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The True Meaning Of Jihad

Constant struggle for justice manifests itself as JIHAD. Nowadays Jihad is one of the most abused and misused Islamic concepts. We only think that Jihad is a war of aggression , or  war to protect  Islam but it is not completely true. The term "Jihad" is very popular nowadays and everybody has an opinion about it but hardly anyone of us knows the true meaning of Jihad.

Jihad means directed struggle and can take a number of forms. A tradition of Prophet declares that " the supreme Jihad is against oneself" . Which means it is against one's ego, greed, and insatiable desires. Jihad can also be a aim to uplift the social development of a community. Jihad can also take the form  of physical struggle against oppression or maltreatment and aggression.
Jihad is thus much more than a simply 'holy war'.

As it is written and said, Jihad can never be a war of aggression, or a war for territorial gain. It is totally a defensive war which places certain responsibilities on those who are called to engage in it.
Jihad must be performed strictly under some Islamic rules. This means that innocent individuals, women, children and unarmed civilians cannot be harmed. Kidnapping,hostage-taking, indiscriminate shooting of civilians is totally prohibited. Not only this, any property and environment cannot be destroyed and more importantly " the places of worship of other faiths cannot  be demolished". If anybody acts against these laws then his/her deed will be termed as an evil deed which Islam totally condemns.





Moreover, Jihad cannot be declared by anybody on anybody. For example, Jihad cannot be declared by one Muslim country on another . Jihad requires the agreement of the whole Muslim community and a clear identification of the enemy as the aggressor of the helpless victim[ As it is written above, Jihad is only a defensive war]

So, we get to know that how uneducated peoples were able to create a misconception about Jihad. As I have stated earlier in my blogs, no religion can ever teach hatred ,not by any means. It is totally the deeds of uneducated people who misinterprets what religion had said and rest of us are following them blindly. My only advice is not to believe on the words of any-other individual unless or until you educate yourself by reading any religious or non-religious books.

Thank you
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Comments

  1. Anonymous10 May 2017 at 18:20

    After reading the post Jihad and Islam seems a very beautiful concept.
    The question is how it got distorted to such an extent and why were they not stopped from going far at initial stages only.
    Therefore according to me may be the Prophet had good intentions but Islamic society was the main culprit.
    Today many Muslim leaders are opposing teen talaak but many
    are supporting it as well.They are repeating the mistake again.
    The mistake is adhering to some rules without applying one's own intellect.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Md Zaman Khan10 May 2017 at 22:02

      It is a very deep and meaningful comment.
      I think,it is always the blind followers who misinterpret the teachings due to their lack of knowledge.

      It will be great if you mention your name. 😊

      Delete
    2. Md Zaman Khan10 May 2017 at 22:02

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous11 May 2017 at 04:40

    Bro the description or the true meaning of Jihad was really good it was really well described
    many people misinterprets it due lack of knowledge about that those terms rituals action etc. and many people makes other people to misinterpret it for their own evil desires and one bad person ruins the name of whole community for his own evil desires.
    There is only one religion humanity which I agree because all religions are based upon the same principal of humanity....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Md Zaman Khan12 May 2017 at 09:15

      I appreciate your thoughts.
      Very truly said " many people misinterprets it due to their own evil desire".

      Please do mention your name :-)

      Delete
    2. Md Zaman Khan12 May 2017 at 09:15

      I appreciate your thoughts.
      Very truly said " many people misinterprets it due to their own evil desire".

      Please do mention your name :-)

      Delete
  3. Nitisha15 May 2017 at 11:35

    Great job u are doing @zaman.. It's even my request to everyone that please stop blaming any religion.. Instead change your thinking.. Please..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Md Zaman Khan15 May 2017 at 20:28

      Thank you 😊 and you are very correct. Every individual needs to understand....

      Delete
    2. Md Zaman Khan15 May 2017 at 20:28

      Thank you 😊 and you are very correct. Every individual needs to understand....

      Delete
  4. Deepak27 April 2018 at 03:22

    Very well explained.. I really understand the term jihad for the first time.. I feel the problem has been arised to a great extent only due to the lack of education.. If the true meaning of religion and holy books will be given from their childhood no one will misinterpret these things which will ultimately lead to establishing a great society having the environment of peace and brotherhood.. Also this will boost the Islamic fame exponentially in a positive way..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Md Zaman Khan27 April 2018 at 03:29

      Thank you Deepak, for sharing your views :-) . And yes you are correct, education is the most important link here!

      Delete

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