http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e490
This is a pretty good definition of the first, Dar al Harb / Dar al Harab. While it says the term has little relevance today because of the fragmentation of the Ottoman empire, that’s not true, because the terrorists- ISIS in particular- do indeed think of themselves as the Islamic state/empire reborn.
This is a good definition though, because most other sources attempt to redefine it to mean simply any non-islamic state at war with Islam [leaving the reader to assume it means the nonislamic stste initiated hostility.] But that’s not at all what it means, and it is a deliberate effort to eliminate the fact that it actually means any nonislamic state that is in a state of resistance to an Islamic demand for it to convert to Islam - in other words, the aggressor is actually the Islamic state and it is the Islamic state making the demand to convert. They of course ddon’t see that as aggression on their part, they see it as defiance of Allah.
These dar al Harb / dar al whatever terms do not appear in the Quran but arose later in Iraq during islamic ascendency and the ideas spread from there. The problem with islam is that much of it in practice doesn’t even come from their “holy book,” but from hadiths and later tradition, largely political rather than theological tradition developed when it was one empire..
From “Answering Islam” :
DAR ...
The Arabic word Dar, meaning abode, house, dwelling, habitation, land, country is combined with many other terms to specify a locality where a certain rule or condition holds.
By far the most important is the division of the world in DARU ‘L-ISLAM and DARU ‘L-HARB.
In the following some further concepts, some classical, some of them modern:
•Daru ‘l-’Adl is the “Abode of Justice”.
•Daru ‘l-’Ahd (Abode of Covenant)
The Daru ‘l-’Ahd is a means by which Muslims can solve the dilemma that they have created for themselves through migration and immigration: how can one live as a true Muslim while living in a non-Islamic state? The Dar al-’Ahd is a non-Muslim state in which there is an agreement between Muslims and non-Muslims that each must respect the other’s right to practice their own religion. (Source)
•Daru ‘l-Bid’ah, being the “Abode of Heresy” or “Abode of Innovation” is where there has been a deliberate fabrication of Islamic Traditions, or Hadith, by various sects of Muslims in order to support their political and theological views.
•Daru ‘l-Baghy is the “ Abode of Usurpation” or where there is a heretical revolt against Caliphal authority, as in the case of the Najdi rebellions - where the most famous revolt was led by Musaylima.
•Daru ‘l-Maslubah (Abode of Pillaged Land)
•Daru ‘s-Salaam (Abode of Peace) is used nearly interchangably with DARU ‘L-ISLAM (Abode of Islam).
•Dar al-Sulh, is also at times translated as “the abode of peace” where Muslims, due to military/political stalemate, can have a treaty and conclude agreements with non-Muslims.
However, lasting peace is always a peace where the Muslims dictate the conditions, note The Islamic Concept of Peace. It would be more correct to translate sulh as truce or armistice in this context. Classical Islamic law only knows the division in the area where Islam rules and the area that is not yet subjugated to Islamic rule, called Daru ‘l-Harb. Permanent peace treaties with unbelievers are considered invalid. It is the command of Allah that the believers should fight until Islam rules supreme. A truce is only an option as long as the Muslims are not yet strong enough to win a war and become dominant.