Refuting the Islamic Argument that Jihad and Jizya "Have Everything to Do" with the Old Testament
1. The first of all is know that Israel’s wars in the Old Testament were specific judgments, not religious expansion like in Islam. The Quran (Surah 9:29) commands fighting all non-Muslims until they submit to Islam (paying the jizya in humiliation). In contrast, Israel’s wars in the Old Testament were divine judgments against nations that had reached extreme levels of depravity, such as:
- Human sacrifice (burning children for Molech – Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31).
- Divination with corpses and entrails (Deut. 18:10-12).
- Ritual mutilation and self-harm (1 Kings 18:28).
- Cultic prostitution and orgies in temples (Lev. 18:24-25; Deut. 23:17-18).
- Cannibalism during siege (2 Kings 6:28-29).
God did not order the destruction of these peoples for "not believing in Him," but because their practices were inhuman abominations that corrupted the land (Lev. 18:27-28).
In Islam, however, the command is clear: attack all pagans, whether aggressive or peaceful (Surah 9:5). Additionally, the Quran institutes the jizya (a humiliating tax) on Jews and Christians until they submit (Surah 9:29). Hadiths reinforce this mindset, such as the narration where Muslims will be saved from Hell while Jews and Christians will take their place (Sahih Bukhari 2447).
2. There is historical and prophetic records which show that foreigners who did not commit such crimes were spared and accepted. Unlike Islamic jizya (forced submission of non-Muslims), the Bible records voluntary conversions of pagans who abandoned idolatry:
- Rahab (a Canaanite – Joshua 6:25).
- Ruth (a Moabite – Ruth 1:16).
- The Ninevites (they repented – Jonah 3:10).
- Naaman (a Syrian – 2 Kings 5:17).
None of them were forced to convert under threat of death or humiliating taxes. The Bible also records peaceful alliances with non-Israelite peoples, such as:
- Abraham with Abimelech (Genesis 21:22-34).
- Isaac with the Philistines (Genesis 26:26-31).
- Moses among the Midianites (Exodus 2:15-22).
- Solomon with Hiram of Tyre (1 Kings 5:1-12).
- The Queen of Sheba visiting Jerusalem in peace (1 Kings 10:1-13).
God even forbade Israel from attacking Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites (Deuteronomy 2:4-6, 9, 19), showing there was no indiscriminate war against non-believers.
Furthermore, the Bible explicitly condemns oppressing foreigners (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33-34), while the Quran commands fighting all who do not accept Islam (Surah 8:39; 9:29; 47:4).
3. Islam ignores the scriptural principle of the "Time of Judgment", God waited 400 years before judging the Amorites (Genesis 15:16) and gave Nineveh 40 days to repent (Jonah 3:5-10). In contrast, Islamic jihad does not wait for repentance—it demands immediate submission, or death, enslavement, or payment of the jizya (Surah 9:5; 8:39; 9:29).
Worse still: Islam orders the death of apostates who repent and wish nomore to leave the faith (Kitab al-Hudud, Hadith 12), while the Bible shows God giving multiple chances before judgment (Jeremiah 18:7-8).
4. While Islam maintains jihad as a perpetual commandment, Jesus and the apostles rejected violence in the name of faith:
- "All who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).
- "The kingdom of God does not come with observation" (Luke 17:20).
- "Do not resist an evil person" (Matthew 5:39).
Paul further reinforces: "Do not take revenge, but leave room for God’s wrath" (Romans 12:19). Islam has no equivalent to this.
5. The true God in the book he inspired declares: "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways" (Ezekiel 33:11). Yet Allah commands: "Kill the idolaters wherever you find them" (Surah 9:5).
While the Old Testament shows a God who judges specific nations for heinous crimes, the Quran commands the universal subjugation of all non-Muslims, regardless of their character.
