The Director-General for Centre for Research on Islamic Education, Imam Adbulatif Sulayman, has disputed popular claim that the word ‘Jihad’ in Islam only refers to holy war, saying such an assumption emanated from those untutored in Islamic studies.
Sulayman, in an interview with our correspondent, said Jihad actually meant “to strive or struggle in the right course of Allah.”
“It is not primarily meant to fight; the primary meaning is to struggle positively. So, your good deed is a jihad; your good speech or utterance towards someone else is a jihad,” he clarified.
The Arabic word ‘Jihad’ is often translated as ‘holy war’, but in a purely linguistic sense, the word ‘Jihad’, according to him, means ‘struggling or striving’.
He noted that the Arabic word for war is ‘Jahada’ and that in a religious sense and as described by the Quran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), Jihad has many meanings.
“It can refer to internal as well as external efforts to be a good Muslim or believer, as well as working to inform people about the faith of Islam,” he explained.
Sulayman also noted that “your counselling to couples, arbitration between people for peace and giving voice to the voiceless are all different forms of Jihad.”
“Even, contributing money to the course of Allah, if you are capable, is also Jihad. It doesn’t mean fighting to spread the message of Allah, because Allah has assured us that his religion will be spread by Him and he has perfected his religion. Whatever other religious leaders say about it is just to illustrate certain circumstances; it is not all about force.”
He explained further, saying, “The Qur’an in Surah Baqarah: 256 states: “There is no compulsion in religion; lā ikrāha fi-d-dīn, (referring to conversion) and that, there is no occasion for employing coercion in the matter of adopting and embracing Islam, as its excellence is self-evident.
“So in modern interpretation, Jihad is far from sheer fighting, fundamentalism, extremism or terrorism; it is all about goodness, righteousness.
“Even, taking care of one’s child as a parent is Jihad, because one is trying to inculcate morals in them. A responsible government is Jihad; Boko Haram activities are not jihad. Religion should be something digested individually, a thing that should come from one’s reasoning or understanding.”
He added that it was unfortunate that the concept of Jihad had been hijacked by many political and religious groups over the ages, in a bid to justify various forms of violence.
