arthra

It's interesting that the verses of Surih Ar-Rum (The thirtieth Surih) verses 1-4

"The Roman Empire has been defeated-
In a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious- Within a few years. With Allah is the Decision, in the past and in the Future: on that Day shall the Believers rejoice-"

were believed to have been revealed seven years before the Hijrah or corresponding to the years 615-616 of the Christian era..

see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith_...in_Sura_al-Rum

This was at a time when the Sassanids had conquered Damascus in 613 and Jerusalem in 614.. Egypt had also fallen to them in 615-616 so really the Byzantines were believed to have been defeated in every major battle and on the verge of destruction.. and this was when the verses were revealed. Many of the detractors who were then pagans among the Quraysh derided Prophet Muhamamd and His revelations..

A decisive victory by the Byzantines occurred in 622 CE at Issus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_battle_of_Issus

and

Also known as the 'Third Battle of Issus', the battle was fought between the Eastern Roman Emperor (or 'Byzantine Emperor') Heraclius and the Sassanid Empire at the strategic ground near the small riverine town of Issus below the difficult inland mountains in 622, now in the Turkish Province of Hatay. Emperor Heraclius transported his army through the Aegean sea and unexpectedly defeated the Persian army in the decisive battle of Issus.

and later at the Battle of Nineveh in 627 CE the fortunes of the Byzantines and the Emperor Heraclius were victorious over the Sassanids.

An article on the Battle can be found at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nineveh_(627)

arthra

The verse it refers to:

It is found in Surih 54 al-Qamar 9 (The moon) verses 1-2:

The Hour (of Judgment) is nigh, and the moon is cleft asunder.
But if they see a Sign, they turn away, and say, "This is (but) transient magic."

( A. Yusuf Ali)

It refers to the Judgement Day..

You have similar verses in the Bible where the stars fall to the earth.

The stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree drops its fruit when it is shaken by a strong wind.

- Revelation 16:13

Do you believe the stars will literally fall to the earth? Most people believe it is symbolic.

There is also an expression..

Even should they see the moon cleft asunder they will turn away..

It doesn't mean the moon itself was cleft asunder literally. Sure you will find some who believe it had to be a literal event but recall the Hadiths relating this as a literal event were collected a few hundred years later after the events they reputedly relate..

arthra

The pure definition of Jihad is as follows:

Jihad (Arabic: jihād, ‘striving, exerting oneself’).

There are at least two explanations for Jihad..

One as spiritual struggle against evil and

two, defensive war allowed in the Qur'an..

In my view and this is just my personal idea this was allowed to prevent a repeat of the crucifixion of Christ.. as there were pagans who attempted to execute Prophet Muhammad.. Ali you'll recall took His place and stood in front of the assassins of Mecca while the Prophet with Abu Bakr made His way to Medina..



After that Allah permitted the Muslims to defend themselves against attack.

Has the concept been misused in history.. Yes I think so it was begun by the later Umayyads who took on a more imperialist expansion of their Caliphate..

The view of "Just War" was taken up you'll note by the Catholic Church was not unlike that of Jihad accepted in Islam.

Finally let me say that Baha'u'llah abrogated Jihad as defensive war in His dispensation:

"Ye have been forbidden in the Book of God to engage in contention and conflict, to strike another, or to commit similar acts whereby hearts and souls may be saddened."

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Par. 148, Pages: 72-73)

"We have abolished the law to wage holy war against each other. God's mercy hath, verily, encompassed all created things, if ye do but understand."

[Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, par. 42, p. 25.]