Thursday, July 12, 2007

What is Jihad for You?

What would you think when you hear a statement from a person "I am a Jihadi, jihad is one of main practices in my religion". In todays scenario, you would probably think that the person may be a terrorist. Its a sad picture that Jihad and terrorism have become synonymus.

What we understand today is just the iota of actual Jihad. According to a credible source, there are:

Jihad of the heart/soul (jihad bin nafs/qalb) is an inner struggle of good against evil in the mind, through concepts such as tawhid.
Jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan) is a struggle of good against evil waged by writing and speech, such as in the form of dawah (proselytizing), Khutbas (sermons), etc.
Jihad by the pen and knowledge (jihad bil qalam/lim) is a struggle for good against evil through scholarly study of Islam, ijtihad (legal reasoning), and through sciences (such as medical sciences).
Jihad by the hand (jihad bil yad) refers to a struggle of good against evil waged by actions or with one's wealth, such as going on the Hajj pilgrimage (seen as the best jihad for women), taking care of elderly parents, or political activity for furthering the cause of Islam.
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.

3 comments:

HD said...

This is a good one...

Tamanna said...

thanks..at least someone replied on this..i was not expecting anyone to comment on thia..that too positive!

HD said...

Hmmm... Actually you know Tamanna what's the problem with the majority of the people that they just want to believe in what they hear and see.... Honestly How can some people be so ignorant!!....

Anyways, it's a nice post....
Great job...