Sanctity of human life in war: A Shia Glance

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Assistant Professor of political science at Tarbiat Modarres University

Abstract

The terms “war” and
“peace” go back to historical eras and the concept of war and its rules and
regulations have improved since then. Islam has also paid special attention to
war and tranquility, and has defined the rights of those involved in combats. According
to holy Qur’an, human beings are considered as valuable and sacred and thus
respectable, on the other hand it emphasizes on fighting with atheists and
skeptics. The question is which of these are true according to Islam; battle or
peace, violence or the sanctity of human body? This paper’s purpose is to
define the interrelation between war as a violent act and observing human’s
sanctity in Islamic beliefs. Therefore the paper explains the political aspect
of humanity in shia view and then reviews the meaning of war and the role
“Jihad” plays in Shies’ ideas. The gamut of war and peace is determined this
way. The paper presumes that not only Islam has never disapproved of war but
also considers it necessary under special circumstances, which is called “defending
Jihad”.

War, peace, dignity, man, Islam, Shi'a

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