warfare in Islam

February 20, 2014

Uhud & Hunayn: Lessons from the Frontline

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien puts these words into the mouth of the brave though modest Faramir (younger brother to the brave but impulsive Boromir): ‘War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the Continue reading

activism, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, politics & society, sirah & sacred history, theology

Arab spring, battle of Uhud, conspiracy theories, disobedience is a cause for defeat, gaining God’s help, humbleness before God, humility in battle, Ibn al-Qayyim, jihad, Prophet’s attitude to war, sins remove God’s blessings, warfare in Islam
October 17, 2013

The Greater Jihad: Is it Just a Myth?

Muslim scholars have long identified two types of jihad (lit. “striving” in God’s cause): an outer form of jihad and an inner one. The outward jihad refers to state-sanctioned military force (i.e. armed combat), which is waged defensively to protect both religion and realm; or offensively to combat tyranny, or protect the innocent and defenceless Continue reading

correctives & clarifications, salafism reconsidered

ego, greater jihad, jihad al-nafs, lesser jihad, nafs, spiritual struggle, tasawwuf, tazkiyat al-nafs, warfare in Islam
May 23, 2013

Terrorism is to Jihad as Adultery is to Marriage

For the past four days I had been working on the following article, which I intended to post yesterday evening. However, I then heard about the vile and sadistic act of violence carried out by two men with knives and a meat cleaver in Woolwich. So I thought it best to review the blog post in Continue reading

activism, contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, politics & society, theology

extremism, Islam and the sanctity of human life, Islamism, jihad, political Islam, rules of engagement in jihad, terroris, types of jihad, warfare in Islam, Woolwich murder

About Me

My name is Surkheel Sharif (aka Abu Aaliyah). Born and raised in London, England, I began my more formal, but gradual studies of the Islamic sciences around the late 1980s (just a few years after having quit my degree in Astrophysics). I also gained an MA in Islamic Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, in 2009.

I’ve translated a few Islamic works from Arabic into English; one of them, a short text on Muslim spirituality, called The Exquisite Pearl (2000). I have also authored a few books, including: More Fish Please & the Earth’s Complaint (2011); Fussing Over the 15th of Sha’ban & the Golden Rule of Differing (2011); A Muslim’s Guide to Modernity (2025); and Salafism Reconsidered (forthcoming)

I am the founder and current Director of the Jawziyyah Institute (est. 1999): a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating an Islam true to its time-honoured tradition, relevant to its current context, and of benefit to wider society.

warfare in Islam

Uhud & Hunayn: Lessons from the Frontline

The Greater Jihad: Is it Just a Myth?

Terrorism is to Jihad as Adultery is to Marriage