featuring Asma Afsaruddin, Ubaydullah Evans …

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Asma Afsaruddin

Indiana University

Asma Afsaruddin specializes in the religious and political thought of Islam, Qur’anic hermeneutics, hadith, and gender studies.

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Ubaydullah Evans

Guest Host

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The Limits of Aggression

“Violence is to be avoided at all costs unless it becomes an existential necessity.” —Asma Afsaruddin

Asma Afsaruddin argues that jihad (martial engagement) as articulated in the Qur’an and by numerous classical Muslim scholars is primarily defensive in nature. The crux of her argument relies on relevant verses from the Qur’an and prominent Sunni exegetes such as Ibn Abbas, Mujahib ibn Jabbar, and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. These commentators, writes Asfaruddin, argue that the Qur’an only authorizes Muslims to retaliate against those who aggress upon them. In conversation with Ubaydullah Evans, Asma Afsaruddin draws out the major arguments of her recent article Justice, Nonaggression, and Military Ethics in Islam.

Recommended Reading

Justice, Nonaggression, and Military Ethics in Islam, Asma Afsaruddin

A New History of the Prophet of Islam ﷺ, Juan Cole and Hamza Yusuf