Understanding Jihad, “Striving in the
Cause of Allah” by Dr. Israr Ahmad
If we were to make a list of all the Islamic
terms and concepts that have been inadvertently misconstrued or deliberately
distorted, by the apologetic Muslims or Western orientalists, then Jihad can
easily be placed at the top of that list.
Although the significance of Jihad in the
Qur’an and Sunnah cannot be overstated, its exact place in the overall
framework of Islamic values and imperatives has been a matter of some debate.
Some writers have described Jihad as the fifth pillar of Islam, while others
have relegated it to a mere Fard Kafayah (a collective, rather than personal,
duty). A highly misleading but popular idea in this respect is that any war in
which the Muslims are engaged, even if the motives are other than purely
Islamic, is Jihad fi Sabeel lillah. In view of the confusions and
misunderstandings that surround this most fundamental of Islamic concepts, we
are going to discuss here, very briefly, the meaning and import of Jihad
vis-à-vis the other duties and obligations of a Muslim.
The word Jihad is not synonymous with “Holy
War” which is what the Western media wants everyone to believe. After four
decades of Cold War, the Western powers suddenly found themselves without a
legitimate enemy, and, consequently, they have designated Islam and the Muslims
as the most deadly threat to world peace. The image of all Muslims as
terrorists was inculcated by numerous so-called documentaries, like the
infamous Jihad in America (PBS). In the face of such widespread media
stereotypes, it is indeed an uphill task to educate the non-Muslims regarding
the true meaning of Jihad. Much more important, however, is the task of removing
the misconception which are prevalent among the Muslims themselves.
The foundation of the edifice of Islam
consists in the verbal testimony of God’s unity and Muhammad’s (SAW)
prophethood. Built upon this foundation are the four pillars of Islam with which
all of us are familiar, i.e., Salat, Zakat, Saum, and Hajj. Please note,
however, that Iman (or faith) also has two pillars: an unshakable inner
conviction in the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the struggle in the
path of Almighty Allah (SWT). This has been described in the Qur’an thus:
They alone are the mo’min who come to believe
in Allah and His messenger and afterwards never doubted, and who strive in the
way of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Only they are truthful and
sincere. (Al-Hujurat 49:15)
What does this ayah really mean? It means that
there is absolutely no way, for a person who claims to be a believer, to avoid
Jihad fi Sabeel lillah and still remain a believer in the sight of Almighty
Allah (SWT). Indeed, the very definition of a mo’min, as given in Surah
Al-Hujurat, necessitates that a strong faith and state of inner certitude be
coupled with an active struggle in the path of Allah (SWT).
The word Jihad and the verb that goes with it
mean to struggle against some opposition. Thus, each and every human being is
engaged in Jihad, in the sense that everyone has to struggle for his existence.
However, the kind of Jihad we are talking about should be qualified as fi
Sabeel lillah, that is to say, trying and exerting one’s utmost in the path of
Almighty Allah. It is an earnest and ceaseless activity involving the sacrifice
of physical and mental resources, wealth, property, and even life, only for the
sake of attaining the pleasure Almighty Allah (SWT).
In order to understand the meaning of striving
in the path of Allah, we should first have a clear concept of the
responsibilities of a Muslim. According to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, the
obligations of a Muslim are three-fold: A Muslim is required to become an
obedient slave of Almighty Allah (SWT), he is required to mold his life, his
values, his priorities, and his ambitions according to the commands of his
Lord. Secondly, he must preach and disseminate the ideational and practical
guidance of Islam to his fellow human beings, to enjoin all that is good and
prohibit all that is evil. Thirdly, he must try his utmost to establish the
domination of Islam over all other systems of life, all over the world.
Even a superficial analysis of these three
obligations is enough to establish the fact that none of them is easy to
fulfill. There are immence difficulties to overcome, all sorts of oppositions
to put up with, and countless problems to solve at each of the three levels. A
Muslim must put in a great deal of hard labor in fulfilling these obligations,
he must exercise all his abilities and all his resources if he is to fulfill
his duties. In other words, he is required to engage in a constant Jihad. This
struggle or Jihad covers a wide spectrum of religious obligations, and its
inherent activism can be understood as having nine different stages or aspects,
as explained below:
In trying to live a life of total obedience to
Almighty Allah (SWT) and to follow the example of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), a
Muslim must resist the following:
- the sinful impulses and evil inclinations of his own nafs;
- the temptations implanted by Iblees and his progeny;
- the ridicule, opposition, and pressures from the un-Islamic society in which he happens to live.
In trying to spread the teachings of the Holy
Qur’an and those of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to every nook and corner of the
world, a Muslim will encounter three types of people, and therefore he must
develop different approaches and levels of scholarship to cater for each of
these groups:
- the educated and intelligent classes;
- the common people, or the masses at large;
- the rigid and inflexible adversaries.
In endeavoring for the establishment of the
ascendancy of Islam over all other systems of life, members of the Islamic
movement will have to go through the following stages:
- Passive Resistance, enduring all verbal and physical persecution without retaliation;
- Active Resistance, challenging the un-Islamic system when there is enough strength available to do so;
- and finally, the Armed Conflict (or a non-violent and disciplined popular movement)
It should be obvious from the above discussion
that armed conflict or Qitaal constitutes only the last of the nine stages or
aspects of Jihad, and that these two are not synonymous terms. Thus, we see
that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) spent the entire twelve years of the Meccan period
in calling people towards Islam, in organizing and training those who
responded, and, during all that time, both he and his Companions endured all
verbal and physical harassment with a non-violent attitude.
It was only after
Hijrah, when a strong center of the Islamic Movement was established in Medina,
that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) decided that now there was enough strength at his
disposal to challenge the Quraysh, and only then the Islamic movement entered
the phases of Active Resistance and Armed Conflict. In view of this, all the
revivalist and revolutionary Islamic groups throughout the Muslim world must
keep the following fact in mind: While an armed struggle against an un-Islamic
political system is permissible under certain conditions (whether or not it is
feasible in today’s world is another issue), such a struggle cannot be launched
without first going through the initial eight stages of Jihad.
It is vitally important that those who are
trying to change the world in accordance with the will of Allah (SWT) must
first change their own lives. It is indeed ironical that the life-style of many
of the Muslims who are engaged in Islamic activism cannot be described as ideal
or exemplary. We must keep in mind that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has described
the struggle to make one’s own self obedient to Almighty Allah (SWT) as the
“Greater Jihad.” We cannot expect to eradicate the evils in our society unless
we first subjugate our own sinful impulses. Similarly, it is also essential
that all the available means and resources be utilized in calling people
towards the light of Islam, in removing their false beliefs, and in helping
them realize the truth of Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) teachings, before initiating
the final phases of Jihad.
What, exactly, is the nature of the
relationship between Iman and Jihad, or faith and struggle? During the days of
early, pristine Islam, we find that the two major realities — which formed the
focus of attention for the Muslims — were Qur’an and Jihad. Qur’an was the
source of Iman, and Iman manifested itself in Jihad. Primarily, it was the
force and appeal of the Qur’anic verses that conquered the hearts and souls of
the Companions (RAA), leading to a profound change in their values, priorities,
ambitions, and thinking pattern. This inner transformation quite naturally led
to a sense of dissatisfaction and discontent with what was happening in their
environment, resulting in the development of friction and a lack of harmony between
the Muslims and their un-Islamic milieu. A genuine inner change necessarily
leads to a conflict with the status quo. In the case of the Companions (RAA),
the inner transformation was characterized by Iman, and the resulting conflict
took the form of Jihad.
Things began to change, however, when Islam
entered the era of “statehood” and ceased to be a “movement.” As a result, the
attention of the Muslim community gradually started to shift from the moving
and inspiring verses of the Qur’an to legal and judicial matters, from the
inner dynamics of Iman to the external manifestation of Islam, and from Jihad
in the path of Allah (SWT) to warfare for the defense — or expansion —of the
Muslim territories. The idea that Jihad is a Fard Kafayah was made popular by the
legalistic mind which equated it with the responsibilities of the armed forces.
How can we bring about an Islamic Renaissance
in our own times? It will be possible only by following the methodology of
Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The only surefire and unfailing strategy for Islamic
Renaissance, therefore, must involve the revitalization of Iman through the
Qur’an, and the launching of an Islamic movement on the basis of the dynamism
thus unleashed.
We need to establish a strong nucleus of true conviction and
faith among the educated and rational elements of the Muslim society — the
brain-trust of the Muslim Ummah — by means of the propagation of the Qur’anic
wisdom at the highest intellectual level. The light of Iman will then
illuminate all other segments of the society. This is the essential
prerequisite for Islamic Renaissance, as it constitutes the only methodology to
generate the dedicated and committed man-power to undertake the Jihad for the
establishment of the domination of Islam over all other systems of life, all
over the world.
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