Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Divisions of the world in Islam
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Major religious divisions== [[File:Regions of the Lands of Islam by al-Muqaddasi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|The lands and cities of the Dar al-Islam in the 10th century, according to the geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]]]] Early Islamic legal theory divided the world into two divisions: "abode of Islam" and "abode of war". The first, called ''dar al-Islam'', sometimes ''Pax Islamica'', consisted of Muslims and non-Muslims living under Islamic sovereignty.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=11}} The second was ''dar al-harb'', ruled by non-Muslims and specifically infidels. Another secondary division of ''Dar al-'Ahd'' was assigned for territories ruled by non-Muslims that have a treaty of non-aggression or peace with Muslims, effectively an intermediate status between the two major divisions. ===''Dar al-Islam''=== {{Main|Muslim world}}'''''Dar al-Islam''''' ({{langx|ar|دار الإسلام}} {{Lit|house/abode of Islam}}; or '''''dar at-Tawhid''''' {{Lit|house/abode of monotheism}}) was a term used by [[Ulama]] (Muslim legal scholars) to refer to those countries under Muslim sovereignty, sometimes considered "the home of Islam"<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.mideastweb.org/Middle-East-Encyclopedia/dar-al-islam.htm |title=Dar al Islam |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Middle East |access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref> or ''[[Pax Islamica]]''.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=11}} ''Dar al-Islam'' meaning "house/abode of Islam" is also referred to as ''dar al-salam'' or "house/abode of peace". In the Quran (10.25 and 6.127) this term refers to [[Jannah|Paradise]] in Heaven.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |publisher=[[Brill (publisher)|Brill]] |location=Leiden |volume=2 |page=128 |first=T. W. |last=Arnold |author-link=T. W. Arnold |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.529972/page/n137 |title=Gagauzes – Gakhar |year=1927}}</ref> Dar al-Islam consisted of Muslims and non-Muslims, with the latter living as ''[[dhimmi]]s'' (protected persons). The non-Muslims had the right to their own law and religion in exchange for paying the [[jizya]].{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=11}} While Muslims enjoyed full civil rights, non-Muslims were given partial civil rights. However, both Muslims and non-Muslims were equal in their claim to security and being protected from attack.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=11}} For example, if an enemy seized dar al-Islam's citizens, the state was obliged to free them, whether they were Muslim or non-Muslim.{{sfn|Fadel|2009|p=534}} Likewise, in foreign affairs, the Muslim government represented both its Muslim and non-Muslim citizens.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=11}} Relations between Muslims and non-Muslims were regulated by "constitutional charters" (special agreements issued by the authorities), and these agreements recognized the personal law of each non-Muslim community (the Jewish community, Christian community etc).{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=11–12}} Non-Muslims could access Islamic courts if they wished.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=12}} According to [[Abu Hanifa]], considered to be the originator of the concept, the requirements for a country to be part of ''dar al-Islam'' are:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544498 |first=Atiya |last=Saqr |title=Concept of Dar al-Harb and Dar al-Islam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021134040/http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FFatwaE&cid=1119503544498 |archive-date=21 October 2006 |date=11 October 2012 |work=[[Islam Online]] |access-date=2 August 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.islamway.com/bindex.php?section=article&id=211 |first=Ahmed |last=Khalil |title=Dar Al-Islam And Dar Al-Harb: Its Definition and Significance |work=English.islamway.com |date=27 May 2002 |access-date=13 March 2011}}</ref> # Muslims must be able to enjoy peace and security with and within this country. # The country should be ruled by a Muslim government.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Black |first1=E. Ann |last2=Esmaeili |first2=Hossein |last3=Hosen |first3=Nadirsyah |author3-link=Nadirsyah Hosen |date=1 January 2013 |title=Modern Perspectives on Islamic Law |publisher=[[Edward Elgar Publishing]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2kngBY-Gu18C&pg=PA42 |isbn=9780857934475 |page=42}}</ref> # It has common frontiers with some Muslim countries. ===Dar al-'Ahd=== '''Dar al-'Ahd''' ({{langx|ar|دار العهد|links=no}} "house of truce") or '''dar al-[[Sulh]]''' ({{langx|ar|دار الصلح|links=no}} "house of conciliation/treaty") were terms used for territories that have a treaty of non-aggression or peace with Muslims.<ref name="oxfordislamicstudies.com"/> Such a division was recognized by [[Shafi'i]] jurists.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=12–13}} But [[Hanafi]] jurists argued that if a territory concluded a peace treaty with dar al-Islam, dar al-Islam was obligated to protect this territory and its people, hence the territory effectively became dar al-Islam.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=12–13}} Thus, Hanafis did not recognize this division.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=12–13}} This designation can be found in the Quran, where Muslims are directed on how they should act in war: {{blockquote|Excepting those who join a people between whom and you there is a treaty, or such as come to you with hearts reluctant to fight you, or to fight their own people. Had Allah wished, He would have imposed them upon you, and then they would have surely fought you. So if they keep out of your way and do not fight you, and offer you peace, then Allah does not allow you any course [of action] against them.|[https://quran.com/4/90 Quran 4:90]}} ===Dar al-harb=== '''''Dar al-harb''''' ({{langx|ar|دار الحرب|links=no}} "house of war") was a term classically referring to those countries which do not have a treaty of non-aggression or peace with Muslims (those that do are called dar al-'Ahd or dar al-Sulh).<ref name="oxfordislamicstudies.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e490?_hi=17&_pos=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528231134/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e490?_hi=17&_pos=3|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 28, 2012|title=Dar al-Harb|work=oxfordislamicstudies.com}}</ref> The notions of divisions of the world, or ''dar al-harb'', does not appear in the Quran or the [[Hadith]].<ref name=Abdel-Haleem2010/> According to some scholars, the term "abode of war" was simply a description of the harsh reality of the premodern world.<ref>{{cite book|title=Jihad, Radicalism, and the New Atheism|author=Mohammad Hassan Khalil|page=19|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=[[Sherman Jackson]]|title=Jihad and the Modern World|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/book/islam-9780195174304/islam-9780195174304-chapter-61|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119071438/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/book/islam-9780195174304/islam-9780195174304-chapter-61|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 19, 2019|quote=Indeed, the 'Abode of Islam/Abode of War' dichotomy, cited ad nauseam by certain Western scholars as proof of Islam's inherent hostility towards the West, was far more a ''description'' of the Muslim peoples of the world in which they lived than it was a ''prescription'' of the Islamic religion per se.|publisher=Oxford Islamic Studies Online}}</ref> According to [[Majid Khadduri]], the fundamental distinction between ''dar al-Islam'' and ''dar al-harb'' was introduced after the defeat of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] at the [[Battle of Tours]] in 732 which prevented the expansion of Islam to the north, while at the same time the expansion of the caliphate to the east had been halted.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4v4cCgAAQBAJ&q=732|title= Muslims and Modernity: Current Debates|author= Clinton Bennet|publisher= [[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|year= 2005|page= 158|isbn= 9781441100504|author-link= Clinton Bennet}}</ref> [[Wahbah al-Zuhayli]] argues that the concept of dar al-harb is mostly historical: "The existence of Dār al-Islām and Dār al-Ḥarb in contemporary times is rare or extremely limited. This is because Islamic countries have joined the United Nations covenant that stipulates that the relationship between nations is peace and not war. Therefore non-Muslim countries are Dār al-‘Ahd ..."<ref>Al-Zuhaylī, Al-Mu‘āmalāt al-Māliyyah, p. 255.</ref> According to Abu Hanifa there are three conditions that need to be fulfilled for a land to be classified as dar al-harb: # Implementation of the laws of the non-Muslims openly and that no rule of Islam is implemented any longer # Bordering another dar al-harb # No Muslim remains safe as he was before the non-Muslims took power. The purpose behind differentiating between dar al-Islam and dar al-harb was to identify the land as either one of safety for the Muslims or of fear. So, if Muslims are generally safe in a land and not in fear, then it cannot be classified as dar al-harb.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fatwas by Mufti Ebrahim Desai » Askimam|url=http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/33637|access-date=2021-09-09|website=askimam.org}}</ref> During [[European colonization]], the status of colonized territories such as [[British India]] was debated, with some saying that it was ''dar al-harb''. However, there was no suggestion that Muslims were therefore required to wage jihad against the colonizers.<ref name="ODI-Islam"/> Under the classical doctrine, it was the duty of Muslim rulers to bring dar al-harb under Islamic sovereignty.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=12}} A state of war was presumed between dar al-harb and dar al-Islam, but this did not necessarily imply that hostilities must occur.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=14}} It was up to the ruler to decide when, where and against whom to wage war.<ref name=johnson/> So in practice there was often peace between dar al-Islam and dar al-harb; formal armistices could last up to 10 years, while informal peace could last much longer than 10 years.<ref name=johnson>{{cite book|author=James Turner Johnson|title=Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions|publisher=[[Pennsylvania State University Press]]|page=63}}</ref> Since ''dar al-Islam'' was considered to be in a state of constant warfare with dar-al-harb unless there was a formal peace treaty, and non-Muslim prisoners of war viewed as a legitimate target of enslavement according to the rules of [[slavery in Islam]], the ''dar al-harb'' was historically used as a slave supply source for the slave trade during the era of [[History of slavery in the Muslim world|era of slavery in the muslim world]].<ref>Alexander, J. “Islam, Archaeology and Slavery in Africa.” World Archaeology, vol. 33, no. 1, 2001, pp. 44–60. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/827888. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.</ref><ref>Wright, J. (2007). The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade. Storbritannien: Taylor & Francis.</ref><ref>Gordon, M. (1989). Slavery in the Arab world. New York: New Amsterdam. p25-26</ref> During periods of a formal peace treaty with a territory in dar al-harb, it was immune from attack by Muslims, and its inhabitants (called ''harbi'') could enter Muslim lands unmolested.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=17-18}} In the absence of a peace treaty, a ''harbi'' could also enter Muslim lands safely if that '''harbi'' first obtained an [[Aman (Islam)|''aman'']] (assurance of protection). It was through such ''aman'' that trade and cultural exchange was conducted between dar al-harb and dar al-Islam.{{sfn|Khadduri|1966|p=17-18}} Any adult Muslim resident of dar al-Islam (male or female, free or slave) could grant such ''aman'' to a ''harbi''.{{sfn|Fadel|2009|p=534}} [[Al-Shaybani]] ruled that even non-Muslim residents (dhimmis) could grant aman,<ref>{{cite book|title=Ottoman Law of War and Peace|author=Viorel Panaite|publisher=[[Brill publishers]]|date=2019|page=166}}</ref> while others sources say non-Muslim residents could not grant aman.{{sfn|Fadel|2009|p=534}}
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)