Jihad

Part of a series on
Jihadism
Practices and concepts Jihad Mujahideen Istishhad Shahid Shahidka Inghimasi Martyrdom video Beheading video Islamic terrorism Suicide attack Jihadist flag
Islamic fundamentalism Islamism Qutbism Salafism and Wahhabism International propagation Salafi jihadism
Notable jihadist organisations Taliban Pakistani Taliban Al-Qaeda Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Al-Shabaab Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan Ahrar al-Sham Islamic State of Iraq Islamic State Boko Haram Al-Nusra Front Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Jihadism in Africa Boko Haram insurgency Insurgency in Cabo Delgado Insurgency in the Maghreb and Sahel
Jihadism in Asia Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen East Turkestan Islamic Movement Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Moro insurgency in the Philippines Sinai insurgency South Thailand insurgency Taliban insurgency Arab mujahideen in Afghanistan
Jihadism in the West Islamic terrorism in Europe Islamic terrorism in the Balkans Islamism in the United Kingdom Jihadist extremism in the United States Foreign fighters in Bosnia Bosnian mujahideen Foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq Homegrown terrorism Jihadi tourism
Islam portal
v t e

Jihad (/dʒɪˈhɑːd/; Arabic: جِهَاد, romanized: jihād [dʒiˈhaːd]) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim.^[1][2][3][4] In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God's guidance, such as struggle against one's evil inclinations, proselytizing, or efforts toward the moral betterment of the Muslim community (Ummah),^[1][2][5][6] though it is most frequently associated with armed conflict.^[4][7]

In classical Islamic law (sharia), the term refers to armed struggle against unbelievers,^[2][3] while modernist Islamic scholars generally equate military jihad with defensive warfare.^[8][9] In Sufi circles, spiritual and moral jihad has been traditionally emphasized under the name of greater jihad.^[5][10][3] The term has gained additional attention in recent decades through its use by various insurgent Islamic extremist, militant Islamist, and terrorist individuals and organizations whose ideology is based on the Islamic notion of jihad.^{[5][7][11][12]}

The word jihad appears frequently in the Qur'an with and without military connotations,^[13] often in the idiomatic expression "striving in the path of God (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)",^[14][15] conveying a sense of self-exertion.^[16] They^[who?] developed an elaborate set of rules pertaining to jihad, including prohibitions on harming those who are not engaged in combat.^[17][18] In the modern era, the notion of jihad has lost its jurisprudential relevance and instead given rise to an ideological and political discourse.^[5][8] While modernist Islamic scholars have emphasized the defensive and non-military aspects of jihad, some Islamists have advanced aggressive interpretations that go beyond the classical theory.^[8][12]

Jihad is classified into inner ("greater") jihad, which involves a struggle against one's own base impulses, and external ("lesser") jihad, which is further subdivided into jihad of the pen/tongue (debate or persuasion) and jihad of the sword.^[5][19][10] Most Western writers consider external jihad to have primacy over inner jihad in the Islamic tradition, while much of contemporary Muslim opinion favors the opposite view.^[19] The analysis of a large survey from 2002 reveals considerable nuance in the conceptions of jihad held by Muslims around the world.^[20]

The sense of jihad as armed resistance was first used in the context of persecution faced by Muslims, as when Muhammad was at Mecca, when the community had two choices: emigration (hijra) or jihad.^[21] In Twelver Shi'a Islam, jihad is one of the Ancillaries of the Faith.^[22] A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid (plural: mujahideen). The term jihad is often rendered in English as "Holy War",^[23][24][25] although this translation is controversial.^[26][27] Today, the word jihad is often used without religious connotations, like the English crusade.^[1][2]