they deem Muslim blood lawful, and from their emergence until today, their primary focus has been the killing and destabilization of Muslims, acts they grotesquely label as jihad.
Their behavior mirrors that of the Khawarij during the earliest period of Islam, the same group the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) described as extremists who stray from the path of truth. The actions of ISIS have caused not only the death and displacement of thousands of innocent civilians but have also severely tarnished Islam’s global image and deepened division and weakness across the Muslim world.
By exploiting the revered name of jihad, ISIS has committed one of the most profound betrayals imaginable against the religion of Islam. True jihad exists only within the legal, moral, and spiritual framework of Sharia, not within extremism, takfir, and the shedding of innocent blood. Strengthening authentic religious knowledge and returning to a balanced and genuine understanding of Islam remains the only effective path for confronting such dangerous and deviant movements.
