Islam 101
What does jihad mean?
Struggle, war and its limits
5 min, Intro
Jihad is one of the most misunderstood words about Islam. It means striving, or struggle. Against your own faults. For justice. And in some cases armed fighting, under strict rules. Extremists ignore those rules.
Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review
The thread
Jihad is one of the most misunderstood words about Islam. This lesson follows it from its root meaning, striving. To the narrow place where it means fighting, and the limits set on that. To the groups who ignore those limits.
A word that means effort
First, the word itself. Jihad comes from a root meaning effort or striving. In the Qur'an it covers striving with your wealth and your self in God's way.
So what counts? Inner struggle against selfishness counts. So does speaking out against injustice. So does armed defence. All three are called jihad.
A saying often quoted calls the inner struggle "the greater jihad". Hadith scholars grade that saying weak. But the idea of struggling against the self is well grounded elsewhere.
The best jihad is a word of justice before a tyrannical ruler.
Sunan Abi Dawud 4344, Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2174 Hasan Graded hasan by al-Tirmidhi
Jihad means struggle, and much of that struggle is inward.
When struggle means fighting
So when does the struggle mean fighting? The first Qur'anic permission to fight came after years of persecution. Permission is given, it says, to those who are fought against, because they have been wronged: driven from their homes only for saying "Our Lord is God".
Then come the limits. The Qur'an says: fight in God's cause those who fight you, but do not transgress, for God does not love transgressors. The Prophet ﷺ forbade killing women and children. Early caliphs added the elderly, monks, and cutting down trees.
Not all fighting in history was defensive. Most classical jurists also accepted wars of expansion led by the state, under the same rules of conduct. Many modern scholars argue that today armed jihad is for defence only. Others disagree. Muslims debate this openly.
وَقَٰتِلُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَٰتِلُونَكُمۡ وَلَا تَعۡتَدُوٓاْۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُعۡتَدِينَ ١٩٠
190 Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight you, but do not transgress, for Allah does not like transgressors.
أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَٰتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمۡ ظُلِمُواْۚ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ نَصۡرِهِمۡ لَقَدِيرٌ ٣٩ ٱلَّذِينَ أُخۡرِجُواْ مِن دِيَٰرِهِم بِغَيۡرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّآ أَن يَقُولُواْ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُۗ وَلَوۡلَا دَفۡعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعۡضَهُم بِبَعۡضࣲ لَّهُدِّمَتۡ صَوَٰمِعُ وَبِيَعࣰ وَصَلَوَٰتࣰ وَمَسَٰجِدُ يُذۡكَرُ فِيهَا ٱسۡمُ ٱللَّهِ كَثِيرࣱاۗ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُۥٓۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ ٤٠
39 Permission [to fight] is given to those who are attacked because they were oppressed, and Allah is indeed Most Capable of granting them victory,
40 those who have been driven out of their homes for no reason other than they say, “Our Lord is Allah.” If Allah were not to repel some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques wherein the name of Allah is often mentioned, would surely have been demolished. Allah surely helps those who stand up for His cause. Indeed, Allah is All-Powerful, All-Mighty.
A woman was found killed in one of the battles, so the Messenger of Allah forbade the killing of women and children.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3015, Sahih Muslim 1744 Sahih In Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
Even in war, the Qur'an's rule is: do not transgress.
The rules extremists ignore
Those limits raise a question: who gets to declare a war? In classical Islamic law, only a legitimate state can start one. Individuals cannot. (Defending against an attack is a duty on those attacked, without waiting for a declaration.)
The protections are wide. Civilians, treaties and places of worship are protected. Suicide is forbidden. And in an ayah addressed first to the Children of Israel, the Qur'an likens killing one innocent person to killing all of humanity.
Groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda reject this tradition. In 2014, over 120 Muslim scholars from around the world signed an open letter to the ISIS leader, refuting his claims point by point. Most victims of such groups have been Muslims.
مِنۡ أَجۡلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبۡنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفۡسَۢا بِغَيۡرِ نَفۡسٍ أَوۡ فَسَادࣲ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعࣱا وَمَنۡ أَحۡيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحۡيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعࣱاۚ وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَتۡهُمۡ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرࣱا مِّنۡهُم بَعۡدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ لَمُسۡرِفُونَ ٣٢
32 For this reason, We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a person – unless in retribution for murder or corruption in the land – it is as if he killed all mankind; and whoever saves a life, it is as if he saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came to them with clear signs, yet many of them continued to exceed the limits afterward in the land.
The Qur'an likens killing one innocent person to killing all humanity.