What is the meaning of Jihad?

Literally, jihad means doing one’s utmost to realize a goal. It is not the equivalent of war, for which Arabic and the Qur’an use qital. Jihad has a wider connotation and embraces every kind of striving in God’s cause. A mujahid is devoted to his or her cause; uses all physical, intellectual, and spiritual capacities to serve it.

Jihad’s related principle, that of amr bi al-ma‘ruf wa nahy ‘an al-munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil), seeks to convey the benefits of Islam to everyone and to convince them to abandon all of their evil practices. The Qur’an calls Muslims the model community, one required to communicate the Prophet’s message to humanity and to live Islam, just as the Prophet did: Thus, We have made you a community justly balanced, that you might be witnesses for all humanity, and the Messenger may be a witness for you (2:143).

Does Jihad have any aspects or dimensions?

The first Revelation to God’s Messenger was the command Read! (96:1). As there was hardly anything to read at that time, the intended meaning was that believers should use their intellectual and spiritual faculties to discern God’s acts, as well as His laws related to creating and operating the universe. Doing so will allow believers to purify themselves and their minds of all superstitions and, through observation and contemplation, acquire true knowledge.

We are more than our minds, and thus have many faculties that must be satisfied. While feeding our minds with the Divine signs seen in the universe, we can cleanse our hearts of our sins. Such a balanced life leads to a greater awareness of being seen by God and seeking His forgiveness. This seeking, if sincere and continuous, enables us to break our carnal self’s desire for what is forbidden and to turn it, through prayer, to good deeds.

The command Read! thus signifies an action. Being absolutely pure in spirit and without superstition, God’s Messenger understood that he would have to start his mission by reciting the Revelation and explaining God’s signs to his people. Through this process, he would purify their minds of superstition and their hearts of sin. He would enlighten them, intellectually and spiritually, by explaining the Revealed Book of God (the Qur’an) and the Created Book (the universe) to them:

We have sent among you, of yourselves, a Messenger who recites to you Our signs, purifies you, and instructs you in the Book and in the Wisdom, and also instructs you in what you know not. (2:151)

The greater and lesser jihad

Jihad has two aspects: fighting against superstition, wrong belief, carnal desire, and evil inclinations in the quest of intellectual and spiritual enlightenment (the greater jihad); and encouraging others to strive for the same goal (the lesser jihad).

The lesser jihad does not refer only to striving on battlefields. Being comprehensive in nature, it includes every action from speaking out to presenting oneself on the battlefield when necessary—but only if it is done for His sake. Speaking or keeping silent, smiling or frowning, joining or leaving a meeting, and all other actions taken to help individuals or communities can be considered part of this type of jihad.

The lesser jihad seeks to mobilize all material facilities and is performed in the outer world, whereas the greater jihad is a personal struggle against one’s carnal self. These two forms of jihad cannot be separated. Only those who defeat their carnal selves can perform the lesser jihad, which, in turn, helps those engaged in the greater jihad.

Those who abandon the lesser jihad are liable to spiritual deterioration and subsequent recovery. Everything praises and glorifies God with each breath and thus is a sign of God’s Existence and Unity, a sign that may guide them to the Straight Path. For this reason, there are as many paths leading to the Straight Path of God as the breaths of all His creatures. Those who return from the lesser jihad can be captivated by such worldly weaknesses as pride, love of comfort and ease, and may think it is time to relax and indulge in such things. This is why the Prophet warned his Companions once when they were returning to Madina after a victory:

We are returning from the lesser jihad to the greater. However, to secure God’s help and protection and to be successful in the greater jihad, in fighting against animal desires and impulses, depend upon supporting His religion. If people want to be safe from going astray, their aim in life must be to strive for God’s sake, and all of their actions, even the simplest (i.e., eating, sleeping, choosing, and training for a job, etc.) must be directed toward this objective. God declares in the Qur’an: O believers! If you help [the religion of] God, God will help you and make your feet firm [in practicing your religion and against Satan, your carnal selves, and enemies]. (47:7)

The Prophet combined perfectly these two aspects of jihad. He displayed monumental courage on battlefields. ‘Ali, one of the most courageous Muslims, stated that the Companions took shelter behind the Prophet at a battle’s most critical moments. For example, when the Muslims experienced a reverse and began to scatter during the first phase of the Battle of Hunayn, the Prophet urged his horse toward the enemy lines and shouted to the retreating Muslims: “I am a Prophet, this is no lie! I am the grandson of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, this is no lie!”

This bravest of all people was also the most devout worshipper of God. He was consumed with love and awe while praying, and all who saw him felt great tenderness for him. He frequently fasted every other day or even several days in a row. Sometimes he would stand almost the whole night in prayer, which would cause his feet would to swell. Sahih al-Bukhari records that once ‘A’isha thought such prayer excessive and asked him why he prayed so much, seeing that God had forgiven all of his sins. His reply: “Shall I not be a grateful servant to God?”

The Messenger of God sometimes prayed without waking his wife. Such Traditionists as Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Haythami relate from ‘A’isha that once she woke up and saw that the Messenger was not beside her. Thinking he might be with another wife, she became jealous and started to get up. But then her hand touched the Prophet’s feet, and she realized that he was prostrating in prayer, saying: “O God, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, in Your forgiveness from Your punishment, and with You from You. I am not able to praise You as You praise Yourself.”

What is Islam's attitude toward terror?

Although it is useless to discuss whether Islam allows terror, since our consciousness and minds are manipulated for years to make us believe that Islamic belief causes terror, we should say a few words on this topic. But before Islam’s stand against terror, we should remind that this topic is a new one introduced after 1991 in order to create a new enemy front against the Western hegemony in the world. It is Muslims in the world who have been terrorized for centuries, not who have terrorized others. Those who employ some figures from the Muslim world whom they have trained as terrorists are the same powers that accuse Islam of allowing terror.

Any terrorist activity, no matter who does it and for what purpose, is the greatest blow to all religious and humanistic values. For this reason, no one—and certainly no Muslims—can approve of any terrorist activity. Terror has no place in one’s quest to achieve independence or salvation. It costs the lives of innocent people.

If a ship is carrying nine criminals and one innocent person, Islam does not allow the ship to be sunk to punish the nine criminals.

Books about Jihad