Jihaad

Asalaam Wa Alykum Wa Rahmat Allah Hi Wa Barakat

Picture

Jihad…one of the MOST MISSUESD term in Islam. Due to the limited knowledge of people, they have taken up the wrong meaning of the word ‘Jihad’. If we ourselves do not understand this term properly, how would the non Muslims be able to perceive the correct definition of Jihad? It is important for us to have a good idea about jihad so that we can correct others who may have the wrong picture.

In Arabic, the word jihad means striving and expending one’s energy (a definition from the dictionary). In Islamic terminology, jihad means the Muslim striving to make the word of Allah supreme and to establish His religion on earth. Jihad has two possible definitions: the greater, which is the spiritual struggle of each man, against vice, passion and ignorance. The lesser jihad is simplified to cover holy war against infidels and infidel countries, aiming at spreading Islam.

 





Scholars like Ibn al- Qayyim have categorized jihad into four types. These four types are discussed below:

1)      Jihaad al-Nafs (striving against the self):

Jihaad al-nafs means striving to make oneself learn true guidance, and to follow it after coming to know it, calling others to it, and bearing with patience the difficulties of calling others to Allah. Jihaad al-nafs can further be broken down into four types:

 

Ø      Striving to learn the teachings of Islam without which one cannot attain success and happiness in this world or in the Hereafter; if this is missing then one is doomed to misery in this world and in the Hereafter.

Ø      Striving to make one act in accordance with what one has learned. Simply knowing without acting, even though it may not cause any harm, is not going to bring any benefit (This requires fighting one’s own desires. It is the most important thing).

Ø      Striving to call others to Islam, teaching those who do not know about it. Otherwise one will be one of those who conceal that which Allah has revealed of guidance and teaching, and it will not benefit him or save him from the punishment of Allah.

Ø      Striving to bear patiently the difficulties involved in calling people to Allah and the insults of people; bearing all that for the sake of Allah.

If a person achieves all these four levels, then he will be one of the rabbaaniyyeen (learned men of religion who practice what they know and also preach to others. Cf. Aal ‘Imraan 3:79).

The salaf were agreed that the scholar does not deserve to be called a rabbaani unless he knows the truth, acts in accordance with it and teaches it to others. Whoever teaches, acts in accordance with his knowledge and has knowledge, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Have you seen the one who chooseth for his god his own lust?" (25:43) and "He followed his own lust. Therefore his likeness is as the likeness of a dog; if thou attackest him he panteth with his tongue out, and if thou leavest him he panteth with his tongue out" (7:176) and about the person who controlled the passion of his ego God says: "But as for him who feared to stand before his Lord and restrained his soul from lust, Lo! The garden will be his home" (79:40-41).

 

Thus, Jihad al-nafs is the struggle against evil ideas, desires and powers of lust, anger, and insatiable imagination, placing all of them under the dictates of reason and faith in obedience to God’s commands, and finally, purging all satanic ideas and influences from one’s soul. This struggle is considered as the major struggle (al-Jihad al-akbar) as it is much more difficult than fighting in the battlefield, for in the struggle against the self, one has to constantly battle enemies that are hosted inside his own existence. Without this jihad, the other types of jihad will be close to impossible.

 

2)      Jihad al-shayaateen (striving against the shayaateen or devils):

Jihaad al-Shaytaan means striving against him and warding off the doubts and desires that he throws at a person, and the doubts that undermine faith, and striving against the corrupt desires that he tries to inspire in a person. This type of Jihad is closely related to Jihad al-nafs. This kind of Jihad is of two types:

 

Ø      Warding off the doubts that he stirs up to undermine faith.

Ø      Striving against him to ward off the corrupt desires that he provokes.

 

The first type is followed by certainty of faith, and the second is followed by patience.

 

Interesting Story:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

 He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.” One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Before I move on to the other two types of Jihad, let me make something clear. Jihad al-Nafs and Jihad al-Shaytaan are obligatory upon everyone who is accountable (fard ‘ayn).

3)      Jihad al-munaafiqeen (striving against the hypocrites):

Jihaad against the munaafiqeen is done in the heart and on the tongue, with one’s wealth and oneself. Jihad against the hypocrites is not like jihad against the kuffaar, because jihad against the hypocrites is fought with knowledge and argument, whilst jihad against the kuffaar is fought with swords and arrows. 

4)      Jihad al-kuffaar (striving against the disbelievers):

Jihaad against the kuffaar mostly takes the form of physical action. If the kuffaar attack and occupy a Muslim country, or they prepare to attack the Muslims, then it is obligatory for the Muslims to fight them so as to ward off their evil and foil their plots. Jihad in self-defence is fard ‘ayn (an individual obligation) upon the Muslims, according to scholarly consensus.

When we talk about the ‘physical jihad’ there are seven conditions: being Muslim, being an adult (females aren’t physically strong), being of sound mind, being free, being male, being physically sound and being able to afford it financially.

Narrated 'Aisha: I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We consider jihad as the best deed." The Prophet said, "The best jihad (for women) is Hajj Mabrur.”  (Al Bukhari, Book #26, Hadith #595)

Jihad against the kaafirs is more along the lines of physical fighting whereas jihad against the hypocrites is more along the lines of using words and ideas. However, keep in mind jihad against the munaafiqeen, kaafirs and leaders of oppression and innovation is obligatory upon the community as a whole (fard kafaayah). So if enough people in the community takes it up, others will get the sawab too (others have to support them in any possible way).

Was Islam spread by sword?

 

Islam spread by means of proof and evidence to those who listened to the message and responded to it, and it spread by means of force and the sword to those who were stubborn and arrogant, until they were overwhelmed and became no longer stubborn, and submitted to that reality. The purpose of jihad in Islam is not to kill non-Muslims, rather the purpose is to establish the religion of Allah on earth, to establish the rule of His sharee’ah, and to bring people forth from the worship of other people to the worship of the Lord of all people, from the injustice of other religions to the justice of Islam.

 

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism, i.e. worshipping others besides Allah), and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone” [al-Anfaal 8:39]

 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Sa’di said in his commentary on this verse: 

Here Allah states the purpose behind fighting for His sake, which is not to shed the blood of the kaafirs and take their wealth; rather the purpose is so that all religion (worship) will be for Allah alone, and the religion of Allah will prevail over all other religions, and everything that goes against that, whether it is shirk or anything else – which is what is meant by fitnah – will be repelled. If this purpose is achieved, there will be no killing or fighting. 

 

As for jihad, it will remain in effect until the Day of Resurrection. Its aim is to spread the call of truth to all of mankind and free man from the oppressive forces that conceal the light from him and prevent him from thinking about the truth, and subject him to rules that go against the rulings of God. Keep in mind the aim of jihad is not to force anyone to enter Islam, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“There is no compulsion in religion” [al-Baqarah 2:256]

Some of us (this included me also, because of my limited knowledge) come out to defend Islam, and want to disavow Islam of this so-called lie, so we deny that Islam was spread by the sword, and say that jihad is not prescribed in Islam, except in the case of self-defense. There is no such thing in Islam as taking the initiative in fighting in their view. This goes against what the Muslim scholars have stated, let alone the fact that it goes against the Qur’an and Sunnah. 

 

“And if Allaah did not check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief. But Allaah is full of bounty to the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)” [al-Baqarah 2:251]

 

The fact that the sword and power were means of spreading Islam is not a sources of shame for Islam, rather it is one of its strengths and virtues, because that makes people adhere to that which will benefit them in this world and in the Hereafter. Many people are foolish and lacking in wisdom and knowledge, and if they are left to their own devices they will remain blinded to the truth, indulging in their whims and desires. So Allah has prescribed jihad in order to bring them back to the truth and to that which will benefit them. Undoubtedly wisdom dictates that the fool should be prevented from doing that which will harm him, and should be forced to do that which will benefit him. 

 

This is something for which Islam deserves to be praised, not condemned. The defeatists should fear Allah lest they distort this religion and cause it to become weak on the basis of the claim that it is a religion of peace. Yes, it is the religion of peace but in the sense of saving all of mankind from worshipping anything other than Allah and submitting all of mankind to the rule of Allah. This is the religion of Allah, not the ideas of any person or the product of human thought.

 

Note that jihad does not mean killing innocent people. It means spreading the word of Allah and establishing the shar’iah law. When the non muslims see the way Muslims deal with them, they may embrace Islam then. Jihad does not mean to force the kaafirs to convert to Muslims. Love for Allah cannot be forced into someone’s heart. Striving against one’s evil desires is an important type of jihad and is obligatory upon every Muslim.



Picture


Wa-alykum Assalaam Wa Rahmat Allah Hi Wa Barakat!