The Arabic word jihad lexically means struggle, fight, or combat, but has adopted a very specific meaning in Islamic terminology. When used in its general sense or as ‘the lesser jihad’, it refers to physical combat or ‘holy war’ against infidels, disbelievers or hypocrites who wage war against Islam and Muslims. When used in the sense of ‘the greater jihad’- (jihad al-nafs) - coined by the Prophet (SAWA) in his famous tradition (see Ch.78: JIHAD (2): The Greater Jihad), it refers to one’s combat against one’s own base self. In this chapter, due to want of an exact English equivalent, the word jihad will be left as it is
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1ـ رسولُ اللهِِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ) : مَن ماتَ ولَم يَغْزُ ، ولَم يُحدِّثْ بهِ نَفسَهُ ، ماتَ على شُعْبَةٍ مِن نِفاقٍ. |
| 1– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Whoever dies, having neither waged a campaign nor having intended to do so, dies on a branch of hypocrisy [in his heart].’[Sahihe Muslim, v. 3, p. 1517, no. 1910] |
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2ـ أنَّ رجُلاً أتى جَبَلاً لِيَعْبُدَ اللّهَ فيهِ ، فجاءَ بهِ أهلُهُ إلى رَسولِ اللّهِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ) فنَهاهُ عَن ذلكَ ، وقالَ له : إنَّ صَبرَ المسلمِ في بعضِ مَواطِنِ الجِهادِ يَوما واحدا خَيرٌ لَهُ مِن عِبادَةِ أربعينَ سنةً. |
| 2– A man went to a mountain to worship Allah, so his family came to the Prophet (SAWA) concerning it. The Prophet forbade him from it, saying, ‘It is better for a Muslim to bear patiently certain instances of jihad even for a single day than to worship for forty years.’[Mustadrak al-Wasail, v. 11, p. 21, no. 12324] |
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3ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : إنّ الجِهادَ بابٌ مِن أبْوابِالجَنّةِ فَتَحَهُ اللّهُ لِخاصَّةِ أوْليائهِ ، وهُو لِباسُ التَّقوى، ودِرْعُ اللّهِ الحَصينَةُ، وجُنَّتُهُ الوَثيقَةُ. |
| 3– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Indeed jihad is one of the gates of Paradise that Allah will open for his exceptional friends. It is the garment of piety, Allah’s fortified defense and a solid shield.’[Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 27] |
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4ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : الجِهادُ عِمادُ الدِّينِ ، ومِنْهاجُالسُّعَداءِ . |
| 4– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Jihad is the pillar of religion and the path of the felicitous.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 1346] |
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5ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : إنّ اللّهَ فَرضَ الجِهادَ وعَظَّمَهُ وجَعلَهُ نَصْرَهُ وناصِرَهُ. واللّهِ ، ما صَلُحتْ دُنيا ولا دِينٌ إلّا بهِ. |
| 5– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Verily Allah has made jihad obligatory and has magnified it and made it a [source of] triumph and a helper. By Allah, neither one’s worldly affairs nor one’s religion are set aright except through it.’[Wasael al-Shi`aah , v. 11, p. 9, no. 15] |
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6ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : إنَّ الجِهادَ أشْرَفُ الأعمالِ بعدَ الإسلامِ ، وهُو قِوامُ الدِّينِ ، والأجْرُ فيهِ عَظيمٌ مَع العِزّةِ والمَنَعةِ ، وهُو الكَرّهُ، فيهِ الحَسَناتُ والبُشْرى بالجنّةِ بَعد الشَّهادَةِ. |
| 6– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Certainly jihad is the noblest of deeds after [acceptance of] Islam, and it is the pillar of religion. The reward for it is great, while at the same time, consistently maintaining one’s honour and strength. There are rewards and good tidings of Paradise after martyrdom.’[Nur al-Thaqalayn, v. 1, p. 408, no. 429] |
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7ـ الإمامُ الصّادقُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : الجِهادُ أفضَلُ الأشياءِ بَعدَ الفَرائضِ. |
| 7– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Jihad is the greatest deed after fulfilling the obligatory ones.’[Mishkat al-Anwar, no. 154] |
