Know Thine Enemy

[Third in a series.]

Jihad

Holy war? No, it means striving. Perhaps we should return briefly to Muslim Book 019, Number 4294.
What could make a war holy? Lets turn to the Qur'an for guidance about striving.
It is better for you to strive hard with your life and wealth; failure to do so will land you in the fire.  But what is this "cause of Allah" bit? Perhaps there is a hadith to explain it.
The best man is he who strives his utmost in Allah's cause.  The Mujahid will be rewarded with Paradise or booty.  A single endeavor of fighting is better than all possible worldly gain.  Fighting in Allah's cause is to make his word  superior; in essence, to make Islam dominate the world..  That reminds me of an ayat.
Allah sent the Qur'an to be made superior over all alternatives, by force of arms.  To verify this, we turn next to the translator's notes.     Is this holy fighting really a high priority to Allah?  
    We  learned something significant from those ayat.
[Take a bathroom break; relieve the pressure you don't want to risk ruining your furniture. ]

    Is that holy fighting optional or mandatory?
It is ordained for Muslims, that means it is mandatory, not an ala carte item.  

    Who are Muslims commanded to fight?
There are two discreet commands to fight, against disbelievers and against people of the book. Both commands are fight until loops.  Fight them until only Allah is worshiped.  Fight them until they submit and pay extortion.  Those are generally applicable, open ended commands. Their effect is not limited to a particular time or place. We will find ahadith to confirm these facts.
Muhammad was sent to all mankind, to fight the people, from his first day as a profit in 610 and the war continues until Judgment Day.  Does this clear it up for you?

BCP