Defining Jihad

This past winter, before I left for the UK, my parents and my brother were sitting in the living room. As was the norm, Fox News was on. My step-dad won’t watch anything but war and Western movies, and Fox News. For those unfamiliar with Fox News, it’s a news channel often accused as promoting conservative political positions. It is a news channel home to characters like Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck. In other words, it isn’t necessarily Muslim-friendly.

Not surprisingly, whichever personality was on at the moment was going on about Islam and Muslims. The topic was jihad, or the so called ‘holy war.’ Upon hearing this, my brother made a comment: “So that’s what jihad means, holy war.”

I think this particular instance shows the ignorance average Americans have towards jihad. For most, they hear the word jihad and they automatically think of Muslims violently converting non-Muslims. They think it’s a term that refers to Muslims spreading Islam with war and killing.

But that’s not what jihad refers to. In yesterday’s guest post, it was made clear that violence is not supported by Islam. Even in times of war, Muslims must use caution. They cannot kill women and children, nor can they attack those who are innocent. Also, there is no such thing compulsion in religion when it comes to Islam. Going around, forcing people to convert to Islam, is not something we’re encouraged to do. Instead, when a Muslim wished to convert someone to Islam, he/she should do so in a gentle and friendly way. He/she should use his/her tongue, not a sword.

So what is the true meaning of jihad?

In modern Arabic, it is one correct term for any struggle. For example, Mahatma Gandhi’s struggle for Indian independence could be called jihad. Jihad could also be applied to the fight for women’s liberation. It is a word that could have multiple meanings to different people: a commitment to working hard and achieving one’s goals in life, struggling to achieve a noble cause, promoting peace, harmony, and cooperation, struggling to spread justice and stop those who spread injustice, assisting others, or living the principles of Islam to list a few.

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, an 11^th-century Islamic scholar, once referenced a statement of a companion of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wassalam, Jabir ibn Abd-Allah. Jabir said, “The Prophet... returned from one of his battles, and thereupon told us, ‘You have arrived with an excellent arrival, you have come from the Lesser Jihad to the Greater Jihad—the striving of a servant (of Allah) against his desires (holy war).’”

This reference gave rise to a distinction in jihad: a lesser jihad and a greater jihad. The spiritual struggle a Muslim goes through (keeping themselves from sin, avoiding sinful thoughts, etc.) is the greater jihad. The ‘violent’ jihad is the lesser of the two. According to this quote, the better sort of jihad is an internal struggle.

However, most scholars dispute the authenticity of the reference. The chain of transmission is considered weak. Thus many dismiss the quote. Gibril Haddad, an Islamic scholar and translator of Arabic, agrees with those who question the authenticity and therefore dismiss the reference. But he does conclude that the underlying principle of internal jihad being superior does have a reliable basis in the Qur’an as well as other writings.

According to a book titled ‘Fiqh Made Easy: A Basic Textbook of Islamic Law,’ jihad can be divided into four types:

1. Jihad against the soul: struggling against the soul to yearn for the religion (Islam), act upon those teachings, and to call others to them

2. Jihad against Shaytan: struggling against Shaytan without doubts or desires

3. Jihad against the disbelievers and hypocrites: this is done with the tongue, hand, heart, and wealth

4. Jihad against the heretics, liars, and evilfolk: this is best done with the hand, if not the hand then the tongue, and if not the hand or tongue then the heart

Sunni Muslim jurists also categorize jihad into four types. Jihad of the heart is concerned with combatting Shaytan in the attempt to escape his persuasion to evil. This was considered the greater jihad. Then there’s jihad by the tongue, which is concerned with speaking the truth as well as spreading the truth of Islam. Third, jihad by the hand refers to choosing to do what is right and to combat injustice/wrongdoing with action. The last is jihad by the sword: armed fighting in the way of Allah, the true holy war and what was considered the lesser jihad.

In summary, there are plenty of different definitions that can and are applied to the word jihad. And yes, one specific meaning is holy war. But that is not all it entails. Indeed, the majority of jihad, even when broken down into parts, has little to nothing to do with war. Writer B. A. Robins best describes the concept in a passage from her book, ‘Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet’: “Fighting and warfare might sometimes be necessary, but it was only a minor part of the whole jihad or struggle.”