Jihad
By Muhammed Abdul Malek

A great deal of misconception exists, particularly in the West, with regard to the meaning of the word Jihad in Islam. In reality jihad is a duty of Muslims to commit themselves to a struggle on all fronts -- moral, spiritual and political, to create a just and decent society. It is not a 'holy war' against the non-believers as is commonly understood. The phrase 'holy war' was coined by the West in its struggle against the Muslims during the time of the Crusades (a war instigated by the Church for religious gain). There are other words in Arabic which are more appropriate to use in a war situation, if war was the principal purpose of Jihad. Examples of such words are harb (war) and ma'araka (battle). The Qur'an could have used these instead of Jihad, if the intention was the declaration of war. Here I find it very useful to quote from Haji Ibrahim Golightly as he was answering a question on Jihad. I quote the section where he was clarifying the meaning of Jihad:

"Jihad means to strive or make an effort, usually in an Islamic context, so that anything
which requires an effort to be made is Jihad and the person doing it is a mujahid. The media would
have us believe that it is fighting and killing in the name of Allah. It is certainly in the name of Allah,
but, as usual, the media have corrupted the meaning so that they can apply its new meaning to
'fundamentalist Muslims', basically any Muslim who does not subscribe totally to the Western way of life.

Making time in a busy schedule to study the Qur'an; going to a halal butcher rather than the
closest or most convenient one; discussing Islam with both Muslims and non-Muslims and helping
them to understand it better; studying ayat (signs), both of Qur'an and in nature and science, in order to increase ilm, or knowledge; setting other Muslims a good example and showing non-Muslims the true way of Muslims; are all examples of Jihad in daily life. Jihad is the effort made, not just against internal and external evils, but also to live at peace with oneself and one's community (Muslim and non-Muslim)".

Finally he concluded his answer by saying: "simply explaining the true meaning of Jihad to those who do not know, is Jihad in itself".12

In fact, the implication of the word Jihad, like all other words, can only be judged in the context of
the Qur'anic verses in which it is used. The following are some typical verses, with appropriate
comments, to indicate what the Qur'an implies by Jihad. The material below, including most of the
translations, are based on Maulana Muhammad Ali's book 'The Religion of Islam'.13

(22:78) And strive hard (jahidu) for Allah with the endeavour which is right. ...

The jihad implies that one should exert one's self to the utmost ability i.e moral, spiritual or political,
for the cause of Allah; to establish Allah's Deen, without resorting to war

(29:6) And whoever strives hard (jahada), he strives (yujahidu) only for his own soul, that is for his
own benefit, for Allah is altogether Independent of (His) creatures.

(29:69) And those who strive hard (jahadu) for Us, We will certainly guide them in Our ways, and
Allah is surely with the doers of good.

The Arabic word jahadu is derived from jihad, and the addition of fi-na (for Us) shows, that jihad,
in this case, is the spiritual striving to attain nearness to Allah, and the result of this jihad is stated to
be Allah's guidance for those striving in His ways. (25:52) So do not follow the unbelievers and
strive hard (jahid) against them a mighty striving (jihad-un) with it.

The personal pronoun 'it' refers clearly to the Qur'an, as the context shows. It is a struggle (jihad) to
win over the unbelievers, not with the sword but with the Qur'an.

(66:9) O Prophet! Strive (jahade) against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with
them.....

Here the Prophet is asked to carry on a jihad against both unbelievers and hypocrites. The
hypocrites were those who were outwardly Muslims and lived among Muslims, and were treated
like Muslims in all respects. They came to the mosque and prayed with the Muslims. A war against
them was unthinkable and none was ever undertaken. They sometimes fought along with the Muslims against the unbelievers. Therefore the injunction to carry on a jihad against both the unbelievers and hypocrites could not mean the waging of war against them. It was a jihad in the same sense in which the word is used in the above verses, a jihad carried on by means of the Holy Qur'an as expressly stated in 25:52, a striving hard to win them over to Islam. Jihad in both 25:52 and 66:9 is used in the moral and political sense. Again, it does not imply war.

(2:218) Lo! Those who believe, and those who emigrate (to escape the persecution) and strive hard
(jahadu) in the way of Allah, these have hope of Allah's mercy. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

(8:74) Those who believed and left their homes and strove hard (jahadu) for the cause of Allah, and
those who took them in and helped them -- these are the believers in truth. For them is pardon, and
a bountiful provision.

(3:142) Or deemed ye that ye would enter Paradise while yet Allah knoweth not those of you who
strive hard (jahadu), nor knoweth those (of you) who are steadfast?

In all these verses jihad is used in the general sense of striving hard, morally, spiritually, and in our
day to day life. In all cases jihad implies a struggle in Allah's ways to achieve an objective, without
resorting to war.