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PART I : ISLAM AND ITS BASIC CONCEPT
LESSON 9
JIHAD (THE STRUGGLE FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH SWT)
1.0 Introduction
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
In the Islamic history, jihad became the foundation of the establishment and development of
Islamic Civilization in this world for the attainment of the real success and excellence in the
Hereafter. The word jihad actually has a wide meaning that comprises all aspects of Muslim life in
economy, social, politic, education, military, family, ibadah, and so on. The concept of jihad is in
line with the nature and philosophy of Islam itself as al-deen (the complete way of life). The main
objective of jihad is to uphold and put Allah SWT and His religion above other religions and other
system of the human beings. However, in certain circumstances, some Muslims misunderstand
the real concept of jihad in Islam. The misunderstanding causes wrong actions and finally the
blame is put on Islam. Thus, this lesson will discuss about the concept of jihad with the hope that
all of us will have a clearer understanding about jihad.
2.0 Learning Outcomes
By the end of lesson, the students should able to:
2.1 Explain the meaning of jihad and its concept
2.2 Discuss the importance of jihad
2.3 Identify the type of jihad and elaborate it
2.4 Explain the priority of jihad
2.5 Explain the Shari’ah Rulings of jihad
3.0 List of Topics
3.1 The Meaning of Jihad and Its Concept
3.2 The Importance of Jihad
3.3 The Type of Jihad
3.4 The Priority of Jihad
4.0 Terminologies
4.1 Authentic hadith
Hadith Shahih
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5.0 Topics
5.1 The Meaning of Jihad and Its Concept
5.1.1
Presentation
How often do you hear the word jihad in your life? Do you really understand its meaning
and quests? Let’s discuss what jihad actually is.
Literally, jihad is derived from an Arabic “‫”جهد‬, which means to strive, to struggle, to exert
oneself. Technically (from the shari’ah definition), it means striving for Islam by struggling
verbally, in writing, or with the help of arms. Jihad is a tool to defend the Truth by using all
God-given physical and mental faculties for the cause of Islam. For example, a student
who struggles in seeking knowledge or an officer who works hard in maintaining good job
are doing a jihad if it fulfills the requirement of jihad such as ikhlas and right intention.
َ َ‫ست َ ِوي ا ْلقَا ِعد ُونَ ِمنَ ا ْل ُمؤْ مِ ِنين‬
َّ َ‫اّلل ِبأ َ ْم َوال ِِه ْم َوأَنُُس ِِه ْم ف‬
ِ ‫س ِبي ِل ه‬
ْ ‫الَّ َي‬
َ ‫غي ُْر أ ُ ْولِي الض ََّر ِر َوا ْل ُمجَا ِهدُونَ فِي‬
‫ض َل ه‬
ُ‫اّلل‬
‫سنَى‬
َ ‫علَى ا ْلقَا ِع ِدينَ د ََرجَةً َوكُـالًّ َو‬
َ ‫ا ْل ُمجَا ِه ِدينَ ِبأ َ ْم َوال ِِه ْم َوأَنُُس ِِه ْم‬
ْ ‫اّللُ ا ْل ُح‬
‫عد َ ه‬
َّ َ‫َوف‬
‫جْرا عَظِ ي ًما‬
َ َ‫اّللُ ا ْل ُمجَا ِه ِدين‬
‫ض َل ه‬
ً َ ‫علَى ا ْلقَا ِع ِدينَ أ‬
“Allah has preferred in grades those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and
their lives above those who sit (at home).” (Nisa' 4: 95)
Do you know how many times Allah SWT mentioned the word jihad in al-Quran? The term
‘jihad’ appears 36 times in the Qur’an referring to all kinds of instances of moral-ethical
struggle as well as armed struggle. The believer is asked by Allah to overcome his own
destructive desires, overcome obstacles that lie between him and Islam, establish a
Muslim community where Muslim law and justice is practiced and many others. There are
also jihad in of the soul, the tongue, the pen, or the sword is “in the way of Allah” (fi sabil‘illah). The armed struggle in jihad is called ‘qital’, i.e. fighting by using arms in warfare.
Jihad in the sense of moral struggle against sin and injustice is a duty for Muslim, either
an individual obligation (fard ‘ayn) or an obligation shared by the community (fard
kifayah). Armed struggle (qital) is also obligatory, namely when home territory has to be
defended from invading enemies (duty of all), or when fellow Muslims are attacked and
need help (duty of some), or new Muslim rule can be established somewhere else. In
order for anyone’s struggle be accepted as jihad it has to fulfill the following conditions:
(a) right intention (for the sake of Allah, act of worship)
(b) not contradictory to the shari’ah
(c) according to principles established in the Qur’an and Sunnah
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5.1.2
Activities
Can you give an example of misunderstanding of the meaning and concept of jihad by
Muslims today? Elaborate your example.
5.2. The Importance of Jihad
5.2.1
Presentation
Jihad is very important in Islam. The success of Islamic civilization in the past especially
during the time of Prophet Muhammad SAW and the four great caliphs was due to the
spirit of jihad. In general, the importance of jihad can be summarized as follows:
a) Jihad is an act of submission to the Will of Allah SWT. Thus, performing it will
be rewarded by Allah SWT.
b) Jihad is a blessing of Allah SWT. With jihad, we are able to improve our life
from bad to good. Just look into the history of the migration of Muslims from
Makkah to Madinah. They managed to free themselves from depression and
oppression and built a better life in Madinah. In fact, they managed to
establish a very strong Islamic state of Madinah in which it has become the
foundation of Islamic civilization.
c) Through jihad, Islam can be defended.
5.2.3
Activities
Give two examples of events/situations in which jihad:
a) is a blessing of Allah SWT
b) as the tool of defending Islam
5.3 The Type of Jihad
5.3.1
Presentation
There are several types of jihad in Islam that are jihad of the nafs (desire), heart, tongue,
knowledge, wealth/property, body/energy and life. The level of iman will determine
whether a Muslim is able to do those types of jihad or not.
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a) Jihad of the nafs (desire)
The desire more inclines towards influencing us to do evils (mungkar and ma’siah).
Thus, the desire must be controlled. How to control it? The Prophet SAW said,
through jihad. In fact, according to the Prophet SAW, jihad to fight the desire is
considered as the biggest jihad compared to jihad by using arms in a war against the
enemy of Islam. In a hadith, after coming back from the Battle of Badr, Rasulullah
SAW was reported to say: “We come back from a small jihad and will face a bigger
jihad. His companions (friends) asked: “Is there a bigger jihad than this (the Battle of
Badr),Ya Rasulullah?”. Rasulullah SAW said: “Yes, it is the jihad against the nafs”
b) Jihad of the Heart
Can you explain jihad through the heart? How can you do jihad through your heart?
Sometimes, our heart desires for something bad but with strong iman, we can still
prevent ourselves from doing it. For example, when we switch on television, there
two programs running; one a religious program and another one is program on music
on different channels. Which one will you choose? Here, the jihad of the heart is
needed. Without jihad, we will choose the program on music. Another example is to
advise a group of men gambling. In our heart, we want to stop them from gambling
buy we are afraid that the men might bit us. Thus, we are not able to tell them by
tongue but depth in our heart, we hate the behavior of the men as it is forbidden by
Islam. In this case, we have done jihad of the heart but it shows the lowest level
(weakest) of iman. This based on a hadith narrated by Abu said al-Khudri:
”Whosoever amongst you who have seen evil deeds, should change it using your own hands,
if you are unable to do so, correct it using the tongue (verbally), and if you still cannot do
that, then change it with your heart. That indeed is the weakest of faith”
c) Jihad of the Tongue
Jihad of the tongue is higher than of the heart based on the hadith above. If you try to
explain something that is good or calling people to do ma’ruf things or verbally forbids
other people from doing mungkar or ma’siah to Allah SWT or you preach Islam to
non-Muslims, all those actions are jihad of the tongue. Doing those actions is not an
easy tasks and many obstacles because the people might not like or hate what you
are saying. To do such actions, we need strong iman as our strength. Is it right?
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d)
Jihad of Knowledge
There is also jihad of knowledge in terms of seeking knowledge, practicing the
knowledge and delivering the knowledge. Without jihad, no one will be having a
steadfast heart to seek knowledge, then to practice it and to deliver it to others. The
effort of Imam al-Syafei’ to travel from his place to Iraq that takes more than one
month by riding a camel just to look for authentic hadith was due to the spirit of jihad
that he had without which he would not do that. How many ulama’ out there who
have knowledge about the authentic hadith and know that there are some practices
of Muslim society contradicting the authentic hadith are able to tell the people that
those practices are not in line with Islam? Thus, the spirit of jihad is highly needed to
enable us performing those three elements of jihad of knowledge.
e) Jihad of the Wealth
This type of jihad refers to our willingness or voluntary action to spend our wealth for
religion, either for our benefits or others. How many people out there are very stingy
to give financial sadaqah? The worse of Muslims are those who refuse to pay
obligatory almsgiving (zakah) imposed by Islam. Have you spent half of your wealth
for Islam? For example, you spend of your wealth to support Muslims missionaries to
preach Islam to non-Muslims. Can you do that? Can you do the same as Sayyidina
Umar al-Khattab who contributed half of his wealth for the Battle of Tabuk? Or can
you do as Sayyidina Abu Bakr who spent all his wealth for the battle? It is not an
easy task right? To take some of our wealth or fortune to defend Islam or to help
others is not easy. It can be done through jihad. Thus, once again, our ability to do
this type of jihad also depends on our level of iman.
f)
Jihad of the Body (energy)
This jihad refers to the use of our body or energy to perform Allah’s Wills or Islamic
teachings. There are many examples of this jihad. Performing the five daily prayers,
fasting, zakah al-fitrah, pilgrimage (hajj), use our hands to stop ma’siah and so on are
among the examples of this type of jihad. Performing the hajj for example, is not easy
because one has to leave his family and need to spend might be half of his wealth to
go Makkah. Try look back to the past how difficult Muslims to go Makkah at the time
there was airplane yet invented. When ship was invented, Muslims from Malaysia
had to spend almost four months sailing on the sea just to perform the hajj. There
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was a Muslim Russian in 2008, age more than 60 years old, rode his bicycle from
Russia to Makkah which took him more than five months just to perform hajj. Do you
think all these can be done without jihad? Off course, it needs jihad. Another example
of this jihad is fighting in war using weapons to defend Islam. This fighting, off course,
requires energy and the use of our body.
g) Jihad of the Life
This jihad is applicable in certain circumstances. For example, at the time there is
threat from enemies of Islam to destroy a holy place of Islam such as Ka’bah,
scarifying our life is needed because the Ka’bah is the symbol of sanctity of Islam.
Another example, there is threat by the enemies to destroy an Islamic country, all
citizens must sacrifice themselves to defend the country. This type of jihad had been
demonstrated by the first generation of Muslims in the past, in the history of Prophet
Muhammad SAW.
5.3.2
Activities
a) Find out the text of hadith which is mentioned in the jihad of the heart.
b) Give one example (which is different from the examples given above) for each
type of jihad.
5.4 The Priority of Jihad
5.4.1
Presentation
Islam puts a high priority on jihad because it determines the survival of Islam and
continuity of its civilization. Not only that, jihad also will determine the success of Muslims
in this world and the world after. Allah SWT will reward and forgive those who perform
jihad. In Surah al-Baqarah, verse 26, Allah SWT described the reward for those who
spend their property in the way of Allah SWT. The reward is as parable of a grain growing
seven ears with a hundred grains in every ear and Allah SWT multiplies for whom He
pleases. In another verse 10-13 of Surah al-Saff, Allah SWT will place those who fight to
defend Allah’s religion at the best place in paradise. In both verses, Allah SWT had
promised big rewards for those who perform jihad.
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5.4.2
Activities
Find out the Quranic verses from Surah al-Baqarah and al-Saff which are mentioned
above. Try to memorize the verses and comprehend the meanings. Then, practise the
verses in your life.
5.5 Jihad and Qital
5.5.1
Presentation
Is jihad and qital sharing the same meaning? Actually, jihad and qital have two different
meanings. Jihad means physically and mentally struggling and sacrificing oneself in the cause
of Islam but it does not mean fighting and killing for propagating Islam by force. Faith is a
matter of conviction and conscience and no amount of force and coercion can ever bring
a man to believe in something of which he is not convinced. What can be established by
force though is Muslim rule while qital means fighting for the cause of God.
ُ ‫أ ُ ِذنَ ِللَّ ِذينَ يُقَاتَلُونَ بِأ َ َّن ُه ْم‬
‫علَى نَص ِْر ِه ْم لَ َقدِير‬
َ ‫اّلل‬
َ َّ َّ‫ظ ِل ُموا َوإِن‬
“To those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they are wronged.
They are those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right – for no cause except
they say; Out Lord is Allah.” (Hajj : 39-40).
The order to fight was given to the Muslims only for self-preservation and self-defense.
Under such circumstances, namely when Muslims are attacked, armed fight (qital)
becomes obligatory on all Muslims in order to protect their homes, property, freedom, and
lives.
Qital is one aspect of jihad, waging of holy war in the defense of Islam and of one’s
country against any aggressor. The Muslims fight only when it is essential for the
maintenance of peace. In short, qital is part of jihad but not all jihad is qital. Struggle for
the truth of Islam and justice can be done by any means possible, for example; materially
(property, capital, land, means of transportation, communication), intellectually ( thought,
ideas, criticism, support, publications, lectures, websites), physically (fighting, helping,
assisting in reconstruction of war-ravaged territories, natural disaster aid missions, etc)
5.5.2
Activities
In your opinion, do the struggles of the people of Palestine and Chechnya can be
considered as jihad or qital? Discuss and provide your argument.
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6.0 Lesson Summary
From the discussion above, it clear that jihad has a wide meaning. It is not only
constrained to fighting in a war but also involves the practices of all Islamic values in our
daily life. Jihad has a special significance and priority in Islam. Anybody who does the
jihad in whatever situation, be it jihad with the heart, tongue, energy, life or knowledge,
there is abundant of reward from Allah SWT are waiting.
7.0 Self Assessment
7.1 Answer
either with true or false
a) Jihad is part of ‘ibadah.
_______
b) Jihad has a broad meaning and wide application.
_______
c) Jihad specifically means fighting in a battle
_______
d) Jihad is defined as upholding the truth.
_______
e) Jihad and qital are synonymous.
_______
f) Jihad has many types or categories.
_______
g) Fighting in the battle is the major type of jihad.
_______
h) To bear any kind of hardship is a type of jihad.
_______
i) To give away property for the sake of Allah is a type of jihad.
_______
j) To restrain one’s self from all desires is the major type of jihad.
_______
k) One of the elements of jihad is to sacrifice for the sake of nation.
_______
l) Qital is the best form of jihad at all times, places and situations.
_______
Answer:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
True
True
False
True
False
True
False
True
Tue
True
True
False
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MCQ:
1. Jihad has a broad meaning that implies ________
A.
B.
C.
D.
upholding the truth
struggling verbally
struggling in learning
participating in the battle
Answer: A
2. The meaning of jihad can applied in one of these cases that is _______
A.
B.
C.
D.
Z is striving to earn his family life
Amir is fighting with Aziz without reason
X is struggling to be a professional thief
Y is struggling to run away from the prison
Answer: A
3. Jihad in Islam can be generally performed by ________
A.
B.
C.
D.
joining the battlefield
working hard to feed the family
studying hard to pass the examination
striving in all matter for the cause of Allah
Answer: D
4. Jihad bil-‘ilm can be demonstrated by __________
A.
B.
C.
D.
helping the poor by donating money
teaching children to recite Al-Quran
teaching colleagues how to cheat in doing assignment
refraining oneself from watching the unbeneficial television programmes.
Answer: B
5. Which one of these statements shows the relation between jihad and qital?
A. Jihad is a part of qital
B. Qital is one kind of jihad
C. Jihad and qital involve using weapons
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D. Jihad means to participate in the battle
Answer: B
6. Jihad is not warfare because it __________
A.
B.
C.
D.
needs to use weapons
requires physical struggle
covers all forms of struggle
involves fighting against the enemy
Answer: C
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