Editing Divisions of the world in Islam (section)

{{Short description|Islamic demarcation of Muslim and non-Muslim lands}}
{{Islam}}

In classical [[Islamic law]], there are three major '''divisions of the world''' which are ''dar al-Islam'' ({{Lit|territory of Islam}}), denoting regions where Islamic law prevails,<ref name="ODI-Islam">[https://web.archive.org/web/20121213060209/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e491 Dar al-Islam] The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</ref> ''dar al-sulh'' (lit. territory of treaty) denoting non-Islamic lands which are at peace or have an armistice with a Muslim government,<ref name="ODI-sulh">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100527104027/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e496 Dar al-Sulh] The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</ref>  and ''dar al-harb'' (lit. territory of war), denoting lands that share a border with ''dar al-Islam'' and have not concluded an armistice.<ref name=ODI-harb>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100527092824/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e490 "Dar al-Harb"], ''The Oxford Dictionary of Islam''</ref> Muslims regard Islam as a universal religion and believe it to be the rightful law for all humankind. Muslims are imposed to spread [[Sharia|Sharia law]] and sovereignty through lesser [[jihad]] against ''dar al-harb''. According to Islam, this should first be attempted peacefully through [[Dawah]]{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}. In the case of war, Muslims are imposed to [[Dhimmi|subject]]{{clarify|date=August 2024}}, or eliminate fighters until they surrender or seek peace.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yazdani |first=Abbas |date=December 2020 |title=The culture of peace and religious tolerance from an Islamic perspective |url=http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0718-92732020000300151&lng=es&nrm=iso&tlng=en |journal=Veritas |issue=47 |pages=151–168 |doi=10.4067/S0718-92732020000300151 |issn=0718-9273|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The Arabic singular form ''dar'' ({{lang|ar|[[wikt:دار#Arabic|دار]]}}), translated literally, may mean "house", "abode", "structure", "place", "land", or "country". In [[Fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]] it often refers to a part of the world. The notions of "houses" or "divisions" of the world in [[Islam]] such as ''dar al-Islam'' and ''dar al-harb'' does not appear in the [[Quran]] or the [[hadith]].<ref name=Abdel-Haleem2010>{{cite book|last1=Abdel-Haleem|first1=Muhammad|author-link=Muhammad Abdel-Haleem|title=Understanding the Qur'ān: Themes and Style|url=https://archive.org/details/understandingqur00hale|url-access=limited|date=8 Sep 2010|publisher=I. B. Tauris & Co Ltd|isbn=978-1845117894|page=[https://archive.org/details/understandingqur00hale/page/n76 68]}}</ref> According to [[Khaled Abou El Fadl|Abou El Fadl]], the only ''dar''s the Quran speaks of are "the abode of the Hereafter and the abode of the earthly life, with the former described as clearly superior to the latter".<ref name = kaef2007>{{cite book|last1=Abou El Fadl|first1=Khaled|author-link=Khaled Abou El Fadl|title=The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists|date=January 23, 2007|publisher=HarperOne|isbn=978-0061189036|page=227}}</ref>

Early Islamic jurists devised these terms to denote legal rulings for ongoing [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]] almost a century after [[Muhammad]]. The first use of the terms was in Iraq by [[Abu Hanifa]] and his disciples [[Abu Yusuf]] and [[Al-Shaybani]]. Among those in the [[Levant]], [[Al-Awza'i]] was leading in this discipline and later [[Al-Shafi'i]].

The concept of ''dar al-harb'' has been affected by historical changes such as the political fragmentation of the Muslim world.<ref name="ODI-harb"/> The theoretical distinction between ''dar al-Islam'' and ''dar al-harb'' is widely considered inapplicable, and many contemporary Islamic jurists regard the [[Western world]] as part of the former, since Muslims can freely practise and proselytize their faith in Western countries.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Jocelyn|last=Hendrickson|title=Law. Minority Jurisprudence|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|editor=John L. Esposito|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2009|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t236/e0473|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326194942/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t236/e0473|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 26, 2016}}</ref> The Qur’an directs Muslims to spread the message of Islam worldwide declaring it to be a religion for all humankind.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Use of Force under Islamic Law | website=academic.oup.com | url=https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/24/1/343/438602 | access-date=24 November 2024}}</ref>