Jihād

التعريف

Striving against the self, against Shayṭān, against open evil with the hand/tongue/heart, and the legislated armed jihād under a Muslim ruler. Not equivalent to terrorism, which Islam condemns.

الاشتقاق والجذر

From ج-ه-د (j-h-d), 'to exert effort'. Jihād is exerting one's utmost capacity in the path of Allah.

الاستخدام في القرآن

'And strive (jāhidū) in the cause of Allah with the striving due to Him' (al-Ḥajj 22:78). 'Go forth, light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah' (at-Tawbah 9:41).

الاستخدام في السنة

'The mujāhid is the one who strives against his own self in the obedience of Allah' (Tirmidhī, ṣaḥīḥ — Aḥmad). Asked which jihād is best: 'A word of truth before a tyrannical ruler' (Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī — ṣaḥīḥ).

ملاحظات علمية

Categories (Ibn al-Qayyim, Zād al-Maʿād): jihād against the soul (the greatest), against Shayṭān, against the disbelievers, against the hypocrites. Armed jihād has strict shurūṭ — declaration by the legitimate Muslim authority, distinction between combatants and non-combatants, prohibition of treachery, mutilation, and harming women, children, elderly, monks, and crops.

مفاهيم خاطئة شائعة

(1) That jihād = terrorism — false; targeting civilians, suicide bombings, and non-state militancy violate every condition. (2) That jihād = only inner struggle — false; armed jihād is also legislated within its conditions. (3) That every Muslim individually decides when to wage it — false; this is the prerogative of legitimate authority.

التطبيق العملي

Begin with jihād an-nafs: the daily war against laziness in worship, anger, lust, and arrogance. Speak truth in your circles when wrong is normalised. Support oppressed Muslims through duʿāʾ, charity, and lawful means.

المزيد من General Terms