What does the Quran say about violence and war?

What does the Qur’an actually permit?

Fighting those who fight you. Qur’an 2:190 gives the permission and the limit in one sentence: fight in the way of God those who fight you, but do not transgress — indeed, God does not like transgressors. Qur’an 22:39-40 describes permission being given to those who are being fought because they were wronged, and notes that were it not for God checking people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques — in which God’s name is much mentioned — would have been demolished. The stated justification is defence, and the passage explicitly includes the places of worship of other faiths among what is protected.

What about 2:191, "kill them wherever you find them"?

It belongs to a passage, and the passage is short enough to read whole. Qur’an 2:190 sets the limit. Qur’an 2:191 continues that they may be killed wherever they are overtaken and expelled from where they expelled you, describing persecution as worse than killing — and in the same verse forbids fighting at the Sacred Mosque unless attacked there first. Qur’an 2:192 then states: if they cease, God is Forgiving and Merciful. Qur’an 2:193 closes it — if they cease, there is no aggression except against the oppressors. So the passage opens with a limit, closes with a cessation clause, and twice makes the fighting conditional on the other side continuing. Quoting the middle of it alone reverses its sense.

What about 9:5, the "sword verse"?

The same pattern, and the verse that follows it is the one almost never quoted. Qur’an 9:5 instructs, when the sacred months have passed, fighting the polytheists — and then, within the same verse, states that if they repent, establish prayer and give zakat, their way is to be left open. Qur’an 9:6 goes further: if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, grant it to him so that he may hear the words of God, and then deliver him to his place of safety. The instruction is to protect and escort to safety a member of the very group named in the previous verse. Qur’an 9:4 and Qur’an 9:7 also except those who honoured their treaties, instructing that their treaties be completed. The passage addresses a specific breach of a specific treaty, not a standing instruction.

What limits does the Qur’an place on fighting?

Several, stated in the text. No transgression of limits Qur’an 2:190. Cessation when the other side ceases Qur’an 2:192. Acceptance of peace whenever it is offered — if they incline to peace, incline to it and rely upon God Qur’an 8:61. And Qur’an 4:90 states that if they withdraw and offer peace, God has given you no way against them. Qur’an 60:8 adds that God does not forbid dealing kindly and justly with those who have not fought you over religion or driven you from your homes, and that God loves those who act justly.

Does the Qur’an allow forced conversion?

It forbids it. Qur’an 2:256 states plainly: there is no compulsion in religion — truth has become distinct from error. Qur’an 10:99 asks whether the Prophet would compel people to believe, having noted that had God willed, everyone on earth would have believed. Qur’an 18:29 states the matter as a choice: the truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve. The Qur’an treats belief as something that cannot meaningfully be coerced, which is why compulsion is ruled out rather than merely discouraged.

What does the Qur’an say about the value of a single life?

Qur’an 5:32 is among the most quoted verses in the book, and deservedly. It states that whoever kills a soul — unless for a soul or for corruption in the land — it is as if he had killed all mankind, and whoever saves one, it is as if he had saved all mankind. The verse is addressed in the context of the Children of Israel, presenting the principle as one previously decreed rather than newly announced.

Common questions

Does the Qur’an promote violence?

It permits fighting against those who fight, and states the limits in the same passages: do not transgress Qur’an 2:190, stop when they stop Qur’an 2:192, accept peace when offered Qur’an 8:61 Qur’an 4:90. It also equates killing one soul unjustly with killing all mankind Qur’an 5:32.

What does the sword verse really say?

Qur’an 9:5 instructs fighting after the sacred months pass, and in the same verse says to let them go their way if they repent and establish prayer. Qur’an 9:6 then instructs granting protection to any who seek it and escorting them to safety.

What does jihad mean in the Qur’an?

The root means to strive or exert effort. The Qur’an uses it for striving in God’s cause in several senses, including with one’s wealth, and armed fighting is generally denoted by a different word, qitāl, as in Qur’an 2:190.

Does the Qur’an allow forcing people to become Muslim?

No. Qur’an 2:256 states there is no compulsion in religion, and Qur’an 18:29 frames belief as a choice — whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve.

The Surahs this page draws on

Every verse quoted above comes from one of these chapters. Each is set out in full — why it was revealed, and what it teaches.

• 2. Al-Baqarah — The Cow
• 4. An-Nisa — The Women
• 5. Al-Maidah — The Table Spread
• 8. Al-Anfal — The Spoils of War
• 9. At-Tawbah — The Repentance
• 10. Yunus — Jonah
• 18. Al-Kahf — The Cave
• 22. Al-Hajj — The Pilgrimage
• 60. Al-Mumtahanah — She That Is to Be Examined