What is Jihad in Islam ?

The literal meaning of the word ' Jihad' is struggle or strive . It's an Arabic word that has been mentioned numorous times in Quran (The Holy Book of Muslims ). Being considered the religious duty of all muslims a person who engages in 'Jihad' is said to be striving in the way of Allah. People pursuing such duty are refered as Jihadis or Mujahideen . A minority of Sunni sect of Muslims often calls 'Jihad' the sixth pillar of Islam.

There are wide range of opinions on the exact defination of this word 'Jihad' . Muslims explains 'Jihad' in the light of Quran to be an internal, individual, spiritual struggle toward self-improvement, moral cleansing and intellectual effort. Here if we have a look at the west they seems to refer 'Jihad ' only to the holy war. The Quran do call 'Jihad' as a military struggle for the cause of Islam but that is mentioned in relevance to the context. Picking out the verses randomly from the Quran and not considering the context in which they are being stated is the sole cause of misperception about Jihad.The modern Oxford English dictionary defines 'Jihad' as "a holy war undertaken by the Muslims against non-believers" . This is a very poor defination as it even fails to tell the Arabic meaning of the word Jihad .

• Jihad of the Heart (jihad bil nafs/qalb) : It is a kind of Jihad that is concerned with the struggle to combat the Shaitan (Satan) against its persuasion to evil. This form is refered as 'The greater Jihad' (al-jihad al-akbar).
  
• Jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan) : This is concerned with speaking the truth and spreading the the message of Islam with one's tongue. Da'wah (the invitation to Islam or spreading the message of Allah) often comes under this form of jihad where muslims preach the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).
• Jihad by the hand (jihad bil yad) : A form of jihad that focuses on actions rather than the words. It is standing against the injustice in our societies and combat social problems with one's actions. Zakat (charity) is a good example of this form of jihad as its taking practical initiatives to help the poor, saving the lives of people, financial assistance for those who are in desperate need, etc.
• Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif) : It is refered as 'The lesser Jihad' (al-jihad al-asghar). Sometimes it becomes necessary to get involved in an armed combat to fight in the way of Allah. It is clearly not about violence but about fighting for 'Good' against the 'Evil'. The misuse of sword and fighting for personal motives is prohibited in Islam and regarded as a sin. To practice this form of Jihad two conditions are to be met and they are as follows:

1. Self Defence: When someone attacks you or your state comes under attack, Islam allows its followers to engage in military combat.
2. Fight against Evil and injustice: It is a sin and shame for a Muslim if he/she see injustice and is capable of stopping it but instead becomes a spectator. Few good examples include war on drugs, war on child labor, war on terror, etc.
   

Here I want to give an example of how the critics of islam creates misperceptions about Jihad. Many critcis of islam quotes their favourite verse from the Holy Quran and which is from Surat Al-Taubah, Ch. 9 verse. 5

"Kill the mushriqeen (pagans, non-muslims, kafir) where ever you find them".

Seems like quite a harsh statement and its very true the Quran does say this but if you manage you read the entire chapter 9 or the verses just before this verse, you will get to know this is taken completely out of the context. If you read the verses before this verse no. 5 the verses discusses the peace treaty between the Muslims and the mushriqeens of mecca and which was broken by the mushriqeens. Therefore as we reach the verse 5, Allah says to muslims put things straight in 4 months time and if a war is declared, wherever you find mushrikins ( Kafirs) kill them. The sole purpose of this verse is to give muslims the permission to kill when a war in a battle field. Now can anyone can tell me is it wrong to kill in a battle field ? Any army general will ask its soldiers to kill the enemy in the battle field and will make such a statement to motivate its soldiers.

However, verse no. 6 has a beautiful reply to the critism on verse 5, verse 6 states:

"If one amongst the pagans ask the for asylum, grant him it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah; and then escort him where he can be secure that is because they are men without knowledge."

Here Quran does not only say that the mushriq seeking for asylum should be allowed to leave but also asks the muslims to provide security to the mushriq till he reaches a safe place. In this modernized age can anyone of you expect this sort of attitude from an army General? We can think that a General might let his enemy go freely but will he provide security to his enemy?

In the western societies it is being believed that Jihad means a holy war and this war is intended towards the Non-Muslims. The truth is that Jihad just cannot be translated as a holy war. The translation of holy war in arabic is harbu muqadasa, which is no where wriitten in the Quran or mentioned in any hadiths. The word 'Holy war' originated in the middle ages, when the european crusaders conquered the islamic states and captured Jerusalem. This military campaign was called a Holy war for acquiring the control of Holy land from the muslims.

According to Quran and the hadiths Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif) is elaborated and explained as a 'Just War'. Quran explains the concept of 'Just War' in Surah Hajj (verse 39 and 40):

"Those upon whom the war is made by non-believers are granted permission to fight because they are being oppressed (Verily Allah is the most powerful aid of them) and have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right for the sole crime of saying 'One Lord is God'."