Jihad

For other uses, see Jihad (disambiguation).

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Jihad (/dʒɪˈhɑːd/; Arabic: جِهَاد, romanized: jihād [dʒiˈhaːd]) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim.[1][2][3][4] In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God's guidance, such as an internal struggle against evil in oneself, efforts to build a good Muslim community (ummah), and struggle to defend Islam.[1][2][5][6] In non-Muslim societies, the term is most often associated with warfare.[4]

Jihad is classified into inner ("greater") jihad, which involves a struggle against one's own passions and impulses, and outer ("lesser") jihad, which is further subdivided into jihad of the pen/tongue (debate or persuasion) and jihad of the sword (warfare).[5][7]: 13 [8] Much of Muslim opinion considers inner jihad to have primacy over outer jihad, although many Western scholars disagree. The analysis of a large survey from 2002 reveals considerable nuance in the conceptions of jihad held by Muslims around the world, ranging from righteous living and promoting peace to fighting against the opponents of Islam.[9]

The word jihad appears frequently in the Qur'an referring to both religious and spiritual struggle and to war and physical struggle,[a] often in the idiomatic expression "striving in the path of God (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)",[11][12] conveying a sense of self-exertion.[13]: 54  In the hadiths, jihad refers predominantly to warfare. Greater jihad refers to spiritual and moral struggle, and has traditionally been emphasized in Sufi and Ahmadiyya circles.[5][8][3] The sense of jihad as armed resistance was first used in the context of persecution faced by Muslims when Muhammad was at Mecca, when the community had two choices: further emigration (hijrah) or war.[13]: 30  The Qur'an justifies war in self-defense or in response to aggression towards other Muslims, however the sword verses have historically been interpreted to renounce other verses and justify offensive war against unbelievers, forcibly converting polytheistic pagans during the early Muslim conquests.[14][15]: 46  A set of rules pertaining to jihad were developed, including prohibitions on harming those who are not engaged in combat, on killing animals such as horses, and on unnecessary destruction of enemy property.[16][17]

In the twentieth century, the notion of jihad lost its jurisprudential relevance and instead gave rise to ideological and political discourse.[5][18] While modernist Islamic scholars have emphasized the defensive and non-military aspects of jihad, some Islamists have advanced aggressive interpretations that go beyond the classical texts.[18][19] The term has gained additional attention in recent decades through its use by various insurgent Islamic extremist, militant Islamist, and terrorist individuals and organizations.[5][20][21]: 93 [19] Today, the word jihad is often used without religious connotations, like the English crusade.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b c Esposito, John L., ed. (2014). "Jihad". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference OEIP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Tyan, E. (1965). "D̲j̲ihād". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 2. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0189. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
  4. ^ a b Jackson, Roy (2014). What is Islamic philosophy?. Routledge. p. 173. ISBN 978-1317814047. jihad Literally 'struggle' which has many meanings, though most frequently associated with war.
  5. ^ a b c d e DeLong-Bas, Natana J. (22 February 2018) [10 May 2017]. "Jihad". Oxford Bibliographies – Islamic Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/obo/9780195390155-0045. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  6. ^ Böwering, Gerhard; Crone, Patricia, eds. (2013). "Jihad". The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Literally meaning "struggle", jihad may be associated with almost any activity by which Muslims attempt to bring personal and social life into a pattern of conformity with the guidance of God.
  7. ^ Bonner, Michael (2006). Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1400827381.
  8. ^ a b Peters, Rudolph (2005). "Jihad". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 7 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference. p. 4917.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference gallop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference AD11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Morgan, Diane (2010). Essential Islam: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice. ABC-CLIO. p. 87. ISBN 978-0313360251. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  12. ^ Meri, Josef W., ed. (2005). "Jihad". Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 419. ISBN 978-041596690-0.
  13. ^ a b Esposito, John L. (1988). Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195043983.
  14. ^ "Islam and war". BBC. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  15. ^ al-Fasi, Muhammad; Hrbek, Ivan (1988). "The coming of Islam and the expansion of the Muslim empire". General History of Africa: Volume 3. UNESCO.
  16. ^ Bernard Lewis (27 September 2001). "Jihad vs. Crusade". Opinionjournal.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  17. ^ Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (2011). "Parity of Muslim and Western Concepts of Just War". The Muslim World. 101 (3): 416. doi:10.1111/j.1478-1913.2011.01384.x. ISSN 1478-1913. In classical Muslim doctrine on war, likewise, genuine non-combatants are not to be harmed. These include women, minors, servants and slaves who do not take part in the fighting, the blind, monks, hermits, the aged, those physically unable to fight, the insane, the delirious, farmers who do not fight, traders, merchants, and contractors. The main criterion distinguishing combatants from non-combatants is that the latter do not fight and do not contribute to the war effort.
  18. ^ a b Hallaq, Wael B. (16 April 2009). Sharī'a: Theory, Practice, Transformations. Cambridge University Press. pp. 334–38. ISBN 978-0-521-86147-2.
  19. ^ a b Jalal, Ayesha (30 June 2009). "Islam Subverted? Jihad as Terrorism". Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 239–240. doi:10.4159/9780674039070-007. ISBN 978-0-674-03907-0. S2CID 152941120.
  20. ^ Badara, Mohamed; Nagata, Masaki (November 2017). "Modern Extremist Groups and the Division of the World: A Critique from an Islamic Perspective". Arab Law Quarterly. 31 (4). Leiden: Brill Publishers: 305–335. doi:10.1163/15730255-12314024. ISSN 1573-0255.
  21. ^ Cook, David (2005). "Radical Islam and Contemporary Jihad Theory". Understanding Jihad. University of California Press. pp. 93–127. ISBN 978-0-520-24203-6. JSTOR 10.1525/j.ctv1xxt55.10. LCCN 2015010201.


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