THE MEANING OF JIHAD

Wrong picture painted

The word “Jihad” is usually translated into English as “Holy War”, and for a long time the connotations have implied “religious mania”. The word “Jihad” conjures up images of wild-eyed, bearded religious fanatics, brandishing swords, attacking the “Infidels” wherever they find them, and forcing them, virtually at knife-point, to recite the Kalimah*. It is as if the artists have drawn a picture with masterly strokes, and inscribed beneath it the legend: “The History of this Nation is a Tale of Bloodshed”.
The irony is that the painters of this picture are none other than our so-called “benefactors” who have themselves been engaged in an extremely unholy war for centuries. They themselves present us with an image of robbers who - armed to the teeth with all manner of deadly weapons, have set upon the world, pillaging it for sources of raw materials, new markets for their trade, and new lands to conquer and colonize - all of which provide fuel for their ever-burning fires of greed. They fight not for the sake of Allah or their religion, but to satisfy their lust and hunger. For them, it has always been sufficient excuse to invade a land if that land is known to contain valuable mines, or if it can be exploited as a market for their manufactured goods, or if some of their surplus population can be settled there.
In the absence of any other excuse, they would even consider it a crime on the part of a country if it happened to exist en route to a country they had already conquered, or which they intended to conquer. Nowadays, it is more subtle: “Democracy” must be upheld, by direct intervention if necessary - except, of course, when the democratic will of the people opts for Islamic rule...!
Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Americas... Which part of the world has been spared the bloodbath resulting from this unholy war? We are still witnessing their dark deeds and their horrific aftermath, on a global scale.
But they are highly skilled - let us give credit where it is due! They have managed to paint such a dark and gruesome picture of us that their own true colours have been overshadowed and obscured. Yet we should be stunned by our own simplicity and gullibility. When we saw this picture of ourselves painted by the foreigners, we were so overwhelmed by it that we never thought to look beyond it to see the face of the painter. Instead, we assumed the role of apologists, pleading that we knew nothing of war, but were like the mendicants and wandering mystics. We claimed that our only concern was religious debate and to win people over to our faith. We admitted that in the past we may have fought in self-defence, but we had now renounced all that. We declared that Jihad referred only to the battle of words, waged with tongues and pens; sabre-rattling and gun-shooting were the privilege of others.
Kalimah - The Muslim declaration of faith: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

Causes of Misunderstanding about Jihad
But if we put such political consideration aside and look at the matter from a purely academic point of view, we will find two basic, but major misconceptions which lead non-Muslims and Muslims alike to fail to understand the real nature of Jihad fi Sabilillah (“Holy War for the Cause of Allah”). The first misunderstanding is that they assume Islam to be a “Religion” in the accepted (western) sense; the second is that they take Muslims to be a “Nation” in the technical sense. These two misconceptions have not only confused the concept of Jihad, but have distorted the picture of Islam as a whole, and completely misrepresented the position of the Muslim people.
In common (western) speech, the word “Religion” means nothing more than a hotch-potch of beliefs, prayers and rituals. If this is what “Religion” means, then it should indeed be a private affair. You should be free to entertain any belief and worship any deity which your conscience is able to accept. If you are a particularly ardent devotee of this kind of “Religion”, then go preach it to the entire world, and engage in debates with the protagonists of other religions.
There is no reason for you to take up arms - do you want to convert people to your faith by killing them?! We have to admit that if you regard Islam as a “Religion” in this sense of the term, if Islam is indeed a conventional “Religion”, then the necessity for “Jihad” cannot be justified.
Similarly the term “Nation” refers to no more than a homogenous group of people who have joined together as a distinct entity on the basis of certain fundamental and shared traits. A group of people who thus attain nationhood according to this definition can take up arms in two cases: either when another group attacks them with the intention of depriving them of some of their lawful rights, or when they themselves wish to launch an attack seeking to usurp another group’s rights. There is an unassailable moral justification for taking up arms in the first case (although some saintly persons have declared even armed self-defence to be a sin). But launching an armed attack in order to snatch away people’s lawful rights can be justified by no-one except the worst dictators.

What does Jihad Actually Mean?
If Islam is a “Religion”, and Muslims are a “Nation”, according to the commonly accepted understandings of these terms, then Jihad - despite the fact that it has been dignified with the title
“The Best of all Prayers” in Islam - becomes a meaningless and useless term. But Islam is not the name of a mere “Religion”, nor is Muslim the title of a “Nation”. The truth is that Islam is a revolutionary ideology which seeks to alter the social order of the entire world and rebuild it in conformity with its own tenets and ideals. “
To achieve this objective, like all revolutionary ideologies, Islam shuns the use of current vocabulary and adopts a terminology of its own, so that its own ideals may be clearly distinguished from common ideals. The word “Jihad” is one such example of the unique vocabulary of Islam. Arabic words for “war”, such as Harb were rejected in favour for the word Jihad, which basically means “struggle”, although it has a wider and more forceful connotation than the English word.
The nearest correct meaning for “Jihad” in English would be: To exert one’s utmost efforts in promoting a cause”.
The question arises: why was this new term preferred and used to the exclusion of the previously-current words? The answer to this question is simply that the word “war” was – and still is - used to refer to struggles between nations and states, wars which are waged for the achievement of individual or national self-interest. The motives behind these conflicts are devoid of principles, and seek only to serve certain individual or collective purposes.
Since the Islamic struggle does not belong to this category, Islam shuns the use of the word “war” altogether. Islam has no vested interest in promoting the cause of one nation or another; the rule of this state or that over the world is irrelevant. The sole interest of Islam is the welfare of mankind. Islam has its own ideological standpoint and practical programme to carry out reforms for the benefit of mankind.

“For the Cause of Allah” - the Essential Condition
But the “Jihad” of Islam is not a mere “struggle” - it is a “struggle for the cause of Allah” ‘This is the essential condition of “Jihad” in Islam. This expression Jihad fi Sabilillahrefers to any act or deed which is done for the collective well-being of mankind, by a person who has no vested interest in this world (Dunya), but seeks only to earn the pleasure and favour of Allah. For example, if you give something away in charity, hoping to receive some material or moral reward in this world, such as money, goods or a favourable reputation, your deed would not be regarded as an act done “in the way of Allah”. But if your desire and intention is to please Allah by assisting a poor person, then you will indeed have acted “in the way of Allah”. Hence the term “in the way of Allah” is reserved only for those deeds which are undertaken with perfect sincerity, without any thought of them being a means to selfish ends, deeds which are done on the basis that benefiting other human beings is a means to earn the pleasure of Allah, and the sole purpose of human life is to please the Creator of the Universe.

The Need for, and Objective of, Jihad
Islam is not merely a religious creed or a name for a collection of a few acts of worship. It is a comprehensive system which seeks to annihilate all evil and tyrannical systems in the world, and enforce its own programme of reform, which it deems best for the well-being of mankind.
Islam addresses its call for carrying out this programme of revolution, reconstruction and reform not just to one nation or group of people, but to the whole of humanity. Islam itself calls upon all those classes which unlawfully oppress and exploit the people; its call is addressed even to kings and nobility, to affirm faith in Islam and to keep themselves within the lawful limits laid down for them by their Lord. Islam tells them that if they accept this just and righteous system, they will attain peace and salvation. This system harbours no animosity against any human being. Its animosity is directed against tyranny, strife and immorality, and against the attempt of the individual to transgress the natural limits and attempt to seize forhim that which is not apportioned to him by Allah.