Jihad and its Types According to Quran and Sunnah
Islam is the religion of peace and love. The root word of Islam is “Silm”, indicates to “making
peace, being in a mutually peaceful environment, rescue, safety, being
secure, finding peace, well being, attaining goodness, comfort, and
favor, keeping away from troubles and disasters, submitting the self and
obeying, being far from wrong.
“ Islam
is basically “submission to Almighty Allah, accepting His authority as
well as obeying His orders”; so we can say that a Muslim is one who is
under the peaceful and safe shade of Islam. Almighty Allah wants a
Muslim to live in a safe and peaceful environment and to make efforts
for the spread and continuity of peace.
Islam is called “the Religion of Peace” as in Holy Quran Allah (SWT) said: “And
prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of
war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and
others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And
whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you,
and you will not be wronged. And if they incline to peace, then incline
to it [also] and rely upon Allah. Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing,
the Knowing.” (Quran, 8: 60-61)
The
above-stated verses first direct Muslims to fight against the enemies
of Allah, with all covertness they could gather in order to succeed, and
also emphasize on spending their properties and money for this cause.
That fulfills the basis of Islam which is putting forward one`s
everything for the Almighty Lord. These lines tell them about making
harmony with those who seek peace, which is the realization of the
secondary significance of this belief, i.e. extending peace in the
world.
Islam
does not call for violence; relatively it disliked all forms of
violence and terrorism. No matter against Muslims or Non-Muslims, Islam
calls for peace, cooperation and maintaining justice for the humanity as
a whole.
Islam
makes it obligatory upon Muslims to stand by the helpless regardless of
their race, color, religion or relationship and say NO to the oppressor
and ask him to respond to the voice of reason and justice. Many people
in western misunderstood the concept of being against the oppressor and
respond to the voice of reason and justice so we are going to discuss in
detail in this article about Jihad that is basically “to work hard for
something in the way of Almighty Allah.”
Meaning of Jihad in Islam
Jihad
is an Arabic term, and its transparent meaning is “to strive or work
hard for something”. So, it does not mean “the Holy War” or “waging war
in the name of Allah” against non-Muslims, which the West has associated
with it. Such a term “Holy War”, or its equivalent doesn’t exist in the
Islamic belief.
Jihad
is basically the name given to every activity and movement in the way
of Allah (SWT). It means to strive to make justice superior and
dominant. In other words, jihad has to do with action in Islam; it is
the power of Islam to act. Therefore, the meaning of the word “jihad” is
not “war.” To fight for the sake of Allah (SWT) is also a kind of jihad
but, in general terms, this word includes any kind of activity and
action to make the religion of Allah goes everywhere in the world or
spreading of religion Islam for Almighty Allah.
Types of Jihad
We have different types of Jihad we will discuss basic four types of Jihad in this article in detail that we all should know:
- Jihad against one’s self: Jihad bil Nafs is concerned with fighting against “evil” (un-Islamic) desires and the devil in the attempt to escape his inducement to evil. We can say this is the “internal” jihad.
- Jihad against Shaytaan: Allah says: “And We made from among them (Children of Israel), leaders, giving guidance under Our Command, when they were patient and used to believe with certainty in Our Ayat (proofs, verses, signs, revelations, etc.)” (Al Quran, As-Sajdah: 24). From this verse, we can conclude that we should fulfill Allah’s commands with the patient and have proper faith on Almighty Allah no matter what’s the situation we are facing always put strong faith on Almighty Allah. Shaytaan will try to break our faith but we have to stick against Shaytaan. Patience beat off desires and certainty beat off doubts. So always be patient for the sake of Almighty Allah.
- Jihad by the tongue/pen: This type of Jihad is concerned with spreading the word of Islam with one’s tongue or writing and the verbal (or written) defense of Islam.
- Jihad by the sword: This form of Jihad is referred as “the lesser jihad”. Sometimes it is necessary to undertake Jihad by the sword. This would include the use of armory and engage in an action. Jihad by the sword is the use of arms to engage in a combat. It is not the misuse of arms to create violence.
Jihad in Quran
Like
any other obligatory and highest acts in the religion of Islam, Jihad
is also responsibility given by Almighty Allah to the Muslims, which
should only be analyzed according to The Holy Quran and not what the
uninformed people do by manipulating its actual definition. Allah SWT
says in Holy Quran: “The
ones who have believed, emigrated and striven in the cause of Allah
with their wealth and their lives are greater in rank in the sight of
Allah. And it is those who are the attainers (of success).”(Quran, 9: 20)
From
above verse, we can conclude that Jihad is basically the name of doing
one`s best in terms of both fighting and expending everything one has
for the sake of Almighty Allah. It has become obvious that Jihad is only
meant for self-defense and not the other way around, from the verse of
Holy Quran we can understand it “And
kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they
have expelled you… And if they cease, then indeed, Allah is Forgiving
and Merciful.” (Quran, 2: 191-192)
Jihad is said to be “fighting for the cause of Allah”, but
there is increased precondition to grasp what this phrase actually
means, as the word fighting is being misused by extremist organizations
operating in different regions of the world and portray it as the
religious duty. Allah SWT says in the Holy Quran: “And
what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah
and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, “Our
Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us
from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper?” (Quran, 4: 75)
From
above verses, we can say that the perception of Jihad in Quran revolves
around striving in Allah`s Cause, fighting when being attacked by
rivals, helping out the oppressed ones, and have peace if they quit
fighting.
Jihad According to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
Let
us discuss Jihad in Islam according to the Sunnah of our beloved
Prophet Muhammad (SAW, Because His (SAW) entire life has been a great
struggle for the sake of Almighty Allah. We have so many examples
related to Jihad from the life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
The
Holy Prophet (PBUH) himself took part in battles against the oppressive
Makkans who laid arms against Muslims in order to remove them from the
surface of the earth. Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) said about the value of
fighting against such non-believers: Somebody asked, “O
Allah’s Apostle! Who is the best among the people?” Allah’s Apostle
replied “A believer, who strives his utmost in Allah’s Cause with his
life and property.”
The
one saying of the Holy Prophet (SAW) tells that Jihad is far more than
just fighting the oppressors, as He (PBUH) advised a man to serve its
parents. On an occasion, a man asked: “Should
I join the jihad?” The Prophet asked, upon him peace, “Do you have
parents?” The man said yes. The Prophet said: “Then do jihad by serving
them!” (Bukhari)
Another man asked: “What kind of jihad is better?” The Prophet (SAW) replied: “A word of truth spoken in front of an oppressive ruler.” (Sunan Al-Nasa’i). From this verse, we can say that keeping steadfast on one`s belief is also a form of Jihad in Islam.
In
short, Jihad is not just only fighting against enemies, from Hadiths we
came to know that there are other things included in Jihad which we
have discussed in above-mentioned Hadiths. All of these point towards
the single objective of Jihad, i.e. to do one`s finest effort according
to its faith.
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