Jihad

Jihad

Meaning of the word Jihad in Islam

Jihad is an Arabic word that means 'struggle'. It is one of the five pillars of the Islamic religion and can be understood as a struggle against personal will for the purpose of purifying oneself and one's faith. Contrary to what many people think, jihad does not mean “holy war”. This interpretation is, however, rather common in the western world where Jihad is likened to a crusade which is, in fact, a holy war (Noorani, 2002). The main reason why the western countries, particularly the Europeans, view jihad as a holy war is because of the religious struggles that took place in the Middle Ages. During this time, crusaders came into direct confrontation with Islam after nearly 500 years of invasions by Muslim of almost half of the Christian world (Noorani, 2002).

The division of the word Jihad into numerous categories is not explained in the Holy Quran. Instead, it is according to the sayings of Muhammad that Muslims have understood this concept. Generally, Jihad is divided into two distinct categories - Greater Jihad and Lesser Jihad. Greater Jihad is the struggle of a Muslim against the devil. In this type of Jihad, Muslims abstain from acts of evil and show their obedience to Allah by maintaining their struggle against the devil (Noorani, 2002). Hence, this type of Jihad is against one's own will (nafs). The second form of Jihad is 'Lesser Jihad'. It is the struggle against an enemy of one's own religion, land, or property.

Interpretation of the concept by Muslims

The book by Michael Bonner titled, “Jihad. Origins, interpretations, fighting.” is a book on the topic of jihad and examines the historical evolution of its pre-modern interpretations and practices. Bonner said there that the concept of jihad has been constantly changing over the centuries, and that the interpretations prohibit fixed representation. It depends on the time and the study area. It also highlights the classic opposition between outward (small jihad) and internal jihad, spiritual (the great jihad), and agrees that the second interpretation has long been predominant, it is one that will be a inner struggle ( p. 22).

According to Bonner there are several ways to address the origins of the concept of jihad, but the question remains difficult. The hadith up the jihad as a tool to open up the world ( fath ) to Islam. The author also emphasizes that watermark, the prophetic tradition has jihad as a means of subsistence and cites the hadith attributed to Muhammad, as the Prophet said: “Allah put my livelihood under my lance” ( p. 59). The Siras and works of Islamic history amply treat this military aspect of the Prophet, will praise fighters struggling in this way for martyrdom, and also encourage asceticism, but will demonstrate the use of battles require the capitation subject populations (see especially p. 50-63). After discussing the evolution of the concept of jihad under the Umayyad and Abbasid , Bonner concludes: “As a corollary to these policies inflections, that is apparently ...