Whenever the word Jihad is mentioned, ripples are created in the minds of the non-Muslims for they always understand Jihad as a Muslim holy war to suppress and kill the non Muslims. They are so obsessed with this word that in their writings or even in films, this word is invariably used to downplay Islam and the Muslims. Such feelings and misunderstanding occur when one has not studied Islam and thus have preconceived ideas about Islam or ideas intentionally fed to them to create misunderstanding and hatred about Islam.
In order to clarify the word Jihad, its various levels and why Jihad is necessary for the Muslims, we are making an endeavour to clear the dust from this notoriously used word by the non Muslims, yet a scared and well meaning word for the Muslims.
Jihad (Arabic: جِهَاد, romanized: jihād [dʒiˈhaːd]) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any exertion of effort to make personal and social life conform with guidance of Allah, such as internal struggle against one's evil inclinations, proselytizing, or efforts toward the betterment of the Muslim community (Ummah), though in non-Muslim societies the term is most often associated with armed conflict. [1]
Having understood the literal meaning of the word Jihad, let us now understand how the Jihad in Islam is categorized from greater to lesser Jihad. Ibn Hazm, an 11th century Muslim scholar, lists four kinds of jihad fi sabilillah ("الجهاد في سبيل الله" - struggle in the cause of Allah):
- Jihad 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[citation needed] as the greater jihad (al-jihad al-akbar).
- Jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan) (also Jihad by the word, jihad al-qalam) 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.
And those who think that Jihad bis saif (the Jihad by the word) is the dominating thought with which Muslims are always obsessed with, ranks the last among the four types of Jihad agreed upon by most of the Muslim scholars.
Since Jihad al Nafs (Jihad of the heart) ranks first in the categorization of Jihad, let us devote ourselves through this post to know why. Let us first understand what is Nafs and why it dominates our actions all along our lives, good or bad:
Nafs (نَفْس) is an Arabic word occurring in the Quran, literally meaning "self", and has been translated as "psyche", "ego" or "soul". The term is cognate with the Hebrew word nephesh, נֶפֶשׁ. In the Quran, the word nafs is used in both the individualistic (verse 2:48) and collective sense (verse 4:1), indicating that although humanity is united in possessing the positive qualities of a nafs, they are individually responsible for exercising the agencies of the "free will" that it provides them. Nafs in its unrefined state is "the ego", and is considered to be the lowest dimension of a person's inward existence—his animal and satanic nature. [2]
Herein under, let us share references from Qur'an and Hadith to know the importance of Jihad al Nafs:
The Quran teaches that "the one who feared to stand before his Lord and restrained his nafs from the passions; indeed, paradise will be his refuge." (79:40–41)
The Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) is attributed to have said: "The struggler is the one who strives against his soul/self in obedience to God, the Mighty and Majestic." [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]
Thus, Jihad al-nafs is the struggle against evil ideas, desires and of lust, anger, and insatiable imagination, placing all of them under the dictates of reason and faith in obedience to God's commands, and finally, purging all satanic ideas and influences from one’s soul. [4]
This struggle is considered as the major struggle (al-jihad al-akbar) as it is much more difficult than fighting in the battlefield, for in the struggle against the self, one has to constantly battle enemies that are hosted inside his own existence.
On a occasion when the soldiers of Islam returned from the battle, Prophet (P.B.U.H) said to his companions, “We have come back from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.” They said, “Is there any greater jihad than jihad against the kuffar?” he said, “Yes, jihad al-nafs (jihad against the self).”
The explanation above leads us to the catch point between the difference between the Jihad bis saif (the Jihad by the word) and the Jihad al Nafs (Jihad of the heart): The normally understood Jihad bis Saif lasts only a campaign, few days to few weeks or even longer but it comes to an end one day and soldiers come home, though many perish in the path of Allah, never to return. But Jihad al Nafs (Jihad of the heart) is a struggle or a battle that continues to be fought from the day one regains the ability to differentiate between good and evil till he dies - that is it is a lifelong struggle that never ends.
Right from an early stage of man's life, he is pitched between two camps: The camp and soldiers of evil or Satan, and the camp of goodness and morality. Both camps continue to exert pressure on the heart and mind of a man and whoever dominates the evil camp wins the battle. But the battles do not end and continue throughout one's life, for the evil is never at rest. The Satan, as he promised Allah when he was being kicked out of the Paradise for enticing Adam and Eve and misleading them to violate the Divine commandment of not going near the forbidden tree, that he would do his best to mislead the man on earth and take him away from path of Allah. Herein under is the conversation between the Satan and Allah as mentioned in Surah 15. Al-Hijr:
39. [Iblis (Satan)] said: "O my Lord! Because you misled me, I shall indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on the earth, and I shall mislead them all.40. "Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them."41. (Allah) said: "This is the Way which will lead straight to Me."42. "Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the Ghawin (Mushrikun and those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, and evil-doers, etc.).43. "And surely, Hell is the promised place for them all.
* For detailed explanation and commentary over the the above said dialogue, please refer to the Exegesis of Surah Al Hijr
That is why they say: one must certainly do battle with the ego and break it, as is referred to in the hadith: "Your worst enemy is your nafs which lies between your flanks."
To wage a war against one one's nafs is not easy for the social media is infested with evil material and no matter how hard one tries to stay away from such enticements, one is liable to fall or tumble. And when it happens, one must immediately stand on his feet, repent earnestly and seek forgiveness of Allah, for if one fails to stand, then he will continue to fall into the depts. of evil and his nafs will become so hardened that it will no longer listen to the calls of his conscious.
To wage the war against ones' nafs, one must guard one's eyes for feasting on the impermissible, his eyes from listening to vain speech, his limbs for sitting in the company one must have never sat in the first place, and also guard against one's own heart / nafs for every time you allowed what was impure to enter it.
We would like you to watch the video below by eminent Muslim preacher Shariffa Carlo Al Andalusia to clarify any doubt you may still have about Jihad al Nafs:
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
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