The terms ‘Darul Islam,’ ‘Darul Harb’ and ‘Darul Kufr’ do not occur in the Quran or Hadith.  These terms were invented for the first time by jurists, during the Abbasid period. According to this terminology—which has nothing to do with Islam, the world was divided into two large regions. The part of the world, ruled by Muslims, was called ‘Darul Islam’ by the Muslims. The rest of the world ruled by others was called ‘Darul Kufr’ (land of kafirs) or ‘Darul Harb’ (land of war) by Muslims. For the Muslims, there were, therefore, these two distinct spheres of influence: the land of Islam, which meant the land where Muslims had full freedom to practice their religion, and the land of war, which meant a place where Muslims had no such freedom. The land of war indicated those areas of the world where Muslims found themselves in unfavourable circumstances and war was imminent at any point in time. The jihad of the present-day Muslims is, in fact, a legacy of this early, potentially unstable situation.

This whole problem has nothing to do with the tenets of Islam, rather it is the creation of early Muslim jurists. This being so, it is essential that every country should be called by its name and no new appellations invented for it. When one country is given the name Darul Islam and the rest of the countries are referred to as a kind of war zone, it gives rise to the concept of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Consciously or unconsciously, one country comes to be held as Islam-friendly, while another country is held to be an enemy. Such a mentality is a major obstacle to the development of a nation, for true progress is inevitably the result of thinking which is universal rather than regional in nature.

The time has come to abandon them totally. Even the expression ‘Darul Islam’ should be dispensed with, given that this term was a latter-day innovation. When the first Muslim city-state was established in Madinah, it was simply called Madinah and not Darul Islam. Muslim rule over Arabia, in Damascus, Cairo, Baghdad and Cordova was never called Darul Islam. It is only in present times that certain Muslim countries applied this name to them. After the establishment of religious freedom, the entire world has become one. Now only one phrase ‘Darul Amn’ (the abode of peace) or ‘Darul Insaan’ (the abode of human beings) may properly be applied to it.

Source: The Prophet of Peace