The root jaahada means `to strive'. Juhd means power or exertion. Jihad is the noun of jaahada, and its meaning given in the Mufradat of Raghib, the classical dictionary of Quranic terms, is as follows:

``To exert one's power in repelling the enemy. Jihad is of three kinds: against a visible enemy; against the devil; and against self.''

(page 100, in Section Letter j followed by letter h)

Lane's Arabic-English lexicon says under jihad:

"Jihad, infinitive noun of jaahada, properly signifies the using or exerting of one's utmost power, efforts, endeavours or ability, in contending with an object of disapprobation; and this is of three kinds, namely, a visible enemy, the devil, and one's self; all of which are included in the term as used in the Quran 22:77.''

THE HOLY QURAN

It is clear from the Quran that the word jihad has been used there to mean `striving' or `exerting'.

[1.]"Those who strive (jaahada) for Us, We guide them in Our ways'' (26:69). Here the meaning is to carry on a spiritual struggle to attain nearness to God.

[2.] "Whoever strives (jaahada), he only strives for his own self'' (29:6). The meaning here again is struggle for self-purification.

[3.]"We have enjoined on man to do good to his parents. But if they strive (jaahadaa) with you to worship that of which you have no knowledge [i.e. false gods], then obey them not'' (29:8). Here the meaning is that of `arguing' or `disputing', and is applied to an act of unbelievers.

[4.] :Strive for God a true striving (jihad).'' (22:78)

[5.]"Obey not the unbelievers and hypocrites, and strive against them a mighty striving (jihad) with it [i.e. the Quran].'' (25:52)

Both these verses give the command to conduct jihad. The first refers to a jihad for attaining nearness to God. The second mentions a jihad against the deniers of Islam, not by the sword but by means of the Quran itself. It is called a ``mighty jihad'', and is a constant duty.

[6.] As against the word jihad, the Quran has used qu`ood to mean the opposite, and this clarifies the meaning of jihad itself:

"Those believers who sit back, not disabled by injury, are not equal to those who do jihad in the way of God with their wealth and lives." (4:94)

Qu`ood is to sit back and be lazy. Jihad is in contrast to this, meaning `making a full effort' even at the cost of one's life.

Muslims at Makka

Although the Holy Prophet Muhammad had received revelations ordering jihad while he was still resident in Makka before the emigration to Madina (see verses 4 and 5 above), he did not raise the sword against the unbelievers who were bitterly persecuting him and his followers. But he was most certainly conducting a jihad in Makka in obedience to these verses. This was a jihad of following the word of God and propagating the message of Islam. This mode of conduct clearly proves that jihad was not equivalent to war in the Holy Prophet's eyes.

During this period of persecution at Makka, when some of his Companions asked permission to fight, the Holy Prophet said:

"I have been commanded to forgive, so do not fight."

(Hadith collection Nasa'i, Book of Jihad)

Muslims at Madina

The Muslims emigrated to Madina and took refuge there, but their enemies from Makka did not leave them alone. They threatened the then chief of Madina, Abdullah Ibn Ubayy, in a letter as follows:

"O people of Madina, you have given refuge to our adversary. We swear by God that if you do not fight them or expel them, we shall come against you and kill your fighting men and capture your women."

(Abu Dawud, vol. ii, p. 495)

Not content with this threat, the unbelievers of Makka decided to attack Madina to annihilate Islam and the Muslims by the sword. It was then that God permitted the Muslims to conduct jihad with the sword, because not to do so would have meant suicide for the Muslims. Therefore, in year 2 of the Hijra (emigration to Madina) the following Quranic verse was revealed:

"Permission to fight is given to those upon whom war is made, because they have been wronged --- and God is well able to help them. Those who have been expelled from their homes unjustly, only for saying, `Allah is our Lord'. And if God had not allowed one group of people to repel another, then there would have been pulled down cloisters and synagogues and churches and mosques, in which God's name is remembered."

(22:39,40)

Four conditions are given here for allowing jihad by the sword:

[i.]Fighting has to be initiated by the unbelievers, as is clear from the words "those upon whom war is made".

[ii.] There has to be extreme persecution of the Muslims ---"because they have been wronged".

[iii.] The aim of the unbelievers has to be the destruction of Islam and the Muslims, as is clear from the words "there would have been pulled down…".

[iv.] The object of the Muslims must only be self-defense and protection, as shown by the words "if God had not allowed one people to repel another".

The other verse allowing fighting says: ``Fight in the way of God those who fight you, but do not go over the limit'' (2:190). Hence the command in the Holy Quran to fight, or conduct jihad with the sword, is subject to the above conditions.

THE HADITH

Just as the Holy Quran has used the word jihad in a very wide sense, so it is in Hadith.

[1.] "The Holy Prophet said: Do jihad against the idolaters with your wealth, lives and tongues.''

(Mishkat, Book of Jihad, ch. 1, sec. 2)

[2.] "The Holy Prophet was asked: Which jihad is best? He said: He who does jihad against the idolaters with his wealth and life."

(ibid.)

[3.] "A group of Muslim soldiers came to the Holy Prophet [from a battle]. He said: Welcome, you have come from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad. It was said: What is the greater jihad? He said: The striving of a servant against his low desires.''

(Al-Tasharraf, Part I, p. 70)

[4.] "The Holy Prophet said: The greatest jihad is to speak the word of truth to a tyrant."

(Mishkat, Book of Rulership and Judgment, ch. 1, sec. 2)

[5.]"The Holy Prophet said: Do jihad against your desires as you do jihad against your foes."

(Mufradat, under root j-h-d, p. 100)

[6.]"The Holy Prophet said: Do jihad against the unbelievers with your hands and tongues."

(ibid.)

[7.]"Jihad involves four things: enjoining the doing of good, forbidding the doing of evil, speaking the truth in a situation of trial, and having enmity for the wrong-doer."

[8.] "The most excellent jihad is the Hajj."

(Bukhari, Book of Sacrifices, 25:4)

[9.]"The mujahid [one engaged in jihad] is he who strives against his own self to obey God."

These hadith make it clear that jihad means to exert oneself to the utmost, whether by means of one's wealth or tongue or hands or life, whether it is against one's desires or a visible enemy, whether its aim is to attain nearness to God or to propagate the word of God. Briefly, the Holy Quran and Hadith speak of three kinds of jihad:

[i.] A great jihad;

[ii.] The greatest jihad;

[iii.] A lesser jihad.

The first two are to be undertaken constantly, while the third, which includes jihad by means of the sword, is only undertaken if specific conditions are satisfied.

Jihad in Bukhari

Bukhari, of all the collections of Hadith, is the clearest on the point that jihad is not used exclusively for fighting. In I`tisam bil Kitab wal Sunna, the 4th chapter is thus headed:

"The saying of the Holy Prophet, A party of my community shall not cease to be triumphant being upholders of Truth,"

to which are added the words:

"And these are the men of learning (ahl al-`ilm)."

(Bukhari, 96:11)

Thus Bukhari's view is that the triumphant party of the Prophet's community does not consist of fighters, but of the men of learning who disseminate the truth and are engaged in the propagation of Islam. Again, in his Book of Jihad, Bukhari has several chapters speaking of simple invitation to Islam. For instance, the heading of 56:99 is: "May the Muslim guide the followers of the Book to a right course, or may he teach them the Book". The heading of 56:100 --- "To pray for the guidance of the polytheists so as to develop relations of friendship with them"; that of 56:102 --- "The invitation [to the unbelievers] by the Holy Prophet to Islam and prophethood, and that they may not take for gods others besides Allah"; that of 56:143 --- "The excellence of him at whose hands another man accepts Islam"; that of 56:145 --- "The excellence of him who accepts Islam from among the followers of the Book"; and that of 56:178 --- "How should Islam be presented to a child".

These headings show that up to the time of Bukhari, the word jihad was used in the wider sense in which it is used in the Quran, invitation to Islam being looked upon as jihad.

The following incident is also in Bukhari:

"A man came to Ibn Umar [son of the famous second Caliph Umar] and said: Why is it that one year you go for the hajj and one year you go for the umra [a lesser form of the pilgrimage], and yet you have discarded jihad in the way of God? You know how much God has encouraged jihad? Ibn Umar said: My nephew, Islam is based on five things: Belief in God and His messenger, five prayers, fasting in Ramadaan, giving zakat, and the pilgrimage to the House of God. The man said: Do you not hear what God has said in His Book, that if two groups of believers fight one another, make peace between them, then if one of them does wrong to the other, fight that which does wrong, till it returns to God's command; so fight them till there is an end to the mischief. Ibn Umar said: 'We acted on this in the time of the Holy Prophet. At that time, Muslims were few, and a man [who accepted Islam] used to face persecution for his religion --- they would kill him or punish him. But then the followers of Islam multiplied in number, and there was no mischief left'."

(Bukhari, Book of Tafsir under verse "Fight them till there is an end to mischief", chapter 30 under Surah 2)

This incident belongs to a time some decades after the Holy Prophet's death, when Muslims were fighting an internecine war, and one side had laid siege to Makka. Ibn Umar had not joined either side in this war. A man questioned him as to why he was not taking part, and referred to the verse "fight them till there is an end to mischief (fitna)". He replied that fighting had been necessary when Muslims were few, and Islam itself was in danger. As there was no fitna or danger from non-Muslims at that time, though they still existed, Ibn Umar argued that jihad by the sword was not incumbent upon them.

Imam Fakhar-ud-Din Razi, the great classical commentator of the Quran, writes in his renowned exposition of the Quran:

"As for the verse, `Strive against them a great jihad', some say that this refers to efforts in preaching. Others say that it refers to fighting. Some others say it includes both. The first meaning is the most accurate because this verse was revealed at Makka, and the command to fight came after the emigration."

(Tafsir Kabir, vol. iv, p. 330)

Another classical commentary, the Ruh al-Bayan, comments on the hadith, "The best jihad is to speak a word of truth to a tyrant", as follows:

"It is the best because jihad with arguments and proofs is a jihad which is greater as compared to jihad with the sword which is a lesser jihad.''