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What is a religious jihad?

Updated: 8/19/2019
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There is, perhaps, no term today that is more misunderstood than the term "jihad". Nowadays, the word jihad has solely come to signify "holy war", terrorism, or the mass murder of innocent people. However, what is jihad really about and what is its correct meaning? The term jihad is in fact derived from the Arabic verb "jahada", which linguistically means to strive or struggle. In Islam, however, jihad means to exhaust utmost effort striving to please God. This, unsurprisingly, includes fighting, as fighting is a form of struggle. In fact, majority of the time the term jihad is mentioned in the Qur'an it means "fighting in the way of God" (for His sake), and to make His Word the highest. The one who engages in jihad is called a mujaahid; the plural is mujaahideen.

Jihad is a very important part of Islam. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not believe in the idea of "love thy enemy" or turning the other cheek when we are attacked. Instead, we believe in the divine principle, "fight those who fight you." This general guideline and rule agrees with our human nature and survival instinct. That is because it is only natural for one to retaliate against aggression and defend one's life, property and wealth from any external attack.

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What is the correct name for a religious war?

Crusade or Jihad.


What is another word for religious trip?

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What is the nonviolent interpretation of jihad that is accepted by most Muslims?

Jihad (English pronunciation: /dʒɪˈhɑːd/; Arabic: جهاد‎ ǧihād [dʒiˈhæːd]), an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is mujahideen. Jihad is an important religious duty for MuslimsJihad of the heart (jihad bil qalb/nafs) is concerned with combatting the devil and in the attempt to escape his persuasion to evil. This type of Jihad was regarded as the greater jihad (al-jihad al-akbar).Jihad by the tongue(jihad bil lisan) 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 to qital fi sabilillah (armed fighting in the way of God, or holy war), the most common usage by Salafi Muslims and offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood. (THIS IS A VIOLENT FORM OF JIHAD, BUT COMMONLY ACCEPTED.)


According to the quran fair defensive warfare is a jihad which means?

A Jihad is an important religious duty for Muslims, therefore Muslims would feel they had to protect fair defensive warfare at all costs.


What does the qur'an say about jihad?

Jihad is a tenet of Islam and a religious duty to strive in the way of God. There are two general ways to do this, the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad. The Greater Jihad is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously; this kind of jihad should be entirely peaceful. The Lesser Jihad refers to conflicts and confrontations between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, which often erupt in war, but can also be performed through non-violent protests, debate, and advocacy. It is the Lesser Jihad which is often cast as a Holy War.


Do Sunnis and Shiites both believe in jihad?

YES. Jihad is a Qur'anic injunction, so there is no difference between the Sunni and Shiite views of Jihad. The only Islamic group that rejects Jihad as a general concept is the Ahmadiyya community, who strictly view Jihad as an internal struggle.Both Sunnis and Shiites see Jihad as a tenet of Islam and a religious duty to strive in the way of God. There are two general ways to do this, the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad. The Greater Jihad is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously; this kind of jihad should be entirely peaceful. The Lesser Jihad refers to conflicts and confrontations between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, which often erupt in war, but can also be performed through non-violent protests, debate, and advocacy. It is the Lesser Jihad which is often cast as a Holy War.


How does jihad relate to Muslims in their personal struggle?

Jihad is a tenet of Islam and a religious duty to strive in the way of God. There are two general ways to do this, the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad. The Greater Jihad is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously; this kind of jihad should be entirely peaceful. The Lesser Jihad refers to conflicts and confrontations between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, which often erupt in war, but can also be performed through non-violent protests, debate, and advocacy.


What similarities are shared by Zionism and Jihad?

Jihad is an ancient Muslim concept of personal struggle that became politicized while Zionism is both an ancient religious movement towards the land of Israel and a modern political movement.


How many jihads are there?

Jihad is a tenet of Islam and a religious duty to strive in the way of God. There are two general ways to do this, the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad. The Greater Jihad is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously; this kind of jihad should be entirely peaceful. The Lesser Jihad refers to conflicts and confrontations between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, which often erupt in war, but can also be performed through non-violent protests, debate, and advocacy.


How long has jihad been around?

In Islamic concept, Jihad means "to strive against". It is divided into three parts; Jihad against one's own soul and temptations, Jihad against ignorance in the form of verbal communication and Jihad against non-believers in the form of physical violence.If we read the above-mentioned paragraph closely, one can assume that Jihad has been in this world ever since man has been; conquering his lust, fighting wars, arguing against one another in the advocacy of his religion.It is however, a common misconception, to believe that Jihad comprises only of "wars".


Does every muslim compete in jihad?

First, we need to define Jihad. Jihad is a tenet of Islam and a religious duty to strive in the way of God. There are two general ways to do this, the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad. The Greater Jihad is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously; this kind of jihad should be entirely peaceful. The Lesser Jihad refers to conflicts and confrontations between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, which often erupt in war, but can also be performed through non-violent protests, debate, and advocacy. It is the Lesser Jihad which is often cast as a Holy War.Now. the term "compete in jihad" does not make sense. If the question is asking if every Muslim participates in jihad, the answer is "No"; there is no group of people who uniformly do one set of things. However, most Muslims try to participate in jihad, but involvement in Greater Jihad (self-reflection) is far more common than Lesser Jihad (striving to change the world), and involvement in peaceful Lesser Jihad (advocacy and protests) is far more common than violent Lesser Jihad (holy war).


What are the negative ways that jihad is understood?

Jihad is a tenet of Islam and a religious duty to strive in the way of God. There are two general ways to do this, the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad. The Greater Jihad is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously; this kind of jihad should be entirely peaceful. The Lesser Jihad refers to conflicts and confrontations between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, which often erupt in war, but can also be performed through non-violent protests, debate, and advocacy.It is this Lesser Jihad that is often seen in a negative light because those who engage in it perform many human rights abuses in concert with their beliefs on the proper way that jihad should be performed.