An Ontological Examination of the Enemy and the Element of Enmity in Politics from the Perspective of the Holy Quran

The realm of politics cannot be conceived apart from conflict and enmity, and many political developments and events find their interpretation and meaning under the concept of enemy. The ever-present possibility of war as the ultimate limit of political struggle, and the readiness to kill and be killed, rely solely on the concept of enemy. Many successes and failures in the arena of politics depend on managing the complex and dynamic relationships of enmity and friendship. The above situation reveals the ancient bond between politics and enmity, highlighting a confrontational aspect of politics and underscoring the importance of addressing the topic of the enemy and the element of enmity. An ontological confrontation with the concept of enemy, and the search for the ontological foundations associated with it within the context of divine revelation in the verses of the Holy Quran, is the approach pursued in this article. The aforementioned foundations make it possible to answer the main question of this text: how the enemy is described and explained in divine revelation, and what factors cause the emergence and continuation of enmity in the arena of politics. Answering the above question requires understanding the verses of the Holy Quran and referring to interpretations that enable comprehension and access to the intent of the verses. In this regard, Quranic exegeses such as al-Mīzān by ʿAllāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī and Tasnīm by Ayatollah Javadi Amoli—which adopt a holistic view of the Quran and pursue the interpretation of verses in light of corresponding verses—will serve as the basis for understanding divine revelation in this text. The concept of enemy and the element of enmity are directly referenced in numerous verses of the Holy Quran, and many themes and concepts such as "jihād," "qitāl," "ḥarb," "fatḥ," and "naṣr" exist in divine revelation that are linked to the concept of the enemy and only gain meaning in the presence of an enemy. The aforementioned verses affirm the existence of the enemy and the presence of the element of enmity within human societies as an undeniable reality. This issue is expressed with greater clarity in the verses that refer to the descent of Adam to earth, presenting the continuous presence of the element of enmity as the first characteristic of life on earth. The research findings indicate that existence is an arena of confrontation between truth (ḥaqq) and falsehood (bāṭil), and their existential opposition leads to enmity between the followers of truth and falsehood within the context of human social life. An ontological engagement with the concept of the enemy in this framework reveals that the emergence of enmity depends on two sets of factors: agential and structural. From an agential perspective, the existential nature of human beings—a composite of intellect, free will, and freedom alongside anger and desire, with contradictory forces residing within—provides the groundwork for enmity to arise. From a structural perspective, the arena of human social life, surrounded by inherent limitations, becomes a domain of conflict and competition; these oppositions culminate in the manifestation of enmity within human communities. Furthermore, divine ordinances and boundaries, possessing a real essence and intrinsically linked to the structures of the cosmic order, respond to human thoughts and actions. The emergence of enmity constitutes one of the structural reactions to the violation of divine limits. Resolving enmity requires convergence around an axis upon which the existential innate nature (fiṭra) of human beings is established. This axis finds meaning within the governing structure of the universe and the laws upon which existence is sustained, shaped by divine ordinances and boundaries. Consequently, the emergence of enmity
in human societies is directly linked to people's failure to follow truth and divine commands. If all people steadfastly adhered to divine ordinances and boundaries, enmity would have no possibility of arising. The verses of divine revelation that designate the righteous as inheritors of the earth herald a future in which adherence to divine commands becomes universal, rendering the ideal of a human society free from the element of enmity within reach.