Jihad

Although the Arabic term jihad is often interpreted as “holy war,” the word is derived from a word root meaning “to strive” or “to make an effort.” The word jihad is commonly followed by the Arabic expression fi sabil Illah, meaning “in the path of God.” The concept of jihad is often defined as a struggle against injustice or ungodliness—from the injunction in the Koran (the Islamic holy book) to “command the right and forbid the wrong.”

The form that jihad should take—violent war or peaceful striving—has been the subject of much discussion and disagreement by Islamic scholars throughout history. The Koran and the hadiths (reports on the sayings and acts of the prophet Muhammad) refer to four ways by which the duty of jihad can be fulfilled: by the heart, the tongue, the hand, and the sword.

Jihad is seen by some Muslims as primarily a struggle against evil and injustice within oneself. One hadith recounts how Muhammad, after a battle, said, “We have returned from the lesser jihad (al-jihad alasghar) to the greater jihad (al-jihad al-akbar).” When a follower asked, “What is the greater jihad?” Mohammed replied, “It is the struggle against oneself.” This view of jihad was predominant in Sufism, an extremely influential form of Islamic spirituality. To this day, many Muslims conceive of jihad as a personal rather than a political struggle.

However jihad is understood, it is considered by most Muslims to be one of the primary duties of Islam. Sayid Abdul Ala Mawdudi (1903–1979), the founder of the Ja'mat-i-Islami Party in Pakistan and a leading fundamentalist scholar, described jihad as “just as much a primary duty of Muslims as daily prayers and fasting. One who shirks it is a sinner. His very claim to being a Muslim is doubtful. He is clearly a hypocrite who fails in the test of sincerity and all of his [religious observances] are a sham, a worthless hollow of devotion.”

Islamic jurists described jihad as a general obligation of the Muslim community. In this view, Muslims are required to participate in violent jihad only when Islam comes under attack. The Islamic legal philosopher Ibn Taymiya (1268–1328), however, took a more confrontational position. He declared that a ruler who fails to enforce the shari'a (Islamic law) rigorously in all its aspects, including the performance of jihad, forfeits his right to rule. Most jurists at the time tolerated Muslim rulers who violated the shari'a for the sake of the community, preferring tyranny over disorder, but Ibn Taymiya insisted that waging jihad is a requirement for a Muslim ruler.