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Jihad (Template:Lang-ar jihād) is an Islamic term, from the Arabic root jhd ("to exert utmost effort, to strive, struggle"), which connotes a wide range of meanings: anything from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith to a political or military struggle to further the Islamic cause. The meaning of "Islamic cause" is of course open to interpretation. The term is frequently translated into English as "holy war", although jihad can apply to more than just warfare. Mainstream Muslims consider jihad to be the most misunderstood aspect of their religion by non-Muslims. The Islamic religious legitimacy of the goals or methods of various Islamist movements who adopt the terminology of jihad is often brought into question, usually by moderate and liberal Muslims.

A person who engages in any form of jihad is called a "mujahid", meaning "striver" or "struggler". This term is most often used to mean a person who engages in fighting, but, for example a Muslim struggling to memorize the Qur'an is a called a mujahid. The neologism jihadist is sometimes used to describe militant Islamic groups, including but not restricted to Islamist terrorism (c. f. Jihadist organizations and Rules of war in Islam).

Different usages

Jihad is a complicated concept in Islamic doctrine. The Arabic word "jihad" means "to struggle" or "to strive." In as much as jihad is a struggle, it is a struggle against all that is perceived as evil in the cause of that which is perceived as good, a cosmic and epic struggle spanning time and all dimensions of human thought and action, and transcending the physical universe. Muslims often do not refer merely to "jihad" but to jihad fi Sabilillah (in the path of God).

Muslims generally classify jihad into two forms, jihad al-akbar, the greater jihad, is said to be the struggle against one's soul (nafs), while jihad al-asgar, the lesser jihad, is external and is in reference to physical effort, ie. fighting. Traditional Muslim scholars explained there are five kinds of jihad fi sabilillah (struggle in the cause of God): jihad of the heart/soul ( jihad bin nafs/qalb) , jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan), jihad by the pen/knowledge (jihad bil qalam/ilm), jihad by the hand (jihad bil yad), and jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif). [1] "Jihad of the heart/soul" is an inner struggle of good against evil in the mind, through concepts such as tawhid. Jihad by the tongue is a struggle of good against evil waged by writing and speech, such as in the form of dawah (proselytizing), khutbahs (sermons), and political or military propaganda. Jihad by the pen and knowledge is a struggle for good against evil through scholarly study of Islam, ijtihad (legal reasoning), and through sciences (such as military and medical sciences). Jihad by the hand refers to a struggle of good against evil waged by actions or with one's wealth, such as going on the Hajj pilgrimage (seen as the best jihad for women), taking care of elderly parents, providing funding for jihad, political activity for furthering Islam as a political movement, stopping evil by force, or espionage. Jihad by the sword refers to qital fi sabilillah (armed fighting in the way of God, or holy war).

Historian, sociologist, and orientialist Maxime Rodinson summarized (perhaps too simplistically) that "Jihad is a propagandistic device which, as need be, resorts to armed struggle - two ingredients common to many ideological movements." (Maxime Rodinson. Muhammad. Random House, Inc., New York, 2002. p. 351).

General theological issues

Greater and lesser jihad

Some Muslims believe that the non-violent jihad is the "greater jihad" and the violent jihad is the "lesser jihad." This belief has its origins in a hadith. The Sufis are particularly known for supporting this tradition, though some Sufis prefer to use the Arabic word mujahada instead of "greater jihad." Islamic scholar and alleged founder of Salafi thought, Ibn Taymiyya, famously criticized this hadeeth and went so far as to say that "Jihad against the disbelievers is the most noble of actions, and moreover it is the most important action for the sake of mankind." [2] . Although he didnt consider the concept of Greater Jihad wrong . As related from him by Ibn al-Qayyim toward the very end of Rawdat al-Muhibbin: "I heard our Shaykh say, 'The jihad of "nafs" (the inner self) and "hawa" (desires) is the foundation of jihad of the disbelievers and hypocrites; one cannot do jihad of them before he first does jihad of his nafs and hawa, then he goes out and fights them.'"Ibn al-Qayyim too writes about the jihad of the ego as the "prime" (al-muqaddam) and "most obligatory" (al-afraD) jihad in al-Fawa'id, Zad al-Ma`ad, al-Ruh, Ighathat al-Lahfan e.t.c.[3]. Sunni scholars consider this hadeeth to be authentic [4]. So although there seems to be a controversy about the authenticity of hadeeth , muslims agree upon the importance of struggle for purification of self (Jihad bin nafs).

Eschatology

In terms of eschatology, Islam exalts jihad as the greatest deed, in its canonical literature. The Qur'an distinguishes between "those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and persons" and "those who sit and receive no hurt," exalting the former above the latter [Qur'an 4:95]. According to various canonical hadith, there is no deed equal to jihad in reward during the afterlife [Bukhari. Volume 4, Hadith 44].

It is often said that Muslims believe that those who are martyred during jihad receive 70 houris in heaven. This is not exactly true; in reality, there is a belief that all who enter heaven receive the 70 houris, not just martyrs. However, as said above, Muslims do believe that martyrs receive a higher (but unspecified) reward than civilians.

Jihad as warfare

The word "jihad" is widely used to mean "holy war." When jihad refers to a holy war, classical Islam expounds an elaborate military doctrine which lays down the basic rules of war in Islam as well as a political ideology.

Traditional Islamic doctrine divided the world into two parts: the Dar al-Islam (land of Islam), and the Dar al-Harb (land of war). The former were the Muslim territories, governed by Islam as a political movement, while the latter were the non-Muslim territories of the world. The concept of warfare in Islam is of two distinct types: defensive jihad, which is defense of the Dar al-Islam, and offensive jihad which is the military conquests of the Dar al-Harb by Islam as a political movement (hence the term, "land of war"). The Wikipedia articles on defensive jihad and offensive jihad discuss Islamic legal aspects of these two concepts in detail, while the article on Islam as a political movement discusses the Islamic political ideology that jihad seeks to further.

The United States Department of Justice defines Jihad as follows:

"jihad" is the Arabic word for "holy war." In this context, jihad refers to the use of violence, including paramilitary action against persons, property or governments deemed to be enemies of a fundamentalist version of Islam.[5]
Violent jihad or Jihad include planning, preparing for, and engaging in, acts of physical violence, including murder, maiming, kidnapping, and hostage-taking.[6]

The noted specialist of Islam, Maxime Rodinson, wrote that "Jihad is a propagandistic device which, as need be, resorts to armed struggle - two ingredients common to many ideological movements." (Maxime Rodinson. Muhammad. Random House, Inc., New York, 2002. p. 351).

The neologism jihadist is sometimes used to describe militant Islamic groups, including but not restricted to Islamist terrorism (c. f. Jihadist organizations and Rules of war in Islam). The Islamic religious legitimacy of the goals or methods of various Islamist movements who adopt the terminology of jihad is often brought into question by liberal Muslims.

See also

Encyclopedic sites

Secular sites discussing Jihad

Muslim sites discussing Jihad

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