(April 1, 2015 at 4:47 pm)bennyboy Wrote: (April 1, 2015 at 11:54 am)Harris Wrote: So the Quran does not contain the word "jihad"? Jihad is not part of the Islamic tradition?
US Government has an elaborate system of constitutional law. Unfortunately, US constitution contains words “WAR,” and “PUNISH.” “WAR,” and “PUNISH” are part of US constitution. Then what?
Because “WAR,” and “PUNISH,” are part of US constitution, does that mean US army should invade the whole world.
“Jihad” is the most distorted word in secular world. This misrepresentation is an intentional effort of the propaganda machine to deceive people. The purpose of this alleged act of forcing people into believing false (incomplete) meaning of Jihad is to create hatred against Islam.
Popular Media portray Jihad as:
Holy War
Blowing up one’s self, (Suicide is a sin in Islam)
Killing innocent people
Flying a plane into a building packed with civilians
Fighting out of anger and hatred
Killing others just because they do not agree with you
Killing others just because they are not Muslims
If you open any modern English dictionary, you would probably find the definition of Jihad as “a holy war undertaken by Muslims against non-believers”. This is a very poor definition.
Secular West has intentionally reduced the notion of jihad in juristic and administrative literature to just “physical combat” thus made it practically synonymous with “Qital or Harb.”
The word “QITAL” means, in general, physical combat and “Harb” means War.
At the semantic level, the simplistic translation of jihad into English as ‘holy war’, as is common in some scholarly and non-scholarly discourses, constitutes a severe misrepresentation and misunderstanding of its Quranic usage. According to the Quranic worldview, human beings should be engaged constantly in the basic endeavour of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. The struggle implicit in the application of this precept is jihad, properly and plainly speaking, and the endeavour refers both to an individual and a collective effort. The means for carrying out this struggle may vary, depending upon individual and collective circumstances, and the Quran often refers to those who
“strive with their wealth and their selves (jahadu biamwalihim wa-anfusihim)” (8.72).
Qital is the term that refers specifically to ‘fighting’ or ‘armed combat’ and is a component of jihad in specific situations. Harb is the Arabic word for war in general. The Quran employs this last term to refer to illegitimate wars fought by those who wish to spread corruption on earth (5.64); to the thick of battle between believers and non-believers (8.57; 47.4); and, in one instance, to the possibility of war waged by God and his Prophet against those who would continue to practice usury (2.279). This term is never conjoined to the phrase ‘in the path of God’.
Jihad is a very broad term and its basic Quranic signification means ‘struggle’, ‘striving’, and ‘exertion.’ The lexeme jihad is frequently conjoined to the phrase ‘fi sabil Allah’ (lit. ‘in the path of God’). The full locution in Arabic – aljihad fi sabil Allah – consequently means ‘struggling/striving for the sake of God’. This translation points to the polyvalency of the term and the potentially different meanings that may be ascribed to it in different contexts, since the phrase ‘in the path of/for the sake of God’ allows for human striving to be accomplished in multiple ways.
Many of the Quranic strictures pertaining to both non-violent and armed struggles against evil and the upholding of good cannot be understood properly without relating them to specific events in the life of the Prophet. A significant number of Quranic verses are understood traditionally to have been revealed in connection with certain episodes in Muhammad’s life. Knowledge of the ‘occasions of revelation (asbab alnuzul)’, as obtained from the biography of the Prophet and the exegetical literature, is indispensable for contextualizing key verses that may at first sight appear to be at odds with one another. A specific chronology of events needs to be mapped out so that the progression in the Quranic ethics of warfare and the taking of human life may be understood against its historical backdrop.
Jihad has many forms,
•Jihad of the heart/soul (jihad bin nafs/qalb)
•Jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan)
•Jihad by the pen/knowledge (jihad bil qalam/ilm)
•Jihad by the hand (jihad bil yad)
•Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif)
“And STRIVE in His cause as ye ought to STRIVE, (with sincerity and under discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the cult of your father Abraham. It is He (God) Who has named you Muslims (one who submits his will to the Will of God), both before and in this (Revelation); that the Messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witnesses for mankind! So establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold fast to Allah. He is your Protector - the Best to protect and the Best to help!”
Al Hajj (22)
-Verse 78-
“Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers, but STRIVE against them with the utmost strenuousness, with the (Quran).”
Al Furqaan (25)
-Verse 52-
“We have enjoined on man kindness to parents: but if they (either of them) STRIVE (to force) thee to join with Me (in worship) anything of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not. Ye have (all) to return to me, and I will tell you (the truth) of all that ye did.”
Al 'Ankabuut (29)
-Verse 8-
“And those who STRIVE in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right.”
Al 'Ankabuut (29)
-Verse 69-
“O ye who believe! Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of approach unto Him, and STRIVE with might and main in his cause: that ye may prosper.”
Al Maidah (5)
-Verse 35-
“O ye who believe! Take not my enemies and yours as friends (or protectors),- offering them (your) love, even though they have rejected the Truth that has come to you, and have (on the contrary) driven out the Prophet and yourselves (from your homes), (simply) because ye believe in Allah your Lord! If ye have come out to STRIVE in My Way and to seek My Good Pleasure, (take them not as friends), holding secret converse of love (and friendship) with them: for I know full well all that ye conceal and all that ye reveal. And any of you that does this has strayed from the Straight Path.”
Al Mumtahana (60)
-Verse 1-
“That ye believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that ye STRIVE (your utmost) in the Cause of Allah, with your property and your persons: That will be best for you, if ye but knew!”
Ash-Shaff (61)
-Verse 11-
“Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward,”
An Nisaa (4)
-Verse 95-
