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Jihad: The Irony Of A Misunderstood Concept
Time and again, history has proved that little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Inadequate knowledge and misconceptions have led to many a war in this world. Huge empires have collapsed due to misunderstandings and misconceptions. Some of these war of misconceptions are still rocking our world. One such misunderstood concept of the present world is the Jihad which has twisted and turned in such a way that it is now a reason for unimaginable bloodshed.
Jihad is an Islamic term which means struggle in Arabic. Usually, Jihad is supposed to mean 'struggle against those who do not believe in Allah', in other words, struggle against non-believers. Another meaning of Jihad which is commonly interpreted is 'striving in the path of Allah'. Jihad is considered to be one of the most important duties of a Muslim. But the term has more to it than just being a struggle against the non-believers.
Jihad has often been misinterpreted and misused. It is not a violent concept. Neither is it a war declared against the people of other faiths. It is an internal and external efforts to be good believer of Islam and working towards informing people about the faith. Military jihad is only required when the Islamic faith is threatened by an external force.
DID YOU KNOW: WHY IS THE BLACK STONE HELD SACRED IN ISLAM?
Let us take a look at what exactly 'Jihad' is or as a matter of fact, what Jihad is not.
Origins
The
origin
of
the
Jihad
can
be
traced
back
to
words
of
Prophet
Muhammad
and
the
Holy
Quran.
The
use
of
Jihad
is
usually
against
the
non-believers.
But
Quran
never
mentions
Jihad
for
fighting
and
bloodshed
in
the
name
of
Allah.
Jihad
does
not
encourage
war.
It
means
fighting
in
the
way
of
Allah
to
promulgate
Islam.
Deeper
Meanings
There
are
two
commonly
accepted
meanings
of
Jihad.
The
Jihad-E-Akbar
or
'greater
Jihad'
which
refers
to
a
person's
struggle
against
his
own
self,
an
inner
spiritual
struggle.
The
goal
of
true
jihad
is
to
attain
a
harmony
between
islam
(submission),
iman
(faith),
and
ihsan
(righteous
living).
This
is
the
most
important
meaning
of
Jihad
a
person
should
attain
in
his
lifetime.
This
struggle
is
to
get
the
right
moral-social
balance
in
an
individual
to
understand
the
essence
of
his
existence.
Jihad-e-Asgar or 'lesser Jihad' is the physical struggle against the enemies of Islam. The physical struggle can be both violent as well as non-violent. A few propagators support the violent form of Jihad and term it as 'holy war' but most scholars disagree with the idea. They believe that Jihad is more powerful in the non-violent way. The religious military campaign has to be declared by a proper authority, advised by scholars, who say the religion and people are under threat and violence is absolutely necessary to defend them.
Warfare
Islamic
law
permits
Jihad
as
the
only
form
of
warfare
and
it
can
be
used
against
non-believers,
rebels,
highway
robbers,
apostates
and
dissenters
who
renounce
the
authority
of
Islam.
Jihad
is
not
directed
against
people
of
other
faith
or
converting
them
forcefully
to
Islam.
It
means
spreading
the
knowledge
and
expanding
the
Islamic
state.
The
rules
of
warfare
in
Jihad
are
explained
at
great
length
in
the
Islamic
law.
The
law
says
one
cannot
kill
women,
children
and
non-combatants
in
the
name
of
Jihad.
One
can
also
not
damage
the
agricultural
or
residential
areas
in
the
name
of
Jihad.
A
lot
of
scholars
also
believe
that
Jihad
is
a
form
of
defensive
warfare
which
is
aimed
at
protecting
Islam
and
its
followers.
A
Highly
Misunderstood
Concept
A
common
person
always
believes
what
is
constantly
said
and
repeated
around
him.
We
never
try
to
find
out
what
is
the
reason
behind
a
particular
phenomenon
and
the
truth
behind
it.
This
results
in
misunderstanding
the
whole
concept.
So
is
the
case
with
the
concept
of
Jihad.
We
have
always
interpreted
Jihad
as
a
kind
of
warfare
which
involves
killing
innocent
people
in
the
name
of
religion.
But
the
truth
is
that
the
same
religion
has
never
even
propagated
anything
as
such.
Our
limited
knowledge
creates
the
divide
between
mindsets
and
we
all
know
what
the
result
is.
So, if we really want to stop the innocent killings and the bloodshed, we have to increase the domain of our knowledge. Only then we would be able to identify the real culprits who hide beneath the mask of religion and spread hatred among communities.
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