There are two aspects to the struggle of the Indian independence movement under Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. These two aspects have been exemplified in the independence movement by Gandhi as:

1. Civil Disobedience

2. Home Rule

The main ideology behind the Civil Disobedience movement was to defy the laws made by the British. It was the active, professed and non-violent refusal to obey the laws and commands of the British government in India. It was a message to the British rulers of India that, ‘We will not accept your rule and your laws over us.’ It was a demand to ‘Quit India’. Another instance of the civil disobedience movement was the non-violent protest against the British-imposed salt tax that led to the famous Dandi Salt March.

'Civil Disobedience' was a temporary movement, whereas 'Home Rule' has a permanent significance.

The second feature of the independence movement under Gandhi was Home Rule, also called Self Rule or Swaraj. This meant self-governance and independence from foreign domination. It advocated the discarding of the British political, economic, bureaucratic, legal, military and educational institutions and laying a foundation for a democratic and independent India.

In his struggle for Indian independence, Gandhi had given Indians two campaigns, but their validity was not the same. Civil Disobedience was a temporary movement, whereas Home Rule has a permanent significance. There is absolutely no relevance for Civil Disobedience in India today.

This matter is not restricted only to the independence struggle under Mahatma Gandhi but is a natural outcome of every mission and every struggle. In every mission—whether it is a religious mission or a political one—there are certain issues that are temporary and others that are permanent. In a similar manner, there are two such terms used in the Quran:

1. ‘Jihad bil Quran’ — Jihad with the Quran

2. ‘Qital’ also known as ‘Jihad bil saif’ — Jihad as war

What is meant by Jihad with the Quran?

The Quran is a book which brings glad tidings to mankind along with divine admonition and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of truth. The objective of the Quran is to make man aware of the creation plan of God. It makes a man serious about life, gives him high thinking that develops a God-oriented personality or divine personality in man. Jihad with the Quran means to take all these aspects of the Quran and make every effort to imbibe them in one’s life and convey them to mankind so that not a single human being is unaware of them. This is true Jihad and only to make clear this meaning the following verse in the Quran was revealed, 'wa jahid hum bihi jihadan kabeera'. (strive with the utmost strenuousness by means of this — THE QURAN 25:52) This kind of struggle is not just Jihad but according to the Quran it is the Jihadan kabeera or Greater Jihad.

What is meant by Qital or Jihad bil saif?

Another related term that is used in the Quran is ‘qital’ which means war. In this connection, the Quran says: 'And fight—do war against—them until there is no more fitna.' (THE QURAN 8: 39) In this verse, fitna means religious persecution. The obvious and literal meaning of this verse proves that according to the Quran, qital is a temporary command. It was a directive only until religious persecution remained and as soon as it was put to an end, the command or directive itself was nullified. That is if it is eliminated then the command for war is also eliminated.

God desired that the system of religious persecution be eliminated and the natural system of religious freedom be established.

Due to the prevailing political philosophy of the earlier times, there was a culture of religious persecution all over the world. This philosophy and culture functioned against the creation plan of God as it was a withdrawal of the God-given freedom to man. God desired that this contrived system of religious persecution be eliminated and the natural system of religious freedom be established. In order to achieve this end, God commanded the Prophet and his companions to remove this false system at any cost even if it required engaging in war.

The Prophet and his companions accomplished this command of God and at a limited level, religious persecution was exterminated. All the verses related to qital that appear in the Quran are in relation to the accomplishment of this mandate. In the present age with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteeing religious freedom to all, the validity of qital is now defunct.

Now, man has complete freedom with regards to religion, but people want to do battle for political benefit and power.

In order to better understand this matter, consider a tradition attributed to Abdullah ibn Umar, a companion of the Prophet (Fathul Bari, 8/60). After the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, when political conflict ensued between Abdullah ibn Zubayr and the Umayyads, Abdullah ibn Umar, stayed away from the battle.

People approached him and asked, 'Why are you are not taking part in this battle, although God has commanded in the Quran to fight them until there is no more fitna?' Abdullah ibn Umar replied, 'I have fought in battles until fitna was eliminated and the religion became God's. But you want to fight again so that it returns once more and religion becomes that of others besides God.' This incident is better known in history as the fitna of Abdullah ibn Zubayr.

It is clear from this tradition of Abdullah ibn Umar that the fitna that is mentioned in the Quran relating to this command was religious persecution. He said that they had fought in battles to eradicate religious persecution. Now, man has complete freedom with regards to religion, but people want to do battle for political benefit and power and in this way bring back the fitna in the form of political persecution! The war against fitna was a war of limited duration, temporary in nature and meant to be engaged in only until its specific purpose had been served.

In the Gandhian movement, although there were two terms that were used to identify the freedom struggles as explained above, everyone knows that their relevance was not the same. In the same manner, Jihad and Qital, the two terms that are used in the Quran and elaborated above do not have the same relevance. In the Quran, the matter related to Jihad bil Quran has an eternal relevance whereas the verses related to Qital or Jihad bil saif cannot have any permanent significance. Their relevance was only a temporary one.

If this difference is not appreciated and one were to start a Civil Disobedience movement saying that it has a permanent relevance, such a person would be using Gandhi's name to spread dissension and disorder in the country. In the same manner, with religious freedom throughout the world, if one were to start a campaign for Jihad bil saif (Qital) saying it is a permanent commandment of God just as Jihad bil Quran, then such a person would only be using the name of Islamic reformation to spread disorder and dissension in society. All such movements would be totally un-Islamic and have nothing to do with Islamic teachings.