What is Jihad? How has it got conflated with the Christian concept of Crusade or Holy War? - Part 1
By
Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam
12
September 2022
The Qur'anic Verse Which Commands 'Do Jihad In
The Way Of Allah' (22:78) Is Supplemented By 'The Way Of Your Father Abraham'.
Anyone Who Looks Through the Qur'an Will Understand the Fact That the Life of
Prophet Ibrahim Was Full Of Self-Sacrificing Ideal Struggle
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Jihad is a
misunderstood word. It is a word that is full of references to liberation
struggles in various countries, analyses of terrorism that is a threat to
humanity, and studies relating to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). When
we hear the word Jihad, blood flowing, wounded people crying, collapsing
buildings, corpses lying in rows, fireballs from explosions, guns, swords,
daggers, and masked armed men come to mind. The influence of this hypothesis,
which has nothing to do with the word Jihad, can be seen in our media and public
discourse.
The 'Reader's Digest Complete Oxford World
Finder English dictionary, which has sold billions of copies and is mostly used
for easy desk reference, defines jihad as 'holy war waged by Muslims against
infidels. Webster's Encyclopaedic Dictionary, used for detailed English
wording, gives two definitions of jihad: 'a holy war regarded by Muslims as a
sacred responsibility and 'a fiery, often bitter crusade waged for an idea or
principle. These show that at least from the beginning of the sixteenth century
when dictionaries began to be widely produced, the notion that jihad was an
Islamic term similar to crusade existed.
Literally,
Jihad has nothing to do with war. Harb, Waiyy, Ida' and Khizwam
are the Arabic words used for war. Such a technical sound cannot be found in
the Islamic repertoire. Jihad is not given such a meaning in any recognized
Arabic dictionary. 'Jihad, the noun form of Jahada, properly denotes the use of
one's utmost ability, strength, efforts and labours to fight against something
undesirable. It has three types namely, against the visible enemy, to the
devil, to oneself. The famous Lane's Arabic English Lexicon says that this
expression in Qur'an 22:77 includes all three.
None of the early or later Qur'anic
commentators in their discussion of Jihad are seen to have endorsed it as 'Alharbul
Muqaddasah' (holy war). It is also noteworthy that the prominent British
Orientalist, Arthur John Arbury, throughout his translation of the Qur'an
translates 'jihad' as 'struggle' and not holy war. However, it is clear that
the English word struggle does not mean holy war. This is also the case with
the Arabic word Jihad. The meaning of the said word is 'intense effort'. The
fight for good is Jihad because it is an extreme struggle with one's own life
to defeat evil. Jihad is not fighting, but it means that the struggle becomes
Jihad.
Muslims do not even call the struggle that
becomes Jihad a 'holy war’. Medieval Christianity was led by the Pope to
sanctify the naturally impure bloodshed by dipping it in baptism. When the
social form of war, which exists as a collection of atrocities committed for
supremacy, was sanctified by baptism for the sole reason that it was for the
protection of the interests of the Church, the massacres of innocent and
innocent men were committed in its name.
The Islamic doctrines that explain when a
fight becomes Jihad also teach precisely why and how it should be carried out.
It becomes Jihad only when the goal and means of fighting to achieve freedoms
of faith, worship, and instruction are according to divine guidance. It is not
an arrangement in which the naturally impure war is sanctified by a papal
declaration by the Holy Spirit, and the ranks are given permission to do
anything in its name; Jihad is not sanctifying something impure.
Jihad in
Quran
The noun
'Jihad' or its verb forms have used a total of 41 times in the Qur'an. Jihad is
used as a noun four times; They are in the 24th verse of Surat al-Tawbah, the 78th
verse of Surat ul Hajj, the 52nd verse of Surat ul Furqan and the first verse
of Surat ul Mumtahana. In other verses, the Qur'an uses different forms of
Jihad, such as Jahadoo, Jahidoo, Yujahidoo, Jahada, Yujahiduna, Tujahiduna,
and Mujahiduna (various derivatives from jihad in Arabic language). If we
examine the words, it will be clear that the expressions are used to refer to
sacrificial efforts including war, beyond the simple meaning of 'fighting'.
The word 'Qital' or its verbs are used in the
Qur'an to refer only to war. It is particularly notable that the Qur'an has
used the word 'qital', which means 'fight', in place of 'harb', which the Arabs
used to refer to the war waged by the Arabs for the purpose of making money,
and 'Waiyyin', which they used to refer to clashes to settle tribal
feuds. Qital and Jihad are not synonyms. No linguist has recorded 'Qital' as
meaning Jihad. Jihad is not only Khital; But if we examine the Qur'anic sayings
and hadiths where Jihad and Qital have been used, we can understand that ‘Qital’
also becomes Jihad.
In some of the Qur'anic verses that mention
Jihad, it can be seen that Jihad is commanded with one's body and one's wealth:
"Those are the believers who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then do
not doubt, and strive in the way of Allah with their wealth and their bodies.
They are the ones who are truthful.” (49:15) All sacrificial efforts, including
fighting on the battlefield, are jihad with the body. It is clear that Jihad
with wealth is defined here as the sacrificial financial effort to spend one's
wealth on the cause of good.
Allah's command is to wage Jihad against ideal
enemies using the Qur'an: "So do not follow the disbelievers. With this
(Qur'an) make a great struggle against them." (25:52) It is noteworthy
that in this verse, which was presented during the preaching of ideals in
Makkah under persecution and hardship, it is commanded to do the greatest jihad
by using the Qur'an. It is clear that what is introduced here as Jihad with the
Qur'an is about submitting the Qur'anic ideals to the unbelievers and
conducting an ideal struggle with them.
The Qur'anic verse which commands 'Do Jihad in
the way of Allah' (22:78) is supplemented by 'the way of your father Abraham'.
Anyone who looks through the Qur'an will understand the fact that the life of
Prophet Ibrahim was full of self-sacrificing ideal struggle. There is no
mention in the Qur'an of the armed struggles of Prophet Ibrahim. Jihad
permeated Prophet Ibrahim's life by preaching the principle that only the
Creator is worthy of worship and performing sacrifices in this way. Jihad is
always an example for believers; Jihad can never be removed from their lives.
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This
article is the first part of a series explaining Jihad in Islamic scriptures.
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A
regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic
Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist.
URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/jihad-christian-crusade-holy-war-part-1/d/127939
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