The True
Jihad

“Read! In the name of your Lord...”

(The Quran, 96:1)

The Quran exhorts believers to “strive for the cause of Allah as it behoves you to strive for it.” (22:78) This earnest struggle is expressed in Arabic by the word ‘jihad’ which is derived from the root ‘juhd’, which means to strive, to struggle, that is, to exert oneself to the utmost to achieve one’s goal.

Thus the original meaning of jihad in Arabic is striving very hard’. Since the early Muslims had to strive hard during wars with aggressors, these wars came, in an extended sense, to be called jihad. However, the actual word for such a war in Arabic is qital, not jihad.

War with an aggressor is a chance occurrence, taking place as warranted by particular situations, while jihad is a continuous action which is at the core of the believer’s life day in and day out. It is an ongoing process. This constant jihad means strict adherence to the will of God in all aspects of one’s life, and the prevention of any obstacle coming in the way of fulfilling God’s will—for instance, the desires of the self, the urge to serve one’s own interests, the compulsion of social traditions, the need for compromises, ego problems, greed for wealth, etc. All these things directly thwart righteous actions. Overcoming all such hurdles and persevering in obeying God’s commands are the real jihad. And the word jihad has been used primarily in this sense. We quote here some traditions, as recorded in Musnad Ahmad, which define the role of the mujahid.

1. A mujahid is one who struggles with himself for the sake of God. (6/20)

2. A mujahid is one who exerts himself for the cause of God (6/22)

3. A mujahid is one who struggles with his self in submission to the will of God.

The present world is a testing ground: the entire fabric of this world has been designed with a view to fulfilling the purposes of the divine trial of man. This being so, the human being is necessarily faced with all kinds of temptations, which are so many barriers to his measuring up to God’s standards. For instance, when a matter of truth comes before him and he fails to acknowledge it for fear of losing his status; when he has someone’s wealth or property in his possession, and he hesitates about restoring it to the true owner; when he resents having to place curbs on himself in order to lead a life of modesty as desired by God; when he feels that suppressing his anger and vengefulness in order to be patient amounts to his own negation; when he fails to speak words of truth and stand up for justice for fear of losing his popularity; when he is loath to renounce comforts and convenience, etc., in order to be of a principled character instead of a selfish character. On all such occasions man has to curb his desires. It becomes essential for him to sacrifice his feelings. At times he may feel that he has to kill his ego completely. In spite of having to surmount all such hurdles, the individual should be determined to stick to the truth in the real and primary sense of jihad. Those who engage in this jihad will be held deserving of paradise in the Hereafter.

Islamic jihad is a positive and continuous process. It is at work in the entire life of a believer.

‘Jihad’ essentially is a peaceful struggle. One form of this peaceful struggle is dawah (communication of the message of God).

The Quran States:

Do not yield to the unbelievers, but fight them strenuously with it (the Quran) (25:52).

No military activity is referred to in this verse of the Quran. We are not meant to engage in physical combat with the non-believers. What this verse actually means is that we must engage ourselves in dawah activities through the teachings of the Quran, that is, striving ourselves to the utmost on an ideological plane, while sifting truth from falsehood.

Even in the face of a military challenge from the enemy, all efforts will be made to counter aggression by peaceful methods. The path of peace can be abandoned only when it has become impossible to stick to it, and only when there is no other option but to give a military response in self-defence.

A tradition narrated by Aisha, the Prophet’s wife, provides a guiding principle. She said: Whenever the Prophet had to choose between two courses, he would always opt for the easier one. This means that whenever the Prophet had two options before him in any matter, he would always abandon the harder option in favour of the easier one (Bukhari).

This tradition (sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, is relevant not only to everyday affairs but also to such serious matters as, by their very nature, relate to harder options.

Whenever the prophet had to choose between two courses, he would always opt for the easier course.

The study of the Prophet’s life shows that he never initiated a military move himself. When his opponents wanted to embroil him in war, he would on all occasions apply some strategy of avoidance to avert war. He fought only when there was no other way left to him. According to the sunnah of the Prophet, there is no aggressive or offensive war in Islam. Islam allows only a defensive war and that, too, only when there is no other option.

The truth is that in life we have to face the problem of choosing between two courses: between the confrontational and the non-confrontational, between the peaceful and the violent. The study of the Prophet’s life tells us that the Prophet, in all matters, abandoned the violent or confrontational course in favour of the peaceful or non-confrontational course. The whole life of the Prophet provides a successful, practical example of this principle. We give here some examples of this nature.

1. After being appointed as Prophet, the first question before him was which of the two above-mentioned courses he should follow. As we know, the Prophet’s mission was to bring polytheism (shirk) to an end and establish monotheism in its place. The Kabah in Makkah had already been established as a centre of monotheism, but at the time of the Prophet 360 idols were already installed within its walls. In view of this situation, the first verses to be revealed in the Quran should have been to this effect: “Purify the Kabah of all idols,” and then, after making it a centre of tawhid or oneness of Allah, work for your mission.

But beginning his mission with this task would have amounted to waging war, for it was the Quraysh who were the guardians of the Kabah as the well as the leaders of Arabia.

The Prophet therefore totally avoided the physical purification of the Kabah and limited himself to the theoretical communication of the message of monotheism. It was the first prophetic example of adopting a peaceful and non-confrontational method instead of a violent or confrontational method.

The entire life of the Prophet is a practical demonstration of his peace-loving policy.

2. Adhering strictly to this peaceful principle, the Prophet continued to work in Makkah for a period of thirteen years. But even then, the Quraysh turned his dire enemies. Ultimately, the Quraysh’s leaders in consultation among themselves arrived at a consensus to kill the Prophet. Therefore, armed youths of their tribe surrounded his home one night to put their plan into action.

This was an open challenge for the Prophet and his companions to do battle with them. Instead, the Prophet guided by God, decided to avoid any military encounter. Therefore, in the stillness of the night, he quietly left his home in Makkah for Madinah. This event is called the emigration (hijrah) in the history of Islam. Emigration is a clear example of abandoning violent solutions in favour of peaceful solutions.

Migration or hijrah of the Prophet Muhammad is a clear example of abandoning violent solutions in favour of peaceful solutions.

3. The battle of the Trench is another example of this sunnah of the Prophet. On this occasion a large number of people from different tribes had come to Madinah with the intention of attacking it. It was clearly a military challenge. But the Prophet used strategy to avoid an encounter with the enemy. According to this plan, the Prophet worked hard day and night along with his companions to dig a long trench between him and his opponents. This trench served as a buffer. Therefore, when the army of the Quraysh arrived, they could not attack. So they camped there for some days. In the end they gave up the idea of attacking as it was impossible to cross the ditch. They eventually left Madinah. The digging of this trench provides an example of opting for a peaceful course instead of a violent course.

4. The Hudaybiyya peace treaty also provides another example of this sunnah of the Prophet. At that time the Prophet and his companions had wanted to perform the minor pilgrimage (umrah) by entering Makkah. But when they reached Hudaybiyya, which was nine miles from Makkah, they were stopped by the Quraysh leaders. They said that in no event would they allow them to enter Makkah. This again was a military challenge. If the Prophet wanted to advance as planned towards Makkah, an encounter was sure to take place. Therefore, the Prophet ended his journey at Hudaybiyya and entered into a peace treaty, accepting unilaterally the conditions laid down by the enemy. He then came back to Madinah without having performed the umrah. This was a very clear prophetic example of adopting a peaceful method as opposed to a violent method.

5. The conquest of Makkah provides an equally telling example of this same sunnah. At that time the Prophet was accompanied by 10,000 devoted followers. They could certainly have fought a successful battle with the Quraysh, yet the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, decided to demonstrate his power rather than use it. He did not come out with his 10,000 strong army to declare war against the Quraysh in order to conquer Makkah after a bloody encounter. He instead made preparations for a journey with the utmost secrecy, and travelling with his companions, he quietly entered Makkah. This entry was so sudden that the Quraysh could not make any preparations for war and Makkah was conquered without any carnage. This incident provides a fine example of adopting a peaceful instead of a violent method. These examples show that not only in normal situations but also in extreme emergencies the Prophet adhered to the principle of peace rather than that of war. All his successes are practical examples of this sunnah of peace.

As seen during the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet adhered to the principle of peace even in extreme emergencies.

6. As mentioned above, the position of peace in Islam is sacrosanct, while war in Islam is allowed only in exceptional cases when it cannot be avoided. Granted that this is so, let us look at the state of affairs prevailing today. This modern age is totally different from preceding centuries. In ancient times violence was the norm, so that maintaining the peace was extremely difficult. But now the situation has totally changed. Today, we have reached the ultimate stage where any kind of violence is undesirable or unacceptable. Indeed, a peaceful strategy is the only viable solution. Furthermore, in our times a peaceful course of action is backed up by ideological and practical arguments, which invest it with all the greater power and sanctity.

Far from being an armed struggle, jihad is a peaceful struggle.

These modern support systems have a number of very positive aspects, for instance, the right to freedom of expression, the possibilities opened up by the communications system of spreading one’s message across the globe, etc. These modern changes have rendered possible a peaceful course of action, which has far greater popularity and is at the same time more effective.

Now, a peaceful course of action is not just one of the possibilities: it is the only feasible and result-oriented option.

As mentioned above, the sunnah or way of the Prophet is that, if it is possible to adopt a peaceful method, it should be put into practice during any Islamic struggle. A violent course of action should be shunned altogether. Now the present state of affairs is that, as a result of the changes that have taken place in the present age, the peaceful method is not only available at all times but, due to various supporting factors, has become the most effective course of action. It would therefore be no exaggeration to say that in present times a violent struggle is not only a hard option but is not in practice useful. Whereas non-violence is not only an easier option, but is also highly effective and result-oriented. Now, a peaceful course of action is not just one of the possibilities: it is the only feasible and result-oriented option. This being so, it would be right to say that violence has been practically abandoned. This is what we call an abrogated command in the language of the shariah (Islamic law). Now believers are, in reality, left with only one choice, and that is indeed the peaceful course of action.

In recent times, one celebrated example of the success of such a course is to be found in the life of the Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi (d.1948). Due to temporal changes, it became possible for Mahatma Gandhi to wage political battles successfully by adopting the principle of non-violence and engaging in peaceful activism in the full sense of these expressions.

It is a known principle that the commands of the shariah change according to altered situations. This accepted principle of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) demands that with the changing times, a new application of the shariah should be sought in order that shariah commands may be in consonance with the changing circumstances.

This principle of Islamic jurisprudence relates not only to civic matters, but also certainly to the waging of war. This principle demands the practical avoidance of a violent course of action. Only a peaceful course of action should be accorded the status of a shariah command.

The Jihad Movements of Modern Times

It is true that in ancient times violent solutions were adopted at certain stages due to the prevailing circumstances. Opponents had no other alternative. Now, with the changing of the times, there is no longer this compulsion. Therefore, launching out on a violent course of action is not only unnecessary, but also unIslamic. In these modern times non-violent conduct is the best option.
According to the Islamic shariah, peace is the rule in matters of jihad, while war is the least desirable option.

According to the Islamic shariah, peace is the rule in matters of jihad, while war is the least desirable option.

In present times groups of Muslims in many countries have launched movements of armed jihad, in the name of Islam. But a movement cannot be a jihad just because its leaders describe it as such.

An action can be termed a ‘jihad’ only when it fulfils the conditions set by Islam. Any military action which is carried out without fulfilling these conditions will not be a jihad but a fasad, which will amount to spreading corruption across the world. Those who engage in such a ‘jihad’ will not deserve any reward. They should expect only divine punishment.

The special conditions of jihad have been dealt with in detail in the following chapter. Here I would like to lay stress on one important aspect of it. That is, jihad in the sense of qital (armed struggle) does not fall into the same category of individual acts of devotion as prayer and fasting: it is an activity which relates totally to the state.

The true Islamic jihad as it relates to the individuals is a positive and continuous process, which is at work throughout the entire life of a believer. There are three major kinds of this process of jihad.

1. Jihad-e-nafs: to control one’s negative and undesirable feelings within oneself and to persevere in the life of God’s choice in all circumstances.
2. Dawah jihad: to communicate the message of God to all human beings and deal with all human beings with full compassion and well-wishing. This is a gigantic task. That is why it has been called the greatest jihad in the Quran.
3. Jihad with antagonists: to counter any challenge from the opponents of religion, and to safeguard religion in all circumstances. This jihad basically has always been a peaceful process, and it is still so even today. In this respect, far from being an armed offensive, jihad is essentially a peaceful struggle.

‘Jihad’ essentially is a peaceful struggle. One form of this peaceful struggle is dawah (communication of the message of God)