Jihad (/dʒɪˈhɑːd/;Arabic:جِهَاد,romanized: jihād[dʒiˈhaːd]) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim.[1][2][3][4] In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform withGod's guidance, such as aninternal struggle against evil in oneself, efforts to build a good Muslim community (ummah), and struggle to defendIslam.[1][2][5][6] Literally meaning 'struggle', the term is most frequentlyassociated with warfare.[4]
Jihad is classified into inner ("greater")jihad, which involves a struggle against one's own passions and impulses, and outer ("lesser")jihad, which is further subdivided intojihad of the pen/tongue (debate or persuasion) andjihad of the sword (warfare).[5][7]: 13 [8] Much of Muslim opinion considers innerjihad to have primacy over outerjihad, although many Western scholars disagree. The analysis of a large survey from 2002 reveals considerable nuance in the conceptions ofjihad held by Muslims around the world, ranging fromrighteous living andpromoting peace tofighting against the opponents of Islam.[9]
The wordjihad appears frequently in theQur'an referring to both religious and spiritual struggle and to war and physical struggle,[a] often in the idiomatic expression "striving in the path of God(al-jihad fi sabilAllah)",[11][12] conveying a sense of self-exertion.[13]: 54 In thehadiths,jihad refers predominantly to warfare. Greaterjihad refers to spiritual and moral struggle, and has traditionally been emphasized inSufi andAhmadiyya circles.[5][8][3] The sense ofjihad as armed resistance was first used in the context ofpersecution faced by Muslims when Muhammad was at Mecca, when the community had two choices: further emigration (hijrah) orwar.[13]: 30 The Qur'an justifies war in self-defense or in response to aggression towards other Muslims, however thesword verses have historically been interpreted to renounce other verses and justify offensive war against unbelievers, forcibly convertingpolytheistic pagans during theearly Muslim conquests.[14][15]: 46 Aset of rules pertaining tojihad were developed, including prohibitions on harming those who are not engaged in combat, on killing animals such as horses, and on unnecessary destruction of enemy property.[16][17]
In the twentieth century, the notion ofjihad lost its jurisprudential relevance and instead gave rise to ideological and political discourse.[5][18] Whilemodernist Islamic scholars have emphasized the defensive and non-military aspects ofjihad, someIslamists have advanced aggressive interpretations that go beyond the classical texts.[18][19] The term has gained additional attention in recent decades through its use by variousinsurgentIslamic extremist,militantIslamist, andterrorist individuals and organizations.[5][20][21]: 93 [19] Today, the wordjihad is often used without religious connotations, like the Englishcrusade.[1][2]
Etymology and literary origins
The termjihad is derived from theArabic rootjahada, meaning "to exert strength and effort, to use all means in order to accomplish a task". In its expanded sense, it can be fighting the enemies ofIslam, as well as adhering to religious teachings, enjoining good and forbidding evil.[22] The peaceful sense of "efforts towards the moral uplift of society or towards the spread of Islam" can be known as "jihad of the tongue" or "jihad of the pen", as opposed to "jihad of the sword".[23] It is used as a term infiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) mostly in the latter sense, while inSufism mostly in the sense of fighting thenafs al-ammara, which is thepsychological state of succumbing to one's own desires.[22] Spiritual and moraljihad is generally emphasized in pious and mystical circles.[23]
The Hans WehrDictionary of Modern Written Arabic defines the term as "fight, battle;jihad,holy war (against theinfidels, as a religious duty)".[24] However, given the range of meanings, it is incorrect to equate it simply with "holy war".[23] The notion ofjihad has its origins in the Islamic idea that the whole humankind will embrace Islam.[25][full citation needed] In the Qur'an and in later Muslim usage,jihad is commonly followed by the expressionfi sabil illah, "in the path of God."[26]Muhammad Abdel-Haleem stated that it indicates "the way of truth and justice, including all the teachings it gives on the justifications and the conditions for the conduct of war and peace."[27]
InModern Standard Arabic, the termjihad is used for a struggle for causes, both religious andsecular. It is sometimes used without religious connotation, with a meaning similar to the English word "crusade" (as in "a crusade against drugs").[28]Jihad is used commonly in Arabic countries, in the neutral sense of "a struggle for a noble cause", as a unisex name given to children.[29] Nonetheless,jihad is usually used in the religious sense and its beginnings trace to the Qur'an and the words and actions ofMuhammad.[30][31]
Quran
Jihad is mentioned in four places in theQur'an as a noun, while its derived verb is used in twenty-four places.Mujahid, theactive participle meaning "jihadist", is mentioned in two verses.[22] In some of these mentions (seeAt-Tawbah 9/41, 44, 81, 86), it is understood that the wordjihad directly refers to war, and in others,jihad is used in the sense of "the effort to live in accordance with Allah's will".[22] Qur'anic exhortations tojihad have beeninterpreted by Islamic scholars both in the combative and non-combative sense.[32] Ahmed al-Dawoody wrote that there seventeen references to or derivatives ofjihad occur altogether forty-one times in elevenMeccan texts and thirtyMedinan ones, with 28 mentions related to religious belief or spiritual struggle and 13 mentions related to warfare or physical struggle.[10]: 56
Hadith
There are also manyhadiths (records of the teachings, deeds and sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) aboutjihad, typically under the headings ofkitab al-jihad (book ofjihad) orfaza'il al-jihad (virtues ofjihad) inhadith collections or as the subject of independent works.[22] Of the 199hadith references tojihad in theBukhari collection ofhadith, all assume thatjihad means warfare.[33][34]
Among reported sayings of Muhammad involvingjihad are:
The bestJihad is the word of Justice in front of the oppressive sultan.
Ibn Nuhaas cited ahadith fromMusnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, where Muhammad stated that the highest kindjihad is "The person who is killed whilst spilling the last of his blood" (Ahmed 4/144).[39] Muhammad also said, “I cannot find anything” as meritorious asjihad; he further likenedjihad to “praying ceaselessly and fasting continuously”.[40]: 70, 145 [41] Muhammad said that “if it were not a hardship for the Muslims, I would never idle behind from a raiding party going out to fight in the path of Allah.... I [would] love to raid in the path of Allah and be killed, to raid again and be killed, and to raid again and be killed”.[40]: 147 Muhammad also said that "Lining up for battle in the path of Allah [jihad] is worthier than 60 years of worship".[40]: 151 Muhammad claimed that any Muslim who refused to fight injihad “will be tortured like no other sinful human” in hell with confirmation from Qur'an 8:15-16.[40]: 71 [42] In anotherhadith Muhammad said, “the sword wipes away all sins” and “being killed in the path of Allah washes away impurity”.[43][40]: 183
According to anotherhadith,[44] supporting one's parents is an example ofjihad.[10]: 76 It has been reported that Muhammad considered performinghajj well to be the bestjihad for Muslim women.[45][10]: 58
Thehadith emphasizejihad as one of the means toParadise. All sins (except debt) would be forgiven for the one who dies in it.[46]: 34–35 Participation injihad had to be voluntary and intention must be pure, forjihad is only waged for the sake of God not for material wealth.[46]: 34–35 On the contrary,jihad required man to put both his life and wealth at risk.[46]: 34–35 Jihad is ranked as one of the highest good deeds; according to onehadith it is the third-best deed afterprayer and being good to one's parents.[46]: 35 Onehadith exempts militaryjihad on men whose parents are alive, as serving one's parents is considered a superiorjihad.[46]: 35
Greater and lesserjihad
Tradition distinguishes the "greaterjihad" (inner struggle against sinful behavior) from the "lesserjihad" (military sense).[5] Early Islamic thought considered non-violent interpretations ofjihad, especially for those Muslims who could not partake in warfare in distant lands.[citation needed] Most classical writings use the term "jihad" in the military sense.[47][48]: 72 The tradition differentiating between the "greater and lesserjihad" is not included in any of the authoritative compilations of Hadith. In consequence, some Islamists dismiss it as not authentic.[49]: 116
The most commonly citedhadith for "greaterjihad" is:[citation needed]
A number of fighters came toMuhammad and he said "You have come from the 'lesserjihad' to the 'greaterjihad'." The fighters asked "what is the greaterjihad?" Muhammad replied, "It is the struggle against one's passions."[50]
The concept has had "enormous influence" in Islamic mysticism (Sufism).[54]: 78–79 [55]
Ibn Hazm lists four kinds ofjihad fi sabilillah (struggle in the cause of God):
Jihad of the heart(jihad bil qalb/nafs) is concerned with combattingthe devil and in the attempt to escape his persuasion to evil. This type ofjihad was regarded[citation needed] as the greaterjihad (al-jihad al-akbar).
Jihad by the tongue(jihad bil lisan) (alsojihad by the word,jihad al-qalam) is concerned with speaking the truth and spreading the word of Islam with one's tongue.
Jihad by the hand(jihad bil yad) refers to choosing to do what is right and to combat injustice and what is wrong with action.
Jihad by the sword(jihad bis saif) refers toqital fi sabilillah (armed fighting in the way of God, orholy war), the most common usage bySalafi Muslims and offshoots of theMuslim Brotherhood.[56]: 56
A relatedhadith tradition that has "found its way into popular Muslim literature",[57] and which has been said to "embody the Muslim mindset" of the Islamic Golden Age (the period from the mid-8th century to mid-13th century following the relocation of theAbbasid capital fromDamascus toBaghdad),[58] is:
"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr."
The belief in the veracity of thishadith was a contributing factor in the efforts by successivecaliphs to subsidize translations of "Greek,Hebrew andSyriac science and philosophy texts",[59] and the saying continues to be heavily emphasised in certain Islamic traditions advocating intellectualism over violence, for example inTimbuktu,[60] where it is central to one of two key lessons in the workTuhfat al-fudala by 16th-centuryBerber scholarAhmed Baba.[61] In general, however, fewer people today are aware of thehadith, which suffers from "a general lack of knowledge", according toAkbar Ahmed.[62]
According to classical Islamic scholars likeIbn Qayyim al-Jawziyya,jihad is against four types of enemies: the lower self (nafs),Satan, the unbelievers, and the hypocrites. The first two types ofjihad are purely peaceful spiritual struggles. According to Ibn Qayyim, "Jihad against the lower self precedesjihad against external enemies." Confirming the central importance of the spiritual aspect ofjihad,Ibn Taymiyyah wrote:
"Jihad against the lower self and whims is the foundation ofjihad against the unbelievers and hypocrites, for a Muslim cannot wagejihad against them unless he has wagedjihad against himself and his desires first, before he goes out against them."[63]
Engaging in the greaterjihad does not preclude engaging in the lesserjihad.Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani recommended his followers to pursue both the greater and the lesserjihads.[64]
Robert W. Schaefer discussedjihad andgazavat in the context of the Caucasus: "Gazavat was thejihad of its day.Gazavat meant putting yourself on the right path (what Muslims refer to as the lesserjihad) as well as expelling the invader (what is referred to as greaterjihad)."[clarification needed][66]
Defensive and offensive lesserjihad
Classical scholars considered various justifications forjihad, including waging it defensively vs offensively. Scholarly opinions carried significant weight with Muslim leaders. Scholars paid more attention to conduct of war (jus in bello) than justification of war (jus ad bellum).[67][68]: 150–151 The decision of when to wage war was often viewed as a political decision best left to political authorities.[69]: 30 [68]: 150–151
Two justifications forjihad were given: defensive war against external aggression, or an offensive or preemptive attack against an enemy state.[70]: 18–19 According to the majority of jurists, thecasus belli (justifications for war) are restricted to aggression against Muslims,[10]: 78–79 [71] andfitna—persecution of Muslims because of their religious belief.[10]: 78–79 They hold that unbelief in itself is not a justification for war. These jurists therefore maintain that only combatants are to be fought; noncombatants such as women, children, clergy, the aged, the insane, farmers, serfs, the blind, and so on are not to be killed in war.[10]: 78–79 Thus, the Hanafī Ibn Najīm stated: "the reason forjihād in our [the Hanafīs] view iskawnuhum harbā ‛alaynā [literally, their being at war against us]."[10]: 78–79 [72] TheHanafī jurists al-Shaybānī state that "although unbelief in God is one of the greatest sins, it is between the individual and his God the Almighty and the punishment for this sin is to be postponed to thedār al-jazā’, (the abode of reckoning, the Hereafter)."[10]: 78–79 Al-Sarakhsī says something similar.[68]: 152 Offensivejihad involved forays into enemy territory either for conquest, thus enlarging the Muslim political order, or to dissuade the enemy from attacking Muslim lands.[73]
Shia andSunni theories ofjihad are similar,[30] except that Shias consider offensivejihad to be valid only under the leadership of theMahdi, who is currently believed to be inoccultation but will return.[74][75] However, defensivejihad is permissible in Shia Islam before the Mahdi's return.[74] In fact, Shia scholars emphasized it was a religious duty for Shia to defend all Muslims (including Sunni Muslims) from outside invaders.[76]: 152
They might be our enemies but they are human beings. They consist of civil population comprising of women and children; how can one kill, loot and plunder them?
Rules prohibit attacking or molesting non-combatants, including women, children under the age ofpuberty, elderly men, people with disabilities and those who are sick.[77]: 33–35 [10]: 78 Diplomats, merchants and peasants are similarly immune from being attacked.[77]: 33–35 [10]: 134 Monks are presumed to be non-combatants and thus have immunity; places of worship should not be attacked.[77]: 33–35 Even if the enemy disregarded the immunity of noncombatants, Muslims could not respond in kind.[64] However, these categories lose their immunity should they participate in fighting, planning, or supplying the enemy.[77]: 33–35 Some jurists argued that immunity was more related to noncombatant status than being in a certain demographic class. For example,Muhaqqiq al-Hilli opined that only old men are only immune from being killed if they neither fight, nor take a role in military decision making.[clarification needed][76]: 154
Up until theCrusades, Muslim jurists disallowed the use ofmangonels because the weapon killed indiscriminately with the potential of harming noncombatants. During the Crusades this ruling was reversed out of military need.[78]: 55–56 Jurists grappled with the question of attacking an enemy that used women, children or Muslims ashuman shields. Most jurists held that it was permissible to attack the enemy in cases ofmilitary necessity, but steps should be taken to direct the attack towards combatants to avoid the human shield.[10]: 117 Abu Hanifa argued that if Muslims stopped combat for fear of killing noncombatants, then such a rule would make fighting impossible, as every city had civilians.[64] Mutilating the enemy dead is prohibited.[79]: 101
Two rulings on destruction of enemy property conflict. In one military battle, ProphetMuhammad ordered the destruction of an enemy's palm trees as a means of ending a siege without bloodshed.[citation needed] By contrast,Abu Bakr prohibited destruction of trees, buildings and livestock.[10]: 126–128 Most jurists did not allow unnecessary destruction of enemy property,[64] but allowed it in cases of military necessity, such as destroying buildings in which the enemy is taking shelter.[10]: 126–128 Some jurists allowed destruction if it would weaken the enemy or win the war.[10]: 126–128 Many jurists cautioned against "unnecessary devastation", not just out of humanitarian concerns, but practical ones: it is more useful to capture an enemy's property than to destroy it.[77]: 39 Islamic scholars prohibited killing animals, unless due to military necessity (such as killing horses in battle). This is because, unlike property, animals feel pain.[10]: 126–128
In pre-Islamic Arabia,Bedouins raided enemy tribes and settlements to collect spoils. According to some scholars (such as James Turner Johnson), while Islamic leaders "instilled into the hearts of the warriors the belief" injihad "holy war" andghaza (raids), the "fundamental structure" of this Bedouin warfare "remained, ... raiding to collect booty".[80] According toJonathan Berkey, the Qur'an's statements in support ofjihad may have originally been directed against Muhammad's local enemies, the pagans of Mecca or the Jews of Medina, but these same statements could be redirected once new enemies appeared.[81] According to scholar Majid Khadduri, it was the shift in focus to the conquest and spoils collecting of non-Bedouin unbelievers and away from traditional inter-Bedouin tribal raids, that may have made it possible for Islam to expand and to avoid self-destruction.[82]: 60
Classical
According toAl-Baqara 256 "there is no compulsion in religion".[83] The primary aim ofjihad as warfare is not the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam by force, but rather the expansion and defense of theIslamic state.[84][85] There could be truces before this was achieved, but no permanent peace.[86]: 9–10 One who died "on the path of God" was a martyr (shahid), whose sins were remitted and who secured "immediate entry to paradise".[75]
According withBernard Lewis, "from an early date Muslim law laid down"jihad in the military sense as "one of the principal obligations" of both "the head of the Muslim state", who declaredjihad, and the Muslim community.[86] According to legal historian Sadakat Kadri, Islamic jurists first developed classical doctrine ofjihad "towards the end of the eighth century", using the doctrine ofnaskh (that God gradually improved His revelations over the course of Muhammed's mission). They subordinated Qur'anic verses emphasizing harmony to the more "confrontational" verses of Muhammad's later years and linked verses on exertion (jihad) to those of fighting (qital).[54]: 1501 Muslims jurists of the eighth century divided the world into three divisions,dar al-Islam/dar al-‛adl/dar al-salam (house of Islam/house of justice/house of peace),dar al-harb/dar al-jawr (house of war/house of injustice, oppression), anddar al-sulh/dar al-‛ahd/dār al-muwada‛ah (house of peace/house of covenant/house of reconciliation).[87][88] The eighth century juristSufyan al-Thawri (d. 778) headed whatKhadduri called a pacifist school, which maintained thatjihad was only a defensive war.[89]: 36ff [10]: 90 He stated that the jurists who held this position, among whom he refers toHanafi juristsal-Awza‛i (d. 774) andMalik ibn Anas (d. 795), and other early jurists, "stressed that tolerance should be shown unbelievers, especially scripturaries and advised the Imam to prosecute war only when the inhabitants of thedar al-harb came into conflict with Islam."[10]: 80 [90]: 58 The duty ofJihad was a collective one (fard al-kifaya). It was to be directed only by the caliph who might delay it when convenient, negotiating truces for up to ten years at a time.[54]: 150–51 Within classicalIslamic jurisprudence, during the first few centuries after the prophet's death,[91]jihad consisted of wars against unbelievers,apostated, and was the only form of permissible warfare.[56]: 74–80 Bernard Lewis stated that fighting rebels and bandits was legitimate, though not a form ofjihad,[92] and that while the classical perception and presentation ofjihad was warfare in the field against a foreign enemy, internaljihad "against an infidel renegade, or otherwise illegitimate regime was not unknown."[93])
However, some argue martyrdom is never automatic, because it is God's province to judge who is worthy of that designation.[94]: 222–223
Classical manuals of Islamic jurisprudence often contained a section calledBook of Jihad, withrules governing the conduct of war covered at great length. Such rules include treatment of nonbelligerents, women, children (also cultivated or residential areas),[95]: 205–08 [7]: 3 and division of spoils.[7]: 99 Such rules offered protection for civilians.[96] Spoils includeGhanimah (spoils obtained by actual fighting), andfai (obtained without fighting i.e. when the enemy surrenders or flees).[97]
The first documentation of the law ofjihad was written by 'Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i andMuhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani. (It grew out of debates that surfaced following Muhammad's death.[30]) Although some Islamic scholars have differed on the implementation ofJihad, the consensus amongst them is thatjihad always includes armed struggle against persecution and oppression.[98]
BothIbn Taymiyya andIbn Qayyim asserted thatMuhammad never initiated hostilities and that all the wars he engaged in were primarily defensive. He never forced non-Muslims to Islam and upheld the truces with non-Muslims so long as they did not violate them. Ibn Taymiyya's views onJihad are explained in his treatise titledQāʿidah mukhtaṣarah fī qitāl al-kuffār wa muhādanatuhum wa taḥrīm qatlahum li mujarrad kufrihim. (An abridged rule on fighting the unbelievers and making truces with them, and the prohibition of killing them merely because of their unbelief). According to Ibn Taymiyya, human blood is inviolable by default, except "by right of justice". Although Ibn Taymiyya authorised offensiveJihad (Jihad al-Talab) against enemies who threaten Muslims or obstruct their citizens from freely accepting Islam, unbelief (Kufr) by itself is not a justification for violence, whether against individuals or stated. According to Ibn Taymīyah,jihad is a legitimate reaction to military aggression by unbelievers and not merely due to religious differences. Ibn Taymiyya wrote:
"As for the transgressor who does not fight, there are no texts in which Allah commands him to be fought. Rather, the unbelievers are only fought on the condition that they wage war, as is practiced by the majority of scholars and is evident in the Book and Sunnah."[63][99]: 265
As important asjihad was, it is not considered one of the "pillars of Islam". According to one scholar (Majid Khadduri, this is because the five pillars are individual obligations, butjihad is a "collective obligation" of the Muslim community meant to be carried out by the Islamic state. This was the belief of "all jurists, with almost no exception", but did not apply todefense of the Muslim community from a sudden attack, in which casejihad was an "individual obligation" of all believers, including women and children.[100]: 60
Scholars had previously claimed it was the responsibility of a centralized government to organizejihad. But this changed as the authority of theAbbasid caliph weakened.[101]Al-Mawardi allowed local governors to wagejihad on the caliph's behalf. This decentralization ofjihad became especially pressing after the Crusades.Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami argued that all Muslims were responsible for waging wars of self-defense.[101] Al-Sulami encouraged Muslim rulers from distant lands to assist Muslims who were under attack.[101]
Classical Shia doctrine maintained defensivejihad was always permissible, but offensivejihad required the presence of the Imam. An exception to this, during medieval times, was when the first Fatimid caliphAbdallah al-Mahdi Billah claimed to be the representative of the Imam and claimed the right to launch offensivejihad.[76]: 157
After theMongol invasions, Shia scholarMuhaqqiq al-Hilli claimed that defensive war was not just permissible but praiseworthy, even obligatory. If a Muslim could not take part in the defense then he should, at least, send material support. This remained the case even if the Muslims were ruled by an unjust ruler.[76]: 153
In the early era that inspired classical Islam (Rashidun Caliphate) and lasted less than a century,jihad spread the realm of Islam to include millions of subjects, and an area extending "from the borders of India and China to the Pyrenees and the Atlantic".[86]: 4 The role of religion in these early conquests is debated. Medieval Arabic authors claimed the conquests were commanded by God, and presented them as orderly and disciplined, under the command of the caliph.[7]: 60–61 Many modern historians question whether hunger anddesertification, rather thanjihad, was a motivating force in the conquests. HistorianWilliam Montgomery Watt argued, "Most of the participants in the [early Islamic] expeditions probably thought of nothing more than booty ... There was no thought of spreading the religion of Islam."[10]: 87 Similarly, Edward J. Jurji argues that the motivations of the Arab conquests were certainly not "the propagation of Islam....Military advantage, economic desires, [and] the attempt to strengthen the hand of the state and enhance its sovereignty...are some of the determining factors."[10]: 76 Some recent explanations cite both material and religious causes in the conquests.[7]: 62–63
Post-classical usage
According to some authors,[who?] the more spiritual definitions ofjihad developed sometime after the 150 years ofjihad wars and Muslim territorial expansion, and particularly after theMongol invaders sacked Baghdad and overthrew theAbbasid Caliphate.[citation needed][102] HistorianHamilton Gibb stated, "in the historic [Muslim] Community the concept ofjihad had gradually weakened and at length it had been largely reinterpreted in terms of Sufi ethics."[103]: 117 notes that "despite the theoretical importance of the idea ofjihad in classical Islamic juristic thought", by the time of the Abbasids, the concept was no longer central tostatecraft.[80]
Rudolph Peters wrote that with the stagnation of Islamic expansionism, the concept ofjihad became internalized as a moral or spiritual struggle.[49]: 187, note 52 Earlier classical works on fiqh emphasizedjihad as war for God's religion, Peters claimed. Later Islamic scholars like Ibn al-Amir al-San'ani,Muhammad Abduh,Rashid Rida,Ubaidullah Sindhi,Yusuf al-Qaradawi,Shibli Nomani, etc. emphasized the defensive aspect ofjihad, distinguishing between defensivejihad (jihad al-daf) and offensivejihad (jihad al-talab orjihad of choice ). They refuted the notion of consensus thatjihad al-talab was a communal obligation(fard kifaya). In support of this view, these scholars referred to the works of classical scholars such asAl-Jassas andIbn Taymiyyah. According to Ibn Taymiyya, the reason forjihad against non-Muslims is not their disbelief, but the threat they pose to Muslims. Citing Ibn Taymiyya, scholars including Rashid Rida, Al San'ani, and Qaradawi argued that unbelievers need not be fought unless they pose a threat to Muslims. Thus,jihad is obligatory only as defensive warfare to respond to aggression or "perfidy" against the Muslim community, and that the "normal and desired state" between Islamic and non-Islamic territories was one of "peaceful coexistence". This was similar to the Western "Just war" concept.[99]: 71, 72, 227, 228, 263–265, 286, 315 [49]: 150 Similarly 18th-century scholarMuhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab definedjihad as a defensive military action to protect the Muslim community, and emphasized its defensive aspect in synchrony with later 20th century Islamic writers.[104]: 230, 235, 241 Today, some Muslim authors only recognize as legitimate wars fought for the purpose of territorial defense as well as wars fought for the defense ofreligious freedom.[49]: 125
Ibn Taymiyyah's hallmark themes included the permissibility of overthrowing a ruler who is classified as an unbeliever due to a failure to adhere to Islamic law, the absolute division of the world intodar al-kufr anddar al-Islam, labeling anyone not adhering to one's particular interpretation of Islam as an unbeliever, and the call for warfare againstNon-Muslims, particularly Jews and Christians.[105]: 256
Ibn Taymiyyah recognized "the possibility of ajihad against `heretical` and `deviant` Muslims withindar al-Islam. He identified as heretical and deviant Muslims anyone who propagated innovations (bida') contrary to the Qur'an and Sunna ... legitimatedjihad against anyone who refused to abide by Islamic law or revolted against the true Muslim authorities." He used a broad definition of what constituted aggression or rebellion against Muslims, which would makejihad "not only permissible but necessary."[105]: 252 Ibn Taymiyyah paid careful attention to the questions of martyrdom and the benefits ofjihad: "It is injihad that one can live and die in ultimate happiness, both in this world and in the Hereafter. Abandoning it means losing entirely or partially both kinds of happiness."[49]: 48
Bernard Lewis stated that while most Islamic theologians in the classical period (750–1258 CE) understoodjihad to be a military endeavor,[48]: 72 after Islamic conquest stagnated and the caliphate divided into smaller stated, "irresistible and permanentjihad came to an end". Asjihad became unfeasible it was "postponed from historic to messianic time."[106] Even when theOttoman Empire carried on a new holy war of expansion in the seventeenth century, "the war was not universally pursued". They made no attempt to recover Spain or Sicily.[107][better source needed]
By the 1500s, it had become accepted that the permanent state of relations betweendar al-Islam anddar al-harb was that of peace.[citation needed]
Shah Ismail of theSafavid dynasty tried to claim the right to wage offensivejihad, particularly against the Ottomans. However, Shia ulama did not permit that, maintaining the classical position that the true Imam could wage such a war. During the Qajar period, Shia ulama adopted the position that the Shah was responsible for national security. They authorized the Perso-Russian wars in the 19th century asjihad.[76]: 158–159
In the 18th century, theDurrani Empire under the reigns ofAhmad Shah Durrani and his son and successor,Timur Shah Durrani, had declaredjihads against Sikh Misls in thePunjab region, often to consolidate territory and continue Afghan their region, efforts under Ahmad Shah failed, while Timur Shah had succeeded.[108]
When Europeans began to colonize the Muslim world,jihad was one of the first responses.[7]: 157–158 Emir Abdelkader organized ajihad in Algeria against French domination, tapping into existing Sufi networks.[7]: 157–158 Other wars were often declared to bejihad: theSenussi religious order declaredjihad againstItalian control of Libya in 1912, and the "Mahdi" inSudan declaredjihad againstBritish andEgyptians in 1881.[75]
Rashid Rida andMuhammad Abduh argued that peaceful coexistence should be the normal state between Muslim and non-Muslim stated, citing verses in the Qur'an that allowed war only in self-defense.[2] However, this view left openjihad against colonialism, which was seen as an attack on Muslims.[2]
A concept that played a role in anti-colonialjihad (or lack thereof) was the belief inMahdi.[citation needed] According to Islamiceschatology, a messianic figure named Mahdi will one day appear and restore justice on earth. This belief sometimes discouraged Muslims from conductingjihad, instead inducing them to wait. Such messages were circulated in Algeria to undermineEmir Abdelkader'sjihad against the French.[citation needed] Alternatively, this belief could be a powerful mobilizing force when someone proclaimed to be the Mahdi. Mahdist rebellions happened in India (1810), Egypt (1865) and Sudan (1881).[citation needed]
With theIslamic revival, a new "fundamentalist" movement arose, with different interpretations of Islam that increased emphasis onjihad. TheWahhabi movement that spread across theArabian peninsula starting in the 18th century emphasizedjihad as armed struggle.[109] TheFula jihads in West Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries led to the establishment of various states, most notably theSokoto Caliphate. None of these movements were victorious.[86] TheSokoto Caliphate lasted for a century until it was conquered by theBritish and incorporated intoColonial Nigeria in 1903.[110]
When theOttoman caliphcalled for a "GreatJihad" Muslims against Allied powers during World War I, hopes and fears emerged that non-Turkish Muslims would side with Ottoman Turkey, but the appeal did not unite the Muslim world,[106][107]: 24 and Muslims did not turn on their non-Muslim commanders in the Allied forces.[111] (The war led to the end of the caliphate as the Ottoman Empire allied with the war's losers and surrendered. Post-war capitulations were overturned by secularistMustafa Kemal, who later abolished the caliphate.)[54]: 157
Prior to the Iranian revolution in 1922, Shiite clericMehdi Al-Khalissi issued afatwa prohibiting Iraqis from participating in the Iraqi elections, as the Iraqi government had been established by foreign powers. He later played a role in theIraqi revolt of 1920.[112] Between 1918 and 1919 in the Shia holy city ofNajaf the League of the Islamic Awakening was established by religious scholars, tribal chiefs, and landlords who assassinated a British officer in the hopes of sparking a similar rebellion inKarbala.[citation needed]
Islamism played an increasing role in the Muslim world in the 20th century, especially following theeconomic crises of the 1970s and 1980s.[113] One of the first Islamist groups, theMuslim Brotherhood, emphasized physical struggle andmartyrdom in its creed: "God is our objective; the Qur'an is our constitution; the Prophet is our leader; struggle (jihad) is our way; and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations."[114][115]Hassan al-Banna emphasizedjihad of the sword, and called on Egyptians tojihad against theBritish Empire,[116]: 150, 155 (the first influential scholar since the 1857 India uprising to do so).[54]: 158 The group called forjihad againstIsrael in the 1940s,[117] and its Palestinian branch,Hamas, called forjihad against Israel during theFirst Intifada.[118][119][120]
According toRudolph F. Peters andNatana J. DeLong-Bas, the new "fundamentalist" movement brought a reinterpretation of Islam and their own writings onjihad. These writings tended to be less involved with the different of schools of Islamic law, or in solutions for all potential situations. "They emphasize more the moral justifications and the underlying ethical values of the rules, than the detailed elaboration of those rules." They also tended to ignore the distinction between Greater and Lesserjihad because it distracted Muslims "from the development of the combative spirit they believe is required to rid the Islamic world of Western influences".[105]: 240–41[49]: 127
Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists were often influenced by the ideas of Ibn Taymiyyah, and Egyptian journalistSayyid Qutb.
Sayyid Qutb, Islamist author and influential leader of the Muslim Brotherhood
Qutb preached in his bookMilestones thatjihad, “is not a temporary phase but a permanent war ...Jihad for freedom cannot cease until the Satanic forces are put to an end and the religion is purified for God in toto.”[122]: 125–26 [105]: 264 Qutb focused on martyrdom andjihad, adding the theme of treachery and enmity towards Islam ofChristians and especially Jews. If non-Muslims were waging a "war against Islam",jihad against them was defensive, not offensive. He insisted that Christians and Jews weremushrikeen (not monotheists) because (he alleged) they gave their priests or rabbis "authority to make laws, obeying laws which were made by them [and] not permitted by God" and "obedience to laws and judgments is a sort of worship".[122][123]
Later ideologue,Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj, departed from some of Qutb's teachings. While Qutb felt thatjihad was a proclamation of "liberation for humanity" (in which humanity has the free choice between Islam and unbelief), Faraj sawjihad as a mean of conquering the world and reestablishing thecaliphate.[78]: 107–108 Faraj legitimized lying, attacking by night (even accidentally killing innocents), and destroying trees of the infidel.[124][78]: 190, 192 His ideas influenced Egyptian Islamist extremist groups,[125]: 9 andAyman al-Zawahiri, later the leader ofal-Qaeda.[125]: 11
Many Muslims, including scholars likeal-Qaradawi andSayyid Tantawi, denounced Islamic terrorist attacks againstcivilians, seeing them as contrary to rules ofjihad that prohibit targetingnoncombatants.[101] After theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, the United States blamedSaudi ArabianOsama bin Laden and theTaliban inAfghanistan, triggering bin Laden, who in turn on October 7 issued a televised message, declaring "Allah had blessed a vanguard group of Muslims, the spearhead of Islam, to destroy America." American and British forces were deployed around Afghanistan, andMullahMohammad Omar, also the Commander to the Faithful of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in turn called the world's Muslims to join him injihad.[128]: 2
In the 1980sAbdullah Azzam advocated wagingjihad against the "unbelievers".[129] Azzam issued afatwa calling forjihad against theSoviet occupation of Afghanistan, declaring it an obligation for all able-bodied Muslims to repel invaders. His fatwa was endorsed by others, includingAbd al-Aziz ibn Baz.[130] Azzam saw Afghanistan as the beginning ofjihad to repel unbelievers from many countries—thesouthern Soviet Republics of Central Asia,Bosnia, thePhilippines,Kashmir,Somalia,Eritrea, Spain, and especially his home country of Palestine.[131]: 130 The Soviet defeat in Afghanistan is said to have "amplified the jihadist tendency from a fringe phenomenon to a major force in the Muslim world."[132]: 174 Many fighters returned to their home countries to continuejihad, participating in insurgencies and later creating a "transnational jihadist stream."[132]: 156–57
Azzam also argued for a broader interpretation of who it was permissible to kill, which may have influenced students such as bin Laden.[107] He argued, based on his interpretation of thehadith, that it is a sin to not wage offensivejihad against theunbelievers innon-Muslim lands, continuing until only those who submit to Islam remain; expelling unbelievers fromMuslim lands, contrastingly, is defensivejihad.[133] In February 1998, bin Laden put a "Declaration of the World Islamic Front forJihad against the Jews and the Crusaders" in theAl-Quds al-Arabi newspaper.[134] He later organised theSeptember 11 attacks against the United States.
Shia
InShia Islam,jihad is one of the tenPractices of the Religion[135] (though not one of the five pillars). Traditionally,Twelver Shi'a doctrine differed from that ofSunni Islam on the concept ofjihad, withjihad seen as a "lesser priority" in Shia theology and "armed activism" by Shias "limited to a person's immediate geography".[136]
Because of their history of oppression, Shias also associatedjihad with certain passionate features, notably in the remembrance ofAshura.Mahmoud M. Ayoub says:
In Islamic traditionjihad or the struggle in the way of God, whether as armed struggle, or any form of opposition of the wrong, is generally regarded as one of the essential requirements of a person's faith as a Muslim. Shi'î tradition carried this requirement a step further, makingjihad one of the pillars or foundations (arkan) of religion. If, therefore,Husayn's struggle against the Umayyad regime must be regarded as an act ofjihad, then, In the mind of devotees, the participation of the community in his suffering and its ascent to the truth of his message must also be regarded as an extension of the holy struggle of the Imam himself. Thehadith from which we took the title of this chapter stated this point very clearly.Ja'far al-Sadiq is said to have declared toal-Mufaddal, one of his closest disciples, 'The sigh of the sorrowful for the wrong done us is an act of praise (tasbih) [of God], his sorrow for us is an act of worship, and his keeping of our secret is a struggle (jihad) in the way of God'; the Imâm then added, 'Thishadith should be inscribed in letters of gold'.[137]: 142
and
Hence, the concept ofjihad (holy struggle) gained a deeper and more personal meaning. Whether through weeping, the composition and recitation of poetry, showing compassion and doing good to the poor or carrying arms, the Shi'i Muslim saw himself helping the Imam in his struggle against the wrong (zulm) and gaining for himself the same merit (thawab) of those who actually fought and died for him. Theta'ziyah, in its broader sense the sharing of the entire life of the suffering family of Muhammad, has become for the Shi'i community the true meaning of compassion.[137]: 148
In theSyrian civil war, Shia and Sunni fighters wagedjihad against each other.[138] In Yemen, theHouthi Movement used appeals tojihad as part of their ideology as well as their recruitment.[139]
Islamic jurisprudence
Observers have noted the evolution in the rules ofjihad—from the original "classical" doctrine to that of 21st centurySalafi jihadism.[54]: 172 According tolegal historian Sadarat Kadri,[54]: 172 during the last few centuries, incremental changes in Islamic legal doctrine (developed by Islamists who otherwise condemn anybid‘ah (innovation) in religion), "normalized" what was once "unthinkable".[54]: 172 "The very idea thatMuslims might blow themselves up for God was unheard of before 1983, and it was not until the early 1990s that anyone anywhere had justified killing innocent Muslims who were not on a battlefield."[54]: 175
The first or the "classical" doctrine ofjihad which was developed towards the end of the 8th century, emphasized thejihad of the sword (jihad bil-saif) rather than the "jihad of the heart",[48]: 72 but it contained many legal restrictions developed from interpretations of theQuran and theHadith, such as detailed rules involving "the initiation, the conduct, the termination" ofjihad, the treatment of prisoners, the distribution of booty, etc. Absent a sudden attack on theMuslim community,jihad was not a "personal obligation" (fard ayn); instead it was a "collective one" (fard al-kifaya),[100] which had to be discharged "in the way of God" (fi sabil Allah),[54]: 150 and could only be launched by thecaliph, "whose discretion over its conduct was all but absolute."[54]: 150–51 (This was designed in part to avoid incidents like theKharijia'sjihad against and killing ofCaliph Ali, oncethey deemed thathe was no longer a Muslim).Martyrdom resulting from an attack on the enemy with no concern for your own safety was praiseworthy, but dying by your own hand (as opposed to the enemy's) merited a special place inHell.[140] The collective obligation tojihad is sometimes simplified as "offensivejihad" in Western texts.[141]
Islamic theologian Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir has been identified as the key theorist andideologue behind modern jihadist violence.[142] His theological and legal justifications influencedAbu Musab al-Zarqawi ofal-Qaeda as well as jihadi terrorist groups, includingISIS.[142] Zarqawi used a manuscript of al-Muhajir's ideas at AQI training camps that were later deployed by ISIS, referred to asThe Jurisprudence of Jihad orThe Jurisprudence of Blood.[142][143][144]
The book has been described as rationalising "the murder of non-combatants" by Mark Towsend, citing Salah al-Ansari ofQuilliam, who noted: "There is a startling lack of study and concern regarding this abhorrent and dangerous textThe Jurisprudence of Blood in almost all Western and Arab scholarship".[143] Charlie Winter ofThe Atlantic describes it as a "theological playbook used to justify the group's abhorrent acts".[142] He stated:
Ranging from ruminations on the merits of beheading, torturing, or burning prisoners to thoughts on assassination, siege warfare, and the use of biological weapons, Muhajir's intellectual legacy is a crucial component of theliterary corpus of ISIS—and, indeed, whatever comes after it—a way to render practically anything permissible, provided, that is, it can be spun as beneficial to thejihad. [...] According to Muhajir,committing suicide to kill people is not only a theologically sound act, but a commendable one, too, something to be cherished and celebrated regardless of its outcome. [...] neither Zarqawi nor his inheritors have looked back, liberally using Muhajir's work to normalize the use of suicide tactics in the time since, such that they have become the single most important military and terrorist method—defensive or offensive—used by ISIS today. The way that Muhajir theorized it was simple—he offered up a theological fix that allows any who desire it to sidestep the Koranic injunctions against suicide.[142]
PsychologistChris E. Stout claimed that jihadists regard their actions as "for the greater good"; that they are in a "weakened in the earth" situation that rendersterrorism a valid resort.[144]
Usage
The term 'jihad' has accrued both violent and non-violent meanings. According toJohn Esposito, it can simply mean striving to live a moral and virtuous life, spreading and defending Islam as well as fighting injustice and oppression, among other things.[145]: 26 The relative importance of the two forms ofjihad is a matter of controversy. Rudoph Peters wrote that, in the contemporary world, traditionalist Muslims understandjihad from classical works onfiqh;modernist Muslims regardjihad as ajust war ininternational law and emphasize its defensive aspects; and fundamentalists view it as an expansion of Islam and realization of Islamic ideals.[49]: 150 David Cook wrote that Muslims understoodjihad in a military sense, in both classical and contemporary texts. Cook located the idea thatjihad is primarily non-violent in Sufi texts and the Western scholars who study them, or from Muslim apologists.[78]: 165–166 Gallup stated that its surveys show that the concept ofjihad among Muslims "is considerably more nuanced than the single sense in which Western commentators invariably invoke the term".[9]
Muslim public opinion
AGallup poll asked Muslims in eight countries to definejihad. In Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, and Morocco, the most frequent response was to "duty toward God", a "divine duty", or a "worship of God", with no military connotations. In Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia, many of the responses includes "sacrificing one's life for the sake of Islam/God/a just cause" or "fighting against the opponents of Islam".[9] Other common meanings of "jihad" in the Muslim world include "a commitment to hard work", "promoting peace", and "living the principles of Islam".[9][146]: 20ff The terminology was also applied to the fight forwomen's liberation.[147]
Other struggles
Shia Muslim scholarMahmoud M. Ayoud stated, "The goal of truejihad is to attain a harmony between Islam (submission), iman (faith), and ihsan (righteous living)."Jihad is a process encompassing both individual andsocial reform, this is calledjihad fi sabil Allah ("struggle in the way of God"), and can be undertaken following the Qur'an (jihad bi-al-qur'an).[148] According to Ayoud the greatestjihad is the struggle of every Muslim against social, moral, and political evils. However, depending on social and political circumstances,jihad may be regarded as a sixth fundamental obligation (farid) incumbent on the entire Muslim community (ummah) when their integrity is in danger, in this casejihad becomes an "absolute obligation" (fard 'ayn), or when social and religious reform is gravely hampered. Otherwise it is a "limited obligation" (fard kifayah), incumbent upon those who are directly involved. These rules apply to armed struggle or "jihad of the sword".[148]
In modern times, Pakistani scholar and professorFazlur Rahman Malik used the term to describe the struggle to establish a "just moral-social order",[149]: 63–64 while PresidentHabib Bourguiba ofTunisia used it to describe the struggle for economic development in that country.[49]: 116–17
According to theBBC, a third meaning ofjihad is the struggle to build a good society.[150] In a commentary of thehadithSahih Muslim, entitled al-Minhaj, themedieval Islamic scholarYahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi stated, "one of the collective duties of the community as a whole (fard kifaya) is to lodge a valid protest, to solve problems of religion, to have knowledge of Divine Law, to command what is right and forbid wrong conduct".[151]
Scholar Natana J. DeLong-Bas lists a number of types of "jihad" that have been proposed by Muslims:
educationaljihad (jihad al-tarbiyyah);
missionaryjihad or calling the people to Islam (jihad al-da'wah)[105]: 240–41
Other "types" mentioned include:
"Intellectual"jihad (similar to missionaryjihad).[152]
"Economic"jihad (doing good involving money such as spending within one's means, helping the "poor and the downtrodden")[152] Bourguiba usedjihad to describe the struggle for economic development.[52] Iran has aMinistry of Jihad for Agriculture.[19]: 240
Jihad Al-Nikah, orsexual jihad, "refers to women joining thejihad by offering sex to fighters to boost their morale".[153] The term originated from afatwa believed to have been fabricated by the Syrian government to discredit its opponents, and the prevalence of this phenomenon has been disputed.[154][155]
Usage by some non-Muslims
TheUnited States Department of Justice used variousad hoc definitions ofjihad in indictments of individuals involved in terrorist activities:
"As used in this First Superseding Indictment,jihad is the Arabic word meaning 'holy war'. In this context,jihad refers to the use of violence, including paramilitary action against persons, governments deemed to be enemies of the fundamentalist version of Islam."[156]
"As used in this Superseding Indictment, 'violentjihad' or 'jihad' include planning, preparing for, and engaging in, acts of physical violence, including murder, maiming, kidnapping, and hostage-taking."[157] in the indictment against several individuals includingJosé Padilla.
Karen Armstrong: "Fighting and warfare might sometimes be necessary, but it was only a minor part of the wholejihad or struggle".[158]
Maxime Rodinson: "Jihad is a propagandistic device which, as need be, resorts to armed struggle—two ingredients common to many ideological movements".[159]: 351
Benjamin R. Barber used the termjihad to point out the resistant movement by fundamentalist ethnic groups who want to protect their traditions, heritage and identity from globalization (which he refers to as 'McWorld').[160]: 53–65
InAhmadiyya Islam,jihad is primarily one's personal inner struggle and should not be used violently for political motives. Violence is only to be used to protect religion and one's own life in extreme situations of persecution.[161]
Quranist
Quranists do not believe that the wordjihad means holy war. They believe it means to struggle, or to strive. They believe it can incorporate both military and non-military aspects. When it refers to the military aspect, it is understood primarily to be defensive warfare.[162][163]
^Seventeen derivatives ofjihad occur altogether forty-one times (eleven Meccan texts and thirty Medinan ones), with the following five meanings: striving because of religious belief (21), war (12), non-Muslim parents exerting pressure, that is, jihād, to make their children abandon Islam (2), solemn oaths (5), and physical strength (1).[10]: 56
^Böwering, Gerhard; Crone, Patricia, eds. (2013). "Jihad".The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought.Princeton, NJ:Princeton University Press.Literally meaning "struggle",jihad may be associated with almost any activity by which Muslims attempt to bring personal and social life into a pattern of conformity with the guidance of God.
^Bernard Lewis (27 September 2001)."Jihad vs. Crusade". Opinionjournal.com.Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved4 August 2016.
^Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (2011). "Parity of Muslim and Western Concepts of Just War".The Muslim World.101 (3): 416.doi:10.1111/j.1478-1913.2011.01384.x.ISSN1478-1913.In classical Muslim doctrine on war, likewise, genuine non-combatants are not to be harmed. These include women, minors, servants and slaves who do not take part in the fighting, the blind, monks, hermits, the aged, those physically unable to fight, the insane, the delirious, farmers who do not fight, traders, merchants, and contractors. The main criterion distinguishing combatants from non-combatants is that the latter do not fight and do not contribute to the war effort.
^ibn Ismāʻīl Bukhārī, Muḥammad (1981).Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī: The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari. Vol. v4. Translated by Muhsin Khan, Muhammad. Medina: Dar al-Fikr. pp. 34–204.. Quoted inStreusand, Douglas E. (September 1997)."What DoesJihad Mean?".Middle East Quarterly:9–17.Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved24 August 2014.Inhadith collections,jihad means armed action; for example, the 199 references tojihad in the most standard collection ofhadith, Sahih al-Bukhari, all assume thatjihad means warfare.
^Streusand, Douglas E. (September 1997)."What DoesJihad Mean?".Middle East Quarterly.4 (3):9–17.Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved12 July 2015.
^Abi Zakaryya Al Dimashqi Al Dumyati (23 October 2016).The Book ofJihad. Translated by Yamani, Noor. pp. 107. Retrieved9 August 2019 – viaInternet Archive.
^Abi Zakaryya Al Dimashqi Al Dumyati (23 October 2016).The Book ofJihad. Translated by Yamani, Noor. pp. 177. Retrieved9 August 2019 – viaInternet Archive.
^abStreusand, Douglas E. (September 1997)."What DoesJihad Mean?".Middle East Quarterly.iv (3):9–17.Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved26 August 2014.
^Kadri 2012, pp. 103, According to al-Ghazali, he [the Prophet] had told Muslims after their first major military victory at Badr that their struggle (jihad) was not won: they had only won a 'lesser struggle', while the greater struggle to fortify their spiritual defenses still lay ahead..
^Diagne, Souleymane Bachir (2008). "Towards an intellectual history of West Africa: The meaning of Timbuktu".The meanings of Timbuktu(PDF). HRSC Press. p. 26.ISBN9780796922045. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 17 May 2022. Retrieved29 November 2021.
^abJohnson, James Turner (1 November 2010).Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions. Penn State Press. pp. 147–48.ISBN978-0271042145. Retrieved24 September 2014.Islam ... instilled into the hearts of the warriors the belief that a war against the followers of another faith was a holy war ... The fundamental structure of bedouin warfare remained, however, that of raiding to collect booty. ... another element in the normative understanding ofjihad as religiously sanctioned war ... [was] the ghaza, `razzia or raid.` ... Thus the standard form of desert warfare, periodic raids by the nomadic tribes against one another and the settled areas, was transformed into a centrally directed military movement and given and ideological rationale.
^Berkey, Jonathan Porter (2003).The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600–1800. Cambridge University Press. p. 73.ISBN978-0521588133.The Koran is not a squeamish document, and it exhorts the believers tojihad. Verses such as "Do not follow the unbelievers, but struggle against them mightily" (25.52) and "fight [those who have been given a revelation] who do not believe in God and the last day" (9.29) may originally have been directed against Muhammad's local enemies, the pagans of Mecca or the Jews of Medina, but they could be redirected once a new set of enemies appeared.
^Khadduri 1955"Book II - The Law of War: The Jihad - Chapter V. Doctrine ofJihad"(PDF).War and Peace in the Law of Islam. pp. 55–73. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 28 November 2015. Retrieved26 October 2015.The importance of thejihad in Islam lay in shifting the focus of attention of the tribes from their interribal warfare to the outside word; Islam outlawed all forms of war except thejihad, that is the war in Allah's path. It would indeed, have been very difficult for the Islamic state to survive had it not been for the doctrine of thejihad, replacing tribal raids, and directing that enormous energy of the tribes from an inevitable internal conflict to unite and fight against the outside world in the name of the new faith.
^Al-Shaybani, Muhammad Ibn al-H. (1966).The Islamic Law of Nations: Shaybani's Siyar. Translated by Khadduri, [Majid. Johns Hopkins Press.
^Albrecht Noth, "Der Dschihad: sich mühen für Gott. In: Gernot Rotter,Die Welten des Islam: neunundzwanzig Vorschläge, das Unvertraute zu verstehen" (Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1993), p. 27
^Lewis, Bernard (2004).The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. Random House Publishing Group. p. 31.ISBN978-0812967852.According to Islamic law, it is lawful to wage war against four types of enemies: infidels, apostates, rebels, and bandits. Although all four types of war are legitimate, only the first two count asjihad.
^According toKhaled Abou El Fadl martyrdom is within God's exclusive province; only God can assess the intentions of individuals and the justness of their cause, and ultimately, whether they deserve the status of being a martyr. The Qur'anic text does not recognize the idea of unlimited warfare, and it does not consider the simple fact that one of the belligerents is Muslim to be sufficient to establish the justness of a war. Moreover, according to the Qur'an, war might be necessary, and might even become binding and obligatory, but it is never a moral and ethical good. The Qur'an does not use the wordjihad to refer to warfare or fighting; such acts are referred to asqital. While the Qur'an's call tojihad is unconditional and unrestricted, such is not the case for qital.Jihad is a good in and of itself, while qital is not. Source:Abou El Fadl, Khaled (23 January 2007).The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists. HarperOne.ISBN978-0061189036.
^abKhadduri 1955"5. Doctrine ofJihad"(PDF).War and Peace in the Law of Islam. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 28 November 2015. Retrieved26 October 2015.[Unlike the five pillars of Islam,jihad was to be enforced by the state.] ... 'unless the Muslim community is subjected to a sudden attack and therefore all believers, including women and children are under the obligation to fight—[jihad of the sword] is regarded by all jurists, with almost no exception, as a collective obligation of the whole Muslim community,' meaning that 'if the duty is fulfilled by a part of the community it ceases to be obligatory on others'.
^The early Muslim era of expansion (632–750 CE, or theRashidun andUmayyad eras) preceded the "classical era" (750–1258 CE) which coincided with the beginning and the end of theAbbasid Caliphate.
^Gibb, H.A.R. (Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen) (1969).Mohammedanism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^DeLong-Bas 2004 "In Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's writings,jihad is a special and specific type of warfare, which can be declared only by the religious leader (imam) and whose purpose is the defense of the Muslim community from aggression." .. "What Shaltut calls for here is not only a defensive response but also the right to live peacefully without fear for life, home, or possessions, all of which is consistent with Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's assertion ofjihad as a defensive activity designed to restore order and preserve life and property."... "Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's definition ofjihad is restricted to a defensive military action designed to protect and preserve the Muslim community and its right to practice its faith".. "For Ibn Abd al-Wahhab,jihad is always a defensive military action. Here he is synchronous with Islamic modernist writers, who narrow the confines ofjihad to defensive action.."}}
^Gold 2012, pp. 7–8 "... the revival ofjihad, and its prioritization as a religious value, is found in the works of high-level Saudi religious officials like former chief justice Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Humaid: `Jihad is a great deed indeed [and] there is no deed whose reward and blessing is as that of it, and for this reason, it is the best thing one can volunteer for."
^Al-Khatib, Ibrahim (2012).The Muslim Brotherhood and Palestine: Letters To Jerusalem. scribedigital.com.ISBN978-1780410395. Retrieved7 September 2014.The Muslim Brothers believed a well-plannedJihad to be the only means to liberate Palestine. Its press confirmed thatJihad became an individual obligation upon every Muslim ... [who would] gain one of the two desirable goals (i.e. gaining victory or dying martyrs). The jurists of the Group issued a fatwa during the 1948 War that Muslims had to postpone pilgrimage and offer their money forJihad (in Palestine) instead.
^Abū ʻAmr, Z. (1994).Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza: Muslim Brotherhood and . Indiana University Press. p. 23.ISBN978-0253208668.According to the [Muslim Brotherhood] society, thejihad for Palestine will start after the completion of the Islamic transformation of Palestinian society, the completion of the process of Islamic revival, and the return to Islam in the region. Only then can the call forjihad be meaningful, because the Palestinians cannot along liberate Palestine without the help of other Muslims.
^But according toJudith Miller, the MB changed its mind with the intifada.Miller, Judith (19 July 2011).God Has Ninety-Nine Names: Reporting from a Militant Middle East. Simon & Schuster. p. 387.ISBN978-1439129418.Sheikh Yasin had initially argued in typical Muslim Brotherhood tradition that violentjihad against Israel would be counterproductive until Islamic regimes had been established throughout the Muslim realm. But the outbreak of the Intifada changed his mind: Islamic reconquest would have to start rather than end withjihad in Palestine. So stated the Hamas covenant.
^"Hamas Covenant 1988".Yale Law School Avalon Project.Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved7 September 2014.[part of Article 13 of the Covenant] There is no solution for the Palestinian question except throughJihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.
^abQutb, Sayyid.Milestones(PDF). pp. 82, 60.Archived(PDF) from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved7 September 2014.
^Symon, Fiona (16 October 2001)."Analysis: The roots ofjihad". BBC.Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved7 September 2014.For Qutb, all non-Muslims were infidels—even the so-called "people of the book", the Christians and Jews—and he predicted an eventual clash of civilisations between Islam and the west.
^Al-Batal, Mahmoud; Kristen Brustad; Abbas Al-Tonsi (2006). "6 "من رائدات الحركة النسائية العربية" (One of the Pioneers of the Arabic Feminist Movement)".Al-Kitaab fii Tacllum al-cArabiyya, Part II (in Arabic and English) (2 ed.). Washington, DC:Georgetown University Press.ISBN978-1589010963.To struggle or exert oneself for a cause........جاهََدَ، يجاهِد، الجهاد
ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad (1398h).Kitab al-Tawhid, volume I of Mu'allafat al-Shaykh al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahahb (First ed.). Riyad: Jamiat al-Imam MUhammad bin Saudi al-Islamiyah.
Dajani-Shakeel, Hadia; Messier, Ronald A.; Ehrenkreutz, Andrew S. (1991).The Jihād and Its Times. Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan.ISBN978-0-932098-24-5.
Alfred Morabia,Le Ğihâd dans l'Islâm médiéval. "Le combat sacré" des origines au XIIe siècle, Albin Michel, Paris 1993
Masood Ashraf Raja (2009). "Jihad in Islam: Colonial Encounter, the Neoliberal Order, and the Muslim Subject of Resistance".The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences.26 (4): 25.
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