The strategy for readiness against the enemy in reading 60th verse of Surah Al-Anfal

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Theology and Islamic Sciences, Imam Sadegh Islamic Sciences Research Institute

2 M.A. graduate, Imam Sadegh Islamic Sciences Research Institute

Abstract

In 60th verse of Surah Al-Anfal, God calls the believers to be ready against the enemy. Based on the principle “our politics is the same as our religion”, the main concern of this article is extracting a strategy from this verse about readiness against the enemy which could show the role of religion in achieving independence. Finding out the meaning of the key words of this verse, such as A’daad, Ghovvah, Rebat Al-Khayl, Adow and Rahab would better explain Quran’s strategy on readiness against the enemy. Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach and using a bibliographical method and Quran-to-Quran analysis, this article tries to explain the general meaning of the verse and its subsequent strategy by lexical and interpretative reference and rational arguments. The purpose of readiness is to create a kind of persistent fear, along with cautious, anxiety and abjection among the opposite group which is provided by the full readiness of the Islamic government and also the Islamic Ummah. With regard to the scope of the verse, it refers to the absolute readiness against all kind of enemies, whether overt or covert. The related domain and also the means to provide readiness, encompass all areas in accordance with creating the readiness against the enemy and preventing the dominance of the enemies on the Islamic government and society. Although the reference of the verse could not be just to military readiness, according to the precision of some interpreters and citing some Hadiths, military readiness could be explored as an important and undeniable case of this verse. Generally speaking, important principles could be extracted from this verse, the most important of which are: the authenticity of defense and deterrence in Islam, the formation of a respectful relationship based on honor, the legitimacy and necessity of spending budget and tax revenues to buy or prepare means of deterrence, especially in the defense and security affairs, and being careful not to be surprised in international interactions.

Keywords