Jihād
Jihād (literally means “striving” or “struggling” in the path of Allah. In the Sharī‘ah, it refers to exerting one’s utmost effort to uphold faith, justice, righteousness, and the protection of the Muslim community according to the guidance of the Qur’ān and the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. The concept of jihād is comprehensive and includes spiritual, moral, intellectual, social, and military dimensions.
The Qur’ān presents jihād primarily as striving in obedience to Allah. Allah says: “And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him” (Qur’ān 22:78). Another verse commands believers to “strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah” (Qur’ān 9:41). In many passages, jihād signifies perseverance in faith, patience under persecution, and dedication to the propagation of truth. During the Makkan period, Muslims were instructed to endure oppression peacefully, while permission for armed struggle was granted later in Madīnah after severe persecution and expulsion from their homes: “Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought because they were wronged” (Qur’ān 22:39).
Military jihād in Islam is therefore not synonymous with aggression or coercion. The Qur’ān explicitly prohibits transgression: “Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not love transgressors” (Qur’ān 2:190). Warfare was regulated by ethical principles, including the protection of non-combatants, fulfilment of treaties, and the pursuit of peace whenever possible (Qur’ān 8:61). Forced conversion is categorically rejected in the verse: “There is no compulsion in religion” (Qur’ān 2:256).
The sunnah further clarifies the objectives and ethics of jihād. Prophet Muhammad declared that the true fighter is “the one who strives against his own soul in obedience to Allah” (Musnad Aḥmad). This internal striving against sin and moral weakness forms the spiritual foundation of jihād. In military campaigns, the Prophet prohibited the killing of women, children, monks, and other non-combatants, and forbade mutilation and treachery, establishing clear humanitarian principles in warfare. Authentic narrations in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim emphasize sincerity of intention, teaching that fighting for pride, fame, or worldly gain does not constitute jihād in the sight of Allah.
Classical Muslim scholars such as Al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti explained jihād as a balanced doctrine aimed at defending religion, preserving justice, and protecting society from oppression. They stressed that lawful jihād must remain bound to divine ethics and legitimate authority.
Thus, in the sīrah of Prophet Muhammad, jihād emerges as a disciplined and morally regulated struggle for truth and justice, rooted in spiritual purification, social responsibility, and the defence of the oppressed rather than indiscriminate violence or conquest.
## References
1 Qur’ān, 2:190, 256, 8:61, 9:41, 22:39, 22:78. 2 Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, trans. Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh: Darussalam, 2007), Kitāb al-Imārah. 3 Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Riyadh: Darussalam, 1997), Kitāb al-Jihād wa al-Siyar. 4 Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān al-Būṭī, The Jurisprudence of Jihad, trans. Nancy Roberts (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2011). 5 Michael Bonner, Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006). 6 David Cook, Understanding Jihad (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005). 7 Asma Afsaruddin, Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013). 8 Sadakat Kadri, Jihad and Islamic Law: War and Peace in the Dar al-Islam (London: Hurst & Company, 2012).