The Holy Quran, a fountain of wisdom and a guide for humanity in all aspects of life, including foreign policy and international interactions, offers through its profound and clear verses guiding principles for living in a turbulent world. Among these, verse 75 of Surah An-Nis and verses 56 and 63 of Surah An-Nahl serve as guiding beacons, delineating foreign policy based on justice and support for the oppressed, and through divine oaths, inviting human beings to contemplate disbelief, doubt, and disobedience. This treatise, with a deep examination of these verses and related narrations, seeks to elucidate the principles of Islamic foreign policy and the philosophy underlying divine oaths. Its aim is to present the exalted Quranic concepts in a clear and dignified language within a coherent and scientific framework, thereby serving as a pathfinder for scholars and seekers of truth.
وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلَهَا
Why do you not fight in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed among men, women, and children who say: Our Lord, deliver us from this town whose people are oppressors?
This noble verse, with a clear and forceful expression, summons the believers to strive in the path of Allah and to support the oppressed. The phrase "in the cause of Allah" delineates a sublime objective that transcends ethnic, national, or geographical interests. This verse establishes Islamic foreign policy upon justice and defence of the oppressed, and demonstrates that jihad is not limited to military combat but may also manifest in the form of strategic politics and prudent governance. The phrase "this town whose people are oppressors" refers to any society where injustice and oppression overshadow men, women, and children. This verse imposes a divine duty upon believers not to remain silent in the face of tyranny but to rise for the liberation of the oppressed.
Jihad in the way of Allah, as articulated in the noble verse, primarily manifested during the early Islamic period through the sword and military combat. However, in the modern world, this concept requires re-examination within the framework of strategic policy. Today, Islamic foreign policy must design proactive and intelligent strategies by utilising Quranic principles, so that instead of passivity towards enemies, the global arena is transformed in favour of justice and truth. This verse calls believers to initiative in the face of oppression, showing that true good lies not merely in military power but in wise politics that guide authority.
Verse 75 of Surah An-Nis, by emphasising jihad in the way of Allah and support for the oppressed, provides a framework for an Islamic foreign policy centred on justice and transcending limited interests. This verse invites believers to rise against tyranny and to devise intelligent policies, which in the modern world require an increasingly profound Islamic political science.
All good is in the sword and under the shadow of the sword, and people will not be reformed except by the sword.
This narration from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), recorded in Wasail al-Shiah (Volume 11, Chapter on Jihad, Hadith 1), underscores the pivotal role of military power (sayf) and the authority deriving from it (dhil al-sayf) during the early Islamic era. The term sayf means sword and dhil al-sayf signifies the authority emerging from a drawn and ready sword, not one sheathed and merely ornamental. The distinction between sayf and rim lies in that the latter indicates a sharp, battle-ready sword. This narration emphasized the necessity of military readiness for societal reform and defence of truth in its time; however, in the modern era, this concept must be reinterpreted in the light of scientific politics.
Today, complete good is not found solely in military power, but rather in politics that direct authority towards justice and truth. As the sword in its sheath is merely ornamental and creates no good, military power without the backing of wise politics cannot transform the global arena in favour of Islam. This narration implicitly encompasses both internal and external societal reform; yet in the modern world, politics as the science and art of guiding authority holds a central role.
The narration All good is in the sword and under the shadow of the sword highlights the importance of authority in societal reform. However, in the contemporary world, this authority must be directed by scientific and strategic politics. This reinterpretation underscores the urgent need to define the science of Islamic politics.
وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ نَصِيبًا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ ۗ تَاللَّهِ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنْتُمْ تَفْتَرُونَ
And they assign to what they do not know a share of that which We have provided for them. By Allah, you will surely be questioned about what you used to fabricate.
This noble verse, by the divine oath By Allah, emphasises the severity of the sin of disbelief and falsehood. Allah, who is free from any weakness, swears to draw the attention of heedless humans to the consequences of disbelief, polytheism, and wrongful accusations against the Almighty. This oath signifies human incapacity to accept the truth, not any weakness in God. Disbelief and falsehood root in ignorance and doubt, and this verse, with a forceful expression, stresses the inevitable accountability for these acts.
تَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمَمٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ فَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُمُ الْيَوْمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
By Allah, We certainly sent [messengers] to nations before you, but Satan adorned to them their deeds; so he is their guardian today, and they will have a painful punishment.
This verse, with the divine oath By Allah, underscores the disobedience of previous peoples and Satans influence over them. Satan, by beautifying evil deeds, prevents humans from accepting the message of the prophets. The phrase so he is their guardian today indicates that humans, due to their greater affinity with Satan, choose him as their protector, resulting in painful torment. This verse reveals the intensity of doubt and hesitation in humans and demonstrates that the divine oath is an effort to attract human attention to the truth.
The divine oaths in verses 56 and 63 of Surah An-Nahl serve to draw the attention of heedless and sceptical humans. Allah, who is free from all weakness, swears to highlight human incapacity to accept the truth and their susceptibility to Satans influence. Just as a vehicle stuck in a pit that accelerates futilely only wears down its tyres, heedless humans resist the truth. The divine oath is an attempt to remove this deficiency and attract human attention. These oaths are employed where humans, due to ignorance, doubt, or disbelief, drift away from the truth.
Verses 56 and 63 of Surah An-Nahl, through divine oaths, emphasise human inability to accept the truth and their susceptibility to Satans influence. These oaths represent Allahs effort to attract the heedless humans attention and signify human weakness before the truth, not any weakness of the Almighty.
One of the great challenges within the Islamic system is the absence of a clear and scientific definition of politics based on Quranic and narrational principles. The science of Islamic politics, which should be founded on verses such as verse 75 of Surah An-Nis and narrations like All good is in the sword, has yet to be established within educational and political institutions. The lack of specialised universities or academic disciplines in this field has led politicians to act unscientifically and based on general knowledge. This results in unprincipled and crisis-inducing decision-making.
Politicians who operate without scientific political knowledge are like singers who perform without understanding musical modes and rely solely on a pleasant voice, or like unskilled drivers who endanger the road with clumsy manoeuvres. Such unscientific politicians, through unprincipled decisions, steer society towards crises. The Islamic system requires politicians who master Quranic principles and possess profound worldviews.
Islamic foreign policy must abandon passivity and, through initiative, transform the global arena in favour of Islam. Rather than merely defending against problems created by enemies, it must strengthen Islamic authority by creating crises among them (for instance, through the prayer, O Lord, occupy the oppressors with one another). This strategy demands scientific politics and precise planning so that believers become orchestrators rather than reactors.
The example of Australia, which remains under British political influence,
