Jihad does not necessarily mean terrorism

Monday, June 4, 2007
Jihad does not necessarily mean terrorism
The word "Jihad" has come to acquire a differentconnotation these days. One we speak of Jihad, wetake its meaning to be terrorism. Likewise when wespeak of Jihadi, we take it to mean terrorists. Nothing can be farther from Truth for though there areJihadis who do indulge in terrorism, pious God fearingand peace loving Muslims could also be Jihadis.Originally the word meant "Crusade" and includedCrusade against poverty, against hunger, against ego,against wild sexual instincts, against harming others,against committing atrocity on others, i.e. againstdoing harmful things.Although I am not a Muslim but I have heard learnedMuslims explain this term as I have stated above. Wecan find the real meaning of the word "Jihad" by goingto its Arabic roots also. Now in the Arabic languagethe word "Jihad" literally means, "to strive," and "tostruggle." Some Muslim scholars further classify Jihadinto following categories: 1. Jihad-an-nafs or Jihadagainst one's self; 2. Jihad ash-shaitaan or Jihadagainst Satan; 3. Jihad al-kuffar or Jihad against disbeliever; 4. Jihadal-munafiqeen or Jihad against hypocrites; 5. Jihadal-faasiqeen or Jihad against corrupt Muslims. ThusJihad which means to struggle or to strive, need notinvolve violent struggle. It could be a peacefulstruggle also as already mentioned above. Thus, inour fight against the British imperialists, when theMuslims like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Hasrat Mohaniand many other Muslim freedom fighters were engagedin Satyagraha, they were doing "Jihad" against theevil British empire. Ashfaque Ullah Khan was doing"Jihad" when he laid down his life for his countryfighting against British imperialism. Brigadier Osmanalso did "Jihad" in laying down his life fighting theKabailis led by Pakistani Army in J&K. So, accordingto me, "Jihad" is the mostmisunderstood word. In my opinion, one is a Jihadi whois fighting against evil whether within one's own selfor in the outside world.
5:07:20 PM
Posted By Satbir Bedi Comments (5) Politics

Comments

muslim Monday, June 4, 2007 5:35:34 PM
Very right!Also a person who toils hard the whole day to feed his family is also Jihad...likewise a teacher teaching knowledge is jihad...Jihad is not terrorism as is meant to be....Even Krishna during the Mahabharatha told Arjun to 'to strive' or 'to struggle' against the evil of the Kauravas...It is a media circulated term to malign muslims and Islam.

K.Venugopal Monday, June 4, 2007 8:29:06 PM
Dear Satbir Bedi, Jihad does seem to have a lot of pious meanings, going by your list of Jihad usage. But what about Jihad against disbelievers? Is Jihad only friendly persuasive talks to suggest to them the Islamic way?
K.Venugopal Monday, June 4, 2007 8:32:22 PM
Further, what is an evil act in Islam? Since idol worship is abhorrent in Islam, aren't idol worshippers evil?
K.Venugopal Monday, June 4, 2007 8:37:51 PM
If not Jihad, we need another word to carry out Allah's such orders as “...slay them wherever ye catch them”.
K.Venugopal Monday, June 4, 2007 8:39:51 PM
Allah elsewhere says, “Take not life, which Allah hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law:”. The catch is, shariat is the law and in shariat, death is the penalty for, say, apostasy.