The Book of Allah prohibits waging wars of aggression. But rulers bent upon enlarging the empire craved a "religious" justification for waging unlawful wars of aggression. They wanted to wage wars of aggression under the banner of Islam. Accordingly, the reinterpretation of the religion of reconciliation required an alteration of the teaching of revelation on jihad. Teachings on fighting in the Book of Allah were "abrogated" and replaced by teachings from traditions. The justification for wars of aggression required a turn from revelation to tradition. In procedural terms, the reinterpretation of the teaching of peace as an agenda for war required the replacement of key rulings of the Book of Allah by rulings in the traditions. Replacing rulings of the Book of Allah with rulings in traditions required treating tradition as "revelation." The treatment of tradition as "equal to" and a "part of" revelation required a relapse into shirk, scriptural as well as juristic. Prioritizing tradition rather than revelation, in particular the tradition which teaches that "the blood of the kafir is halal for the believers," brought the umma into wars with non-Muslims. These wars brought the umma to its knees. Renewal requires a return to the Book of Allah and the true tradition of the prophet, which was to adhere to the Book of Allah rather than books of traditions. Extremists are triggering tragedies to befall the umma. Saddam Hussein triggered self-destruction of Iraq by waging unlawful wars against neighbouring states. A million persons died in Iraq alone. In Afghanistan, the Taliban provoked reprisals for sheltering terrorists. Another million persons died in the bombings of Afghanistan. In 1258, the Abbasids slaughtered traders from Mongolia in cold blood, stealing their property, and even murdering three ambassadors dispatched by Genghis Khan to ask for justice. A further million Muslims died in the reprisals by the Mongols. Hawkish ulama are fanning the flames of terrorism. Even acts of terrorism are justified by extremists. The provision of a "religious" justification for waging unlawful wars of aggression required a corruption of knowledge. The corruption of knowledge was enabled by the repression of reason. The repression of reason assisted the treatment of tradition as "revelation." The repression of reason also assisted in the reversal of the relationship between revelation to tradition. The "abrogation" of the verses of reconciliation by the verses of the sword transformed the religion of peace into a religion of war. These turns of events produced troubling effects. The repression of reason and predestination rendered the umma backward in empirical knowledge and technology. The alleged "abrogation" of the verses of reconciliation by the "verse of the sword" enabled the articulation of jihad al-talab. The concept of jihad al-talab treats waging unlawful wars of aggression as a sixth pillar of Islam. It rendered the umma aggressive, which eventually resulted in defeats. Islam of tradition differs from the Islam of revelation. Flawed presuppositions warped the epistemology of Islam. A series of procedural "lapses" transformed the religion of reconciliation into a religion of war. These aberrations defy revelation. They were expressions of anti-rationalism. There is a misperception that Salafis and reformers differ about whether the umma requires "more" or "less" Islam." This is a flawed perspective. The challenge confronting the umma is not between "more" or "less" Islam; the challenge is choosing between "real" and "bogus" Islam. Real Islam is explained in the Book of Allah; bogus Islam is the version shaped by politics. The bogus version lured the umma into the politics of aggression and "propagating" Islam by the sword. Muslim empires fell because they replaced real Islam with a bogus version. As a result, Muslims veered from the right path. They began to follow different paths.