Normative Framework of Legitimate Resistance in the Holy Qur’an: A Comparative Analysis of Justice and Ethics in Light of the Just War Doctrine

Talashan, Faraj

doi:10.22054/rjqk.2026.92414.3288

Normative Framework of Legitimate Resistance in the Holy Qur’an: A Comparative Analysis of Justice and Ethics in Light of the Just War Doctrine

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

faraj Talashan

Islamic Knowledge, Humanities and Literature Faculty, Yasuj University, Yasuj, Iran.

10.22054/rjqk.2026.92414.3288

Abstract

The present paper develops a normative framework for legitimate resistance in the Qur’an and compares it to the Just War Doctrine using qualitative content analysis and thematic interpretation of Qur’anic verses. The framework integrates ontological premises of justice, divine authorization, and the prevention of corruption; criteria for initiating hostilities; norms for conduct during conflict; and teleological principles for post-war contexts. It explains the causal link between oppression and resistance and distinguishes legitimate resistance from anarchistic violence. Analyzing 67 verses on Jihād and defense, the study assesses whether the Qur’an provides a justice- and ethics-based model of resistance. Findings show that the Qur’an establishes a framework grounded in justice, divine authorization, and defense that surpasses secular just war theories. This framework is based on three pillars: "Divine authorization as a source of obligation, negation of oppression as the basis for legitimacy, and observance of human limits as the ethical standard." Unlike Western doctrines that focus on state sovereignty, the Qur’anic model includes non-state actors and addresses asymmetric warfare by emphasizing defense of the oppressed. The study’s main innovations are duty-centeredness, justice-centeredness, and the integration of external and internal Jihād. Resistance, in this paradigm, is a divinely mandated ethical duty to restore justice and prevent corruption, subject to requirements such as refraining from transgression, upholding distinction, and prioritizing just peace.

Keywords

Legitimate Resistance

Just War

Holy Qur'an

War Ethics

Normative Framework

Subjects