164 Jihad Holy War Verses in the Koran

Compiled by Yoel Natan

www.yoel.info/Koranwarpassagesformat.htm (383 KB)

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I. Introduction

II. Horizontal List of Verses  III. Vertical List of Verses

IV. Excerpts of Verses  V. Full-text of Verses (With Bolding)

VI. Footnotes

I. Introduction

A. Jihad Verse Selection Criteria

Each of the 164 Jihad verses in this list was selected based on how clearly and directly it spoke about Jihad, at least when considered in its immediate context. Most of the listed passages mention a military expedition, fighting, or distributing war spoils. Verses NOT generally listed are those that speak about aspects of Jihad other than raiding, fighting and looting, such as:

Z Muhammad’s poor opinion of those who did not go on Jihad, even though they were able-bodied and able financially (for instance, some verses in K 009:081-096),

Z The heavenly rewards for Jihadists, and

Z The many generic mentions of “victory” found in the Koran.

Such omitted verses can readily be found in proximity to the Jihad verses listed below.

B. Related Issues

     Abrogation is a reoccurring topic whenever verses of the Koran are discussed. As a rule, later verses counseling Holy War, such the Sword Verse (K 009:005), abrogate earlier verses counseling tolerance and peace, such as K 002:256. The Sword Verse is just one of the 164 Jihad verses listed below. It follows that not many, if any, of the Holy War verses in this list are abrogated.

     The list gives the verses in the order they occur in the Koran, but this is not the chronological order the verses were written. To gain a deeper understanding of the verses, one can study these verses in chronological order, and also consult articles and commentaries for the historical context. A good place to start is Rev. Richard P. Bailey’s article, “Jihad: The Teaching of Islam From Its Primary Sources—The Quran and Hadith,” www.Answering-Islam.org/Bailey/jihad.html.

II. Horizontal List of Verses

In text-only format

The Koran’s 164 Jihad Verses: K 002:178-179, 190-191, 193-194, 216-218, 244; 003:121-126, 140-143, 146, 152-158, 165-167,169, 172-173, 195; 004:071-072, 074-077, 084, 089-091, 094-095,100-104; 005:033, 035, 082; 008:001, 005, 007, 009-010, 012, 015-017, 039-048,057-060, 065-075; 009:005, 012-014, 016, 019-020, 024-026, 029,036, 038-039, 041, 044, 052, 073, 081, 083,086, 088, 092, 111, 120, 122-123; 016:110; 022:039, 058, 078; 024:053, 055; 025:052; 029:006, 069; 033:015, 018, 020, 023, 025-027, 050; 042:039; 047:004, 020, 035; 048:015-024; 049:015; 059:002, 005-008, 014; 060:009; 061:004, 011, 013; 063:004; 064:014; 066:009; 073:020; 076:008

In table format

Ch.	The Koran’s 164 Jihad Verses	# per Sura	Running Count
002	178-179, 190-191, 193-194, 216-218, 244	10	10
003	121-126, 140-143, 146, 152-158, 165-167, 169, 172-173, 195	25	35
004	071-072, 074-077, 084, 089-091, 094-095, 100-104, 141	18	53
005	033, 035, 082	3	56
008	001, 005, 007, 009-010, 012, 015-017, 039-048, 057-060, 065-075	34	90
009	005, 012-014, 016, 019-020, 024-026, 029, 036, 038-039, 041, 044, 052, 073, 081, 083, 086, 088, 092, 111, 120, 122-123	27	117
016	110	1	118
022	039, 058, 078	3	121
024	053, 055	2	123
025	052	1	124
029	006, 069	2	126
033	015, 018, 020, 023, 025-027, 050	8	134
042	039	1	135
047	004, 020, 035	3	138
048	015-024	10	148
049	015	1	149
059	002, 005-008, 014	6	155
060	009	1	156
061	004, 011, 013	3	159
063	004	1	160
064	014	1	161
066	009	1	162
073	020	1	163
076	008	1	164

III. Vertical List of Verses

The Koran’s 164 Jihad Verses

1	2:178	26	3:156	51	4:103	76	8:57	101	09:029	126	29:69	151	59:05
2	2:179	27	3:157	52	4:104	77	8:58	102	09:036	127	33:15	152	59:06
3	2:190	28	3:158	53	4:141	78	8:59	103	09:038	128	33:18	153	59:07
4	2:191	29	3:165	54	5:033	79	8:60	104	09:039	129	33:20	154	59:08
5	2:193	30	3:166	55	5:035	80	8:65	105	09:041	130	33:23	155	59:14
6	2:194	31	3:167	56	5:082	81	8:66	106	09:044	131	33:25	156	60:09
7	2:216	32	3:169	57	8:001	82	8:67	107	09:052	132	33:26	157	61:04
8	2:217	33	3:172	58	8:005	83	8:68	108	09:073	133	33:27	158	61:11
9	2:218	34	3:173	59	8:007	84	8:69	109	09:081	134	33:50	159	61:13
10	2:244	35	3:195	60	8:009	85	8:70	110	09:083	135	42:39	160	63:04
11	3:121	36	4:071	61	8:010	86	8:71	111	09:086	136	47:04	161	64:14
12	3:122	37	4:072	62	8:012	87	8:72	112	09:088	137	47:20	162	66:09
13	3:123	38