“Those who have been attacked are given permission to defend themselves because they have been unjustly oppressed – God is powerful enough to save them – and the same applies to those who have been unjustly chased from their homes just because they said: ‘Our Lord is God!’ If God had not stopped certain people by means of others, monasteries, synagogues, churches and mosques where the Name of God is invoked often would have been demolished. Yes God will save those who help His cause. God is, in truth, strong and powerful.” (22:39-40)

أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا ۚ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِير
الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِن دِيَارِهِم بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّا أَن يَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَامِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَاتٌ وَمَسَاجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسْمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا ۗ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ {سورة الحج ٣٩-٤٠}

So, the Quran authorises people to fight and explains the conditions where fighting is justified, such as defending the right to remain in their homes and upholding their freedom of belief. In addition, the Quran guarantees victory to these people over their enemies if they continue along the right path in alignment with God’s methods and goals.

The Quran also wants to emphasise that the right of the weak to resist and confront the strong who are oppressing them is part of the natural laws that have been laid down to make humans feel secure in life and in their religious beliefs. If this law had not been in existence, no system would ever have survived on earth and no moral principles or sacred things would have endured. It is also the legitimate and natural justification for people to fight and destroy the enemies of freedom and of life itself, because in this way we can realistically build a way of life based on a just system.

Furthermore, the Quranic verses seek to assure those who help or fight for the cause of God that their final victory is guaranteed if they continue to support His cause, using His methods. One of these methods is morale boosting and reminding them that theirs is God’s battle; a battle that He Himself watches over with all His power. This is the realistic way in which the Quran stirs the souls of the weak into action, musters their strength and courage in the fight against those who oppress, exhorting them to rely on their individual strength and, firstly and lastly, on God. The Quran shows the weak that they always had and still do have strength – a strength they were not aware of, because of their preoccupation with the powerful appearance of their oppressors.

Excerpt taken from the book: Islam and the Logic of Force, by Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (p. 50-51)