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{{Short description|Term for religious struggle in Islam}}
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'''''Jihad''''' ({{IPAc-en|dʒ|ɪ|ˈ|h|ɑː|d}}; {{langx|ar|جِهَاد|jihād}} {{IPA|ar|dʒiˈhaːd|}}) is an Arabic word that means {{gloss|exerting}}, {{gloss|striving}}, or {{gloss|struggling}}, particularly with a praiseworthy aim.<ref name="ODI">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Jihad|editor-first=John L. |editor-last=Esposito|encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam|location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2014 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1199|access-date=29 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903062853/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1199|archive-date=3 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="OEIP"/><ref name="EI2">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Tyan |author-first=E. |year=1965 |title=D̲j̲ihād |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Heinrichs |editor3-first=W. P. |editor3-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |editor4-last=Lewis |editor4-first=B. |editor5-last=Pellat |editor5-first=Ch. |editor5-link=Charles Pellat |editor6-last=Schacht |editor6-first=J. |editor6-link=Joseph Schacht |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam#2nd edition, EI2|Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition]] |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=2 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0189 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with [[God in Islam|God]]'s guidance, such as an [[introspection|internal struggle]] against evil in oneself, efforts to build a good Muslim community (''[[ummah]]''), and struggle to defend [[Islam]].<ref name=ODI/><ref name=OEIP/><ref name="DeLong-Bas 2018">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=DeLong-Bas |author-first=Natana J. |author-link=Natana J. DeLong-Bas |date=22 February 2018 |orig-date=10 May 2017 |title=Jihad |encyclopedia=Oxford Bibliographies – Islamic Studies |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195390155-0045 |url=http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0045.xml |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629215212/http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0045.xml |archive-date=29 June 2016 |access-date=25 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Jihad |year=2013 |editor-first=Gerhard |editor-last=Böwering |editor2-first=Patricia |editor2-last=Crone |encyclopedia=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |location=[[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton, NJ]] |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |quote=Literally meaning "struggle", ''jihad'' may be associated with almost any activity by which Muslims attempt to bring personal and social life into a pattern of conformity with the guidance of God.}}</ref> For its literal translation 'struggle', the term is frequently [[Islam and war|associated with warfare]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=What is Islamic philosophy?|first=Roy |last=Jackson|publisher=Routledge|page=173|year=2014|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=5XPMAgAAQBAJ|page=173}}|quote=''jihad'' Literally 'struggle' which has many meanings, though most frequently associated with war.|isbn=978-1317814047}}</ref>

''Jihad'' is classified into inner ("greater") ''jihad'', which involves a struggle against one's own passions and impulses, and outer ("lesser") ''jihad'', which is further subdivided into ''jihad'' of the pen/tongue (debate or persuasion) and ''jihad'' of the sword (warfare).<ref name="DeLong-Bas 2018" /><ref name=Bonner>{{cite book|last1=Bonner|first1=Michael|title=Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice|date=2006|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Qxq7eykoJgoC}}|isbn=978-1400827381}}</ref>{{rp|13}}<ref name="ER">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2005 |title=Jihad |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Religion |publisher=MacMillan Reference |editor-first=Lindsay |editor-last=Jones |edition=2nd |volume=7 |page=4917 |first=Rudolph |last=Peters}}</ref> Much of Muslim opinion considers inner ''jihad'' to have primacy over outer ''jihad''. The analysis of a large survey from 2002 reveals considerable nuance in the conceptions of ''jihad'' held by Muslims around the world, ranging from [[Ihsan|righteous living]] and [[Pacifism in Islam|promoting peace]] to [[Islam and violence|fighting against the opponents of Islam]].<ref name="gallop" />

The word ''jihad'' appears frequently in the [[Qur'an]] referring to both religious and spiritual struggle and to war and physical struggle,{{efn|Seventeen derivatives of ''jihad'' occur altogether forty-one times (eleven Meccan texts and thirty Medinan ones), with the following five meanings: striving because of religious belief (21), war (12), non-Muslim parents exerting pressure, that is, jihād, to make their children abandon Islam (2), solemn oaths (5), and physical strength (1).<ref name="AD11"/>{{rp|56}}}} often in the idiomatic expression "''al-jihad fi sabil [[Allah]]''" ({{gloss|striving in the path of God}}),<ref name="morgan2010">{{cite book |last=Morgan |first=Diane |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialislamco0000morg |title=Essential Islam: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2010 |isbn=978-0313360251 |page=[https://archive.org/details/essentialislamco0000morg/page/87 87] |access-date=5 January 2011 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="MIC">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2005 |encyclopedia=Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Routledge]] |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=BFZsBgAAQBAJ|page=419}} |editor-first=Josef W. |editor-last=Meri |editor-link=Josef W. Meri |isbn=978-041596690-0 |title=Jihad |page=419 }}</ref> conveying a sense of self-exertion.<ref name=Esposito>{{cite book|last=Esposito|first=John L.|author-link=John Esposito|title=Islam: The Straight Path|url=https://archive.org/details/islamstraightpat00espo|url-access=registration|year=1988|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0195043983}}</ref>{{rp|54}} In the [[Hadith|hadiths]], ''jihad'' refers predominantly to warfare. Greater ''jihad'' refers to spiritual and moral struggle, and has traditionally been emphasized in [[Sufi]] and [[Ahmadiyya]] circles.<ref name="DeLong-Bas 2018" /><ref name="ER" /><ref name="EI2" /> The sense of ''jihad'' as armed resistance was first used in the context of [[Persecution of Muslims by Meccans|persecution faced by Muslims when Muhammad was at Mecca]], when the community had two choices: further emigration (''[[hijrah]]'') or [[Muslim–Quraysh War|war]].<ref name=Esposito/>{{rp|30}} The Qur'an justifies war in self-defense or in response to aggression towards other Muslims, however the [[Sword Verse|sword verses]] have historically been interpreted to abrogate other verses and justify offensive war against unbelievers, forcibly converting [[Kafir|polytheistic pagans]] during the [[early Muslim conquests]].<ref>{{cite web |work=BBC |title=Islam and war |date=13 August 2009 |access-date=14 July 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/war.shtml}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=al-Fasi |first1=Muhammad | last2=Hrbek |first2=Ivan |title=General History of Africa: Volume 3 |chapter=The coming of Islam and the expansion of the Muslim empire |chapter-url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000077953|publisher=UNESCO |year=1988 |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000184282}}</ref>{{rp|pages=46}} A [[Islamic military jurisprudence|set of rules pertaining to ''jihad'']] were developed, including prohibitions on harming those who are not engaged in combat, on killing animals such as horses, and on unnecessary destruction of enemy property.<ref>{{cite web |author=Bernard Lewis |date=27 September 2001 |title=Jihad vs. Crusade |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1001547201928681240 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816162048/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1001547201928681240 |archive-date=16 August 2016 |access-date=4 August 2016 |publisher=Opinionjournal.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blankinship |first=Khalid Yahya |author-link=Khalid Yahya Blankinship |year=2011 |title=Parity of Muslim and Western Concepts of Just War |journal=The Muslim World |volume=101 |issue=3 |page=416 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2011.01384.x |issn=1478-1913 |quote=In classical Muslim doctrine on war, likewise, genuine non-combatants are not to be harmed. These include women, minors, servants and slaves who do not take part in the fighting, the blind, monks, hermits, the aged, those physically unable to fight, the insane, the delirious, farmers who do not fight, traders, merchants, and contractors. The main criterion distinguishing combatants from non-combatants is that the latter do not fight and do not contribute to the war effort.}}</ref>

In the twentieth century, the notion of ''jihad'' lost its jurisprudential relevance and instead gave rise to ideological and political discourse.<ref name="DeLong-Bas 2018" /><ref name="hallaq334">{{Cite book |last=Hallaq |first=Wael B. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=eVJsAAAAQBAJ|page=334}} |title=Sharī'a: Theory, Practice, Transformations |date=2009-04-16 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86147-2 |language=en|pages=334–38}}</ref> While [[Islamic modernism|modernist Islamic scholars]] have emphasized the defensive and non-military aspects of ''jihad'', some [[Islamism|Islamists]] have advanced aggressive interpretations that go beyond the classical texts.<ref name="hallaq334" /><ref name="Jalal 2009">{{Cite book |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=y7VVWhi9jGIC}}
|title=Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia |date=2009-06-30 |isbn=978-0-674-03907-0 |language=en|author-link=Ayesha Jalal |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |pages=239–240 |chapter=Islam Subverted? ''Jihad'' as Terrorism |doi=10.4159/9780674039070-007 |s2cid=152941120}}</ref> The term has gained additional attention in recent decades through its use by various [[insurgent]] [[Islamic extremism|Islamic extremist]], [[militant]] [[Islamism|Islamist]], and [[Islamic terrorism|terrorist]] individuals and organizations.<ref name="DeLong-Bas 2018" /><ref name="Badara 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Badara |first1=Mohamed |last2=Nagata |first2=Masaki |date=November 2017 |title=Modern Extremist Groups and the Division of the World: A Critique from an Islamic Perspective |journal=[[Arab Law Quarterly]] |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=305–335 |doi=10.1163/15730255-12314024 |issn=1573-0255 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cook |first=David |author-link=David Cook (historian) |year=2005 |title=Understanding Jihad |isbn=978-0-520-24203-6 |chapter=Radical Islam and Contemporary ''Jihad'' Theory |pages=93–127 |publisher=University of California Press |jstor=10.1525/j.ctv1xxt55.10 |lccn=2015010201 |chapter-url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=SqE2DwAAQBAJ|page=93}} }}</ref>{{rp|93}}<ref name="Jalal 2009" /> Today, the word ''jihad'' is often used without religious connotations, like the English ''[[Crusades|crusade]]''.<ref name="ODI" /><ref name="OEIP" />

==Etymology and literary origins==
The term ''jihad'' is derived from the [[Arabic root]] ''jahada'', meaning "to exert strength and effort, to use all means in order to accomplish a task". In its expanded sense, it can be fighting the enemies of [[Islam]], as well as adhering to religious teachings, enjoining good and forbidding evil.<ref name=Oz/> The peaceful sense of "efforts towards the moral uplift of society or towards the spread of Islam" can be known as "''jihad'' of the tongue" or "''jihad'' of the pen", as opposed to "''jihad'' of the sword".<ref name="Jihād">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Jihād|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/islam/islam/jihad|publisher=encyclopedia.com|date=21 May 2013}}</ref> It is used as a term in ''[[fiqh]]'' (Islamic jurisprudence) mostly in the latter sense, while in [[Sufism]] mostly in the sense of fighting the ''nafs al-ammara'', which is the [[psychological state]] of succumbing to one's own desires.<ref name=Oz>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/cihad |last=Özel |first=Ahmed|date=1993|title=Jihad|encyclopedia=[[Islam Ansiklopedisi]]|volume=7 |pages=527–531|publisher=Turkish Diyanet Foundation |location=Istanbul|lang=tr}}</ref> Spiritual and moral ''jihad'' is generally emphasized in pious and mystical circles.<ref name="Jihād"/>

The Hans Wehr ''[[Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic]]'' defines the term as "fight, battle; ''jihad'', [[holy war]] (against the [[infidels]], as a religious duty)".<ref name=hanswehr>{{Cite book |last=Wehr |first=Hans |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=WTak55pG-_IC|page=142}}
|title=A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic |date=1979 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-02002-2 |language=en|page=142|edition=3rd}}</ref> However, given the range of meanings, it is incorrect to equate it simply with "holy war".<ref name="Jihād"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-12 |title=Jihad {{!}} Meaning, Examples, & Use in the Quran {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/jihad |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The notion of ''jihad'' has its origins in the Islamic idea that the whole humankind will embrace Islam.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=B. |editor-first2=Charles |editor-last2=Pellat|editor-first3=J. |editor-last3=Schatcht|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=mB-qzwEACAAJ|page=538}} |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopaedia of Islam]]: Khe-Naz. Vol. 5-7 |date=1967 |publisher=E. J. Brill |isbn=978-90-04-09739-1 |language=en|last=Tyan |first=Emile |title=Encyclopédie de l'Islam |page=538 }}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=September 2024}} In the Qur'an and in later Muslim usage, ''jihad'' is commonly followed by the expression ''fi sabil illah'', "in the path of God."<ref>For a listing of all appearances in the Qur'an of ''jihad'' and related words, see {{Cite book |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=GrGNtwAACAAJ|page=587}}|title=al-Mu'jam al-mufahras li-alfaz al-Qur'an al-karim |date=1988 |publisher=دار حديث، |language=ar|authorlink=Muhammad Fu'ad 'Abd al-Baqi|pages= 182–83}} and {{Cite book |last=Kassis |first=Hanna E. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=RKbeEAAAQBAJ|page=587}} |title=A Concordance of the Qur'an |date=2023-11-03 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-34261-3 |language=en|pages= 587–588}}</ref> [[Muhammad Abdel-Haleem]] stated that it indicates "the way of truth and justice, including all the teachings it gives on the justifications and the conditions for the conduct of war and peace."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Understanding the Qurʼan : Themes and Style|last=Abdel Haleem|first=Muhammed|date=2001|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=9781860640094|location=London|pages=62|oclc=56728422}}</ref>

In [[Modern Standard Arabic]], the term ''jihad'' is used for a struggle for causes, both religious and [[Secularism|secular]]. It is sometimes used without religious connotation, with a meaning similar to the English word "[[crusade]]" (as in "a crusade against drugs").<ref name="OISO">{{cite web|title=Oxford Islamic Studies Online|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1199|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=29 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903062853/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1199|archive-date=3 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Jihad'' is used commonly in Arabic countries, in the neutral sense of "a struggle for a noble cause", as a unisex name given to children.<ref>{{cite news|title='My wife can never call my name in public'|first=Rebecca|last=Seales|publisher=BBC |date=5 July 2018|access-date=29 November 2021|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-42009219}}</ref> Nonetheless, ''jihad'' is usually used in the religious sense and its beginnings trace to the Qur'an and the words and actions of [[Muhammad]].<ref name="Peters-jihad-OEIW">{{cite encyclopedia|first=Rudolph |last=Peters |title=Jihād |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/MainSearch.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121021514/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/MainSearch.html |archive-date=21 November 2008 |access-date=17 February 2008}}</ref><ref name="Berkey-2003">{{Cite book |last=Berkey |first=Jonathan P. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=mLV6lo4mvj0C}} |title=The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800 |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-58813-3 |language=en}}</ref>

===Quran===
''Jihad'' is mentioned in four places in the [[Qur'an]] as a noun, while its derived verb is used in twenty-four places. ''[[Mujahid]]'', the [[active participle]] meaning "[[jihadist]]", is mentioned in two verses.<ref name=Oz/> In some of these mentions (see [[At-Tawbah]] 9/41, 44, 81, 86), it is understood that the word ''jihad'' directly refers to war, and in others, ''jihad'' is used in the sense of "the effort to live in accordance with Allah's will".<ref name=Oz/> Qur'anic exhortations to ''jihad'' have been [[tafsir|interpreted]] by Islamic scholars both in the combative and non-combative sense.<ref>{{cite book|title=Striving in the Path of God ''Jihad'' and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought|author=[[Asma Afsaruddin]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2013|page=11}}</ref> Ahmed al-Dawoody wrote that there seventeen references to or derivatives of ''jihad'' occur altogether forty-one times in eleven [[Meccan surah|Meccan]] texts and thirty [[Medinan surah|Medinan]] ones, with 28 mentions related to religious belief or spiritual struggle and 13 mentions related to warfare or physical struggle.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|56}}

===Hadith===
There are also many [[hadiths]] (records of the teachings, deeds and sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) about ''jihad'', typically under the headings of ''kitab al-jihad'' (book of ''jihad'') or ''faza'il al-jihad'' (virtues of ''jihad'') in ''hadith'' collections or as the subject of independent works.<ref name=Oz/> Of the 199 ''hadith'' references to ''jihad'' in the [[Sahih Bukhari|Bukhari]] collection of ''hadith'', all assume that ''jihad'' means warfare.<ref name="bukhari">{{cite book|last=ibn Ismāʻīl Bukhārī|first=Muḥammad |title=Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī: The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=tB9quQEACAAJ}}|volume=v4|year=1981|publisher=Dar al-Fikr|location=Medina|pages=34–204|translator-last=Muhsin Khan|translator-first=Muhammad}}. Quoted in {{cite journal |url=http://www.meforum.org/357/what-does-jihad-mean |title=What Does ''Jihad'' Mean? |last=Streusand |first=Douglas E. |journal=Middle East Quarterly |date=September 1997 |pages=9–17 |quote=In ''hadith'' collections, ''jihad'' means armed action; for example, the 199 references to ''jihad'' in the most standard collection of ''hadith'', Sahih al-Bukhari, all assume that ''jihad'' means warfare. |access-date=24 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908145532/http://www.meforum.org/357/what-does-jihad-mean |archive-date=8 September 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Streusand-1997">{{cite journal|last1=Streusand|first1=Douglas E.|title=What Does ''Jihad'' Mean?|journal=Middle East Quarterly|date=September 1997|volume=4|issue=3|pages=9–17|url=http://www.meforum.org/357/what-does-jihad-mean|access-date=12 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701081937/http://www.meforum.org/357/what-does-jihad-mean|archive-date=1 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Among reported sayings of Muhammad involving ''jihad'' are:

{{blockquote|The best ''Jihad'' is the word of Justice in front of the oppressive sultan.|cited by [[Ibn Nuhaas]] and narrated by Ibn Habbaan<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khilafah.com/index.php/analysis/middle-east/11132-protestors-lose-their-fear-of-the-egyptian-regime-and-perform-the-best-jihad-the-word-of-justice-in-front-of-the-oppressive-ruler|title=Protestors lose their fear of the Egyptian regime and perform the best ''jihad'' – the word of justice in front of the oppressive ruler|last=Abdul-Kareem|first=Ibrahim|date=2011-01-28|website=The Khilafah|access-date=2019-08-09|archive-date=26 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226122709/http://www.khilafah.com/index.php/analysis/middle-east/11132-protestors-lose-their-fear-of-the-egyptian-regime-and-perform-the-best-jihad-the-word-of-justice-in-front-of-the-oppressive-ruler|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://muslimmatters.org/2011/02/01/reflections-on-the-protests-in-egypt/|title=Reflections on the Protests in Egypt|last=Shehata|first=Ali|date=1 February 2011|website=MuslimMatters.org|language=en-US|access-date=9 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="Hashim1">{{cite book|last1=Hashim Kamali|first1=Mohammad|author-link=Mohammad Hashim Kamali|title=Shari'ah Law: An Introduction|date=2008|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1851685653|page=204}}</ref>}}
and
{{blockquote|The Messenger of Allah was asked about the best ''jihad''. He said: "The best ''jihad'' is the one in which your horse is slain and your blood is spilled."|cited by [[Ibn Nuhaas]] and narrated by Ibn Habbaan<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/TheBookOfJihadByIbnNuhass|title=The Book of ''Jihad''|via=[[Internet Archive]]|author=Abi Zakaryya Al Dimashqi Al Dumyati|date=2016-10-23|pages=[https://archive.org/details/TheBookOfJihadByIbnNuhass/page/n43 107]|translator-last=Yamani|translator-first=Noor|access-date=2019-08-09}}</ref>}}

Ibn Nuhaas cited a [[hadith]] from [[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], where Muhammad stated that the highest kind ''jihad'' is "The person who is killed whilst spilling the last of his blood" (Ahmed 4/144).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/TheBookOfJihadByIbnNuhass|title=The Book of ''Jihad''|via=[[Internet Archive]]|author=Abi Zakaryya Al Dimashqi Al Dumyati|date=23 October 2016|pages=[https://archive.org/details/TheBookOfJihadByIbnNuhass/page/n177 177]|translator-last=Yamani|translator-first=Noor|access-date=9 August 2019}}</ref> Muhammad also said, “I cannot find anything” as meritorious as ''jihad''; he further likened ''jihad'' to “praying ceaselessly and fasting continuously”.<ref name=1t4>{{cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=1T4yAQAAQBAJ}}|title=The Intensification and Reorientation of Sunni ''Jihad'' Ideology in the Crusader Period|date=3 December 2012 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004242791 }}</ref>{{rp|70, 145}}<ref>{{cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=CD9IdzJ4fFQC}}|title=Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain|page=12|isbn=0812218892 |last1=O'Callaghan |first1=Joseph F. |date=24 February 2004 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press }}</ref> Muhammad said that “if it were not a hardship for the Muslims, I would never idle behind from a raiding party going out to fight in the path of Allah.... I [would] love to raid in the path of Allah and be killed, to raid again and be killed, and to raid again and be killed”.<ref name=1t4/>{{rp|147}} Muhammad also said that "Lining up for battle in the path of Allah [jihad] is worthier than 60 years of worship".<ref name=1t4/>{{rp|151}} Muhammad claimed that any Muslim who refused to fight in ''jihad'' “will be tortured like no other sinful human” in hell with confirmation from Qur'an 8:15-16.<ref name=1t4/>{{rp|71}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://quran.com/en/al-anfal/15-16 | title=Surah Al-Anfal - 15-16 }}</ref> In another ''hadith'' Muhammad said, “the sword wipes away all sins” and “being killed in the path of Allah washes away impurity”.<ref>{{cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=LuzFSDvKXJ4C}}|title=Understanding ''Jihad''|date=23 May 2005 |page=15|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520931879 }}</ref><ref name=1t4/>{{rp|183}}

According to another ''hadith'',<ref>{{Citehadith|bukhari|5972|b=yl}}</ref> supporting one's parents is an example of ''jihad''.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|76}} It has been reported that Muhammad considered performing ''[[hajj]]'' well to be the best ''jihad'' for Muslim women.<ref>{{Citehadith|bukhari|2784|b=yl}}</ref><ref name=AD11>{{cite book|first1=Ahmed|last1=Al-Dawoody|date=2011|title=The Islamic Law of War: Justifications and Regulations|url=https://archive.org/details/islamiclawwarjus00alda|url-access=limited|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0230111608}}</ref>{{rp|58}}

The ''hadith'' emphasize ''jihad'' as one of the means to [[Paradise]]. All sins (except debt) would be forgiven for the one who dies in it.<ref name=Bonney04>{{cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=5Mcf0AEACAAJ}}|title=Jihad: From Qu'ran to Bin Laden|last=Bonney|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Bonney|year=2004|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]}}</ref>{{rp|34-35}} Participation in ''jihad'' had to be voluntary and intention must be pure, for ''jihad'' is only waged for the sake of God not for material wealth.<ref name=Bonney04/>{{rp|34-35}} On the contrary, ''jihad'' required man to put both his life and wealth at risk.<ref name=Bonney04/>{{rp|34-35}} ''Jihad'' is ranked as one of the highest good deeds; according to one ''hadith'' it is the third-best deed after [[Salat|prayer]] and being good to one's parents.<ref name=Bonney04/>{{rp|35}} One ''hadith'' exempts military ''jihad'' on men whose parents are alive, as serving one's parents is considered a superior ''jihad''.<ref name=Bonney04/>{{rp|35}}

==Greater and lesser ''jihad''==
Tradition distinguishes the "greater ''jihad''" (inner struggle against sinful behavior) from the "lesser ''jihad''" (military sense).<ref name="DeLong-Bas 2018"/> Early Islamic thought considered non-violent interpretations of ''jihad'', especially for those Muslims who could not partake in warfare in distant lands.{{CN|date=September 2023}} Most classical writings use the term "''jihad''" in the military sense.<ref>Lewis, Bernard, ''[[The Crisis of Islam]]'', 2001 [https://archive.org/details/crisisofislam00bern/page/33 <!-- quote="from the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad onward" Lewis. --> Chapter 2]</ref><ref name="Lewis-1988">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Bernard |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=NXCTjv2oFtUC}} |title=The Political Language of Islam |date=1991-06-11 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-47693-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/politicallanguag00lewi_680/page/n80 72]}} The tradition differentiating between the "greater and lesser ''jihad''" is not included in any of the authoritative compilations of Hadith. In consequence, some Islamists dismiss it as not authentic.<ref name="Peters-jihad"/>{{rp|116}}

The most commonly cited ''hadith'' for "greater ''jihad''" is:{{CN|date=September 2023}}
<blockquote>A number of fighters came to [[Muhammad]] and he said "You have come from the 'lesser ''jihad''{{'}} to the 'greater ''jihad''{{'}}." The fighters asked "what is the greater ''jihad''?" Muhammad replied, "It is the struggle against one's passions."<ref name="bbcislam">{{cite web|title= ''Jihad''|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/jihad_1.shtml|publisher= BBC|date=3 August 2009|access-date=4 June 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100827133231/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/jihad_1.shtml|archive-date= 27 August 2010|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref></blockquote>

This passage was cited in ''The History of Baghdad'' by [[al-Khatib al-Baghdadi]], an 11th-century Islamic scholar.<ref>[[Fayd al-Qadir]] vol. 4 p. 511</ref><ref name="Streusand-greater">{{cite journal|last1= Streusand|first1= Douglas E.|title= What Does ''Jihad'' Mean?|journal= Middle East Quarterly|date= September 1997|volume= iv |issue= 3|pages= 9–17|url= http://www.meforum.org/357/what-does-jihad-mean|access-date= 26 August 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140908145532/http://www.meforum.org/357/what-does-jihad-mean|archive-date= 8 September 2014|url-status= live}}</ref> This reference gave rise to the practice of distinguishing "greater" and "lesser" ''jihad''.<ref name="bbcislam"/> Islamic scholars such as [[Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani]] consider the ''hadith'' to have a weak [[Isnad|chain of transmission]].<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/jihad004.html |title=Sunnah.org |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609212254/http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/jihad004.html |archive-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The concept has had "enormous influence" in Islamic mysticism ([[Sufism]]).<ref name=Kadri12>{{cite book |last=Kadri |first=Sadakat |year=2012 |title=Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]] |location=London |isbn=978-0099523277 |pages=150–151, 157, 172–175 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=ztCRZOhJ10wC}} }}
</ref>{{rp|78–79}}{{sfn|Kadri|2012|pp= 103|loc= According to al-Ghazali, he [the Prophet] had told Muslims after their first major military victory at Badr that their struggle (jihad) was not won: they had only won a 'lesser struggle', while the greater struggle to fortify their spiritual defenses still lay ahead.}}

[[Ibn Hazm]] lists four kinds of ''jihad fi sabilillah'' (struggle in the cause of God):
* ''Jihad'' of the heart ''(jihad bil qalb/nafs)'' is concerned with combatting [[the devil]] and in the attempt to escape his persuasion to evil. This type of ''jihad'' was regarded{{cn|date=November 2023}} as the greater ''jihad'' (''al-jihad al-akbar'').
* ''Jihad'' by the tongue ''(jihad bil lisan)'' (also ''jihad'' by the word, ''jihad al-qalam'') is concerned with speaking the truth and spreading the word of Islam with one's tongue.
* ''Jihad'' by the hand ''(jihad bil yad)'' refers to choosing to do what is right and to combat injustice and what is wrong with action.
* ''Jihad'' by the sword ''(jihad bis saif)'' refers to ''qital fi sabilillah'' (armed fighting in the way of God, or [[holy war]]), the most common usage by [[Salafi]] Muslims and offshoots of the [[Muslim Brotherhood]].<ref name="Khadduri">{{Cite book |last=Khadduri |first=Majid |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=UHWd6gLZsFIC}} |title=War and Peace in the Law of Islam |date=2006 |publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. |isbn=978-1-58477-695-6 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp| 56}}

A related ''hadith'' tradition that has "found its way into popular Muslim literature",<ref>{{cite journal |title= Maudūdī's al-Jihād fi'l-Islām. A Neglected Document |first= Jamal |last= Malik |journal= Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft |volume= 17 |issue= 1 |doi= 10.1515/zfr.2009.17.1.61 |year= 2009 |s2cid= 179091977 |url= https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/zfr.2009.17.1.61/html|url-access= subscription }}</ref> and which has been said to "embody the Muslim mindset" of the [[Abbasid Caliphate#Islamic Golden Age|Islamic Golden Age]] (the period from the mid-8th century to mid-13th century following the relocation of the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] capital from [[Damascus]] to [[Baghdad]]),<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/123456789/5427/1/%27Ulum%20Islamiyyah%20-%20Vol.7%20%28December%29%202011%20-%20Part%201.pdf |title= Refining Islamic Scholarship: Through Harmonising With Postmodern Social Sciences |first= Jonathan A. J. |last= Wilson |journal= 'Ulum Islamiyyah: The Malaysian Journal of Islamic Sciences |volume= 7 |date= 2011 |publisher= Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia |access-date= 29 November 2021 |archive-date= 22 January 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220122135543/http://ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/123456789/5427/1/%27Ulum%20Islamiyyah%20-%20Vol.7%20%28December%29%202011%20-%20Part%201.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> is: {{blockquote|"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr."}}

The belief in the veracity of this ''hadith'' was a contributing factor in the efforts by successive ''[[caliphs]]'' to subsidize translations of "[[Greek language|Greek]], [[Hebrew language |Hebrew]] and [[Syriac language |Syriac]] science and philosophy texts",<ref>{{cite book|chapter= Islamic Science|first= Peter L.|last= Lutz |title= The Rise of Experimental Biology |pages=57–63 |chapter-url= https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-1-59259-163-3_8.pdf |date=2002 |publisher= Humana Press |doi= 10.1007/978-1-59259-163-3_8 |isbn= 978-1-59259-163-3}}</ref> and the saying continues to be heavily emphasised in certain Islamic traditions advocating intellectualism over violence, for example in [[Timbuktu]],<ref>{{cite news|title= Timbuktu: The Ink of Scholars and the Blood of Martyrs |url= https://www.huffpost.com/entry/timbuktu-the-ink-of-schol_b_1847749 |first= Rudolph |last= Ware |date= 31 August 2012 |publisher= Huffington Post|access-date=29 November 2021}}</ref> where it is central to one of two key lessons in the work ''Tuhfat al-Fudala'' by 16th-century [[Berbers |Berber]] scholar [[Ahmed Baba]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/2152/Meanings_Timbuktu.pdf |first=Souleymane Bachir |last=Diagne |chapter=Towards an intellectual history of West Africa: The meaning of Timbuktu |title=The meanings of Timbuktu |page=26 |date=2008 |publisher= HRSC Press |isbn= 9780796922045 |access-date= 29 November 2021 |archive-date= 17 May 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220517012523/https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/2152/Meanings_Timbuktu.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In general, however, fewer people today are aware of the ''hadith'', which suffers from "a general lack of knowledge", according to [[Akbar Ahmed]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The pen, the sword and the Prophet |first= Felicity |last= Morse |date= 13 January 2015 |access-date= 29 November 2021 |publisher= BBC |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-30803391}}</ref>

According to classical Islamic scholars like [[Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya]], ''jihad'' is against four types of enemies: the lower self (''[[nafs]]''), [[Satan]], the unbelievers, and the hypocrites. The first two types of ''jihad'' are purely peaceful spiritual struggles. According to Ibn Qayyim, "Jihad against the lower self precedes ''jihad'' against external enemies." Confirming the central importance of the spiritual aspect of ''jihad'', [[Ibn Taymiyyah]] wrote:{{blockquote|"Jihad against the lower self and whims is the foundation of ''jihad'' against the unbelievers and hypocrites, for a Muslim cannot wage ''jihad'' against them unless he has waged ''jihad'' against himself and his desires first, before he goes out against them."<ref name="yaqeeninstitute.org">{{Cite web|date= 15 May 2020 |title= ''Jihad'' in Islam: Just War Theory in the Qur'an and Sunnah | url= https://yaqeeninstitute.org/amp/justin-parrott/jihad-in-islam-just-war-theory-in-the-quran-and-sunnah |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210119003851/https://yaqeeninstitute.org/amp/justin-parrott/jihad-in-islam-just-war-theory-in-the-quran-and-sunnah |archive-date=19 January 2021| website=Yaqeeninstitute.org}}</ref>}}

Engaging in the greater ''jihad'' does not preclude engaging in the lesser ''jihad''. [[Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani]] recommended his followers to pursue both the greater and the lesser ''jihad''s.<ref name=handbook295/>

At least one important contemporary [[Twelver]] [[Shia]] figure, [[Ayatollah]] [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], the leader of the [[Iranian Revolution]] and the founder of the [[History of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Islamic Republic of Iran]], wrote a treatise on the "Greater ''Jihad''" (i.e., internal/personal struggle against sin).<ref name="Khomeini-greater">{{cite web|last1= Khomeini|first1= Ruhollah|title= ''Jihad'' al-Akbar, The Greatest ''Jihad'': Combat with the Self|url= http://www.al-islam.org/jihad-al-akbar-the-greatest-jihad-combat-with-the-self-imam-khomeini|publisher= al-Islam.org|access-date= 28 August 2014|date=27 September 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140903111819/http://www.al-islam.org/jihad-al-akbar-the-greatest-jihad-combat-with-the-self-imam-khomeini|archive-date=3 September 2014 |url-status= live}}</ref>

Robert W. Schaefer discussed ''jihad'' and ''gazavat'' in the context of the Caucasus: "''Gazavat'' was the ''jihad'' of its day. ''Gazavat'' meant putting yourself on the right path (what Muslims refer to as the lesser ''jihad'') as well as expelling the invader (what is referred to as greater ''jihad'')."{{Clarify|date=September 2024|reason=This reverses the meaning of greater and lesser and needs to be noted as such, if correct.}}<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Schaefer
 |first1               = Robert W.
 |date                 = 22 October 2010
 |title                = The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus: From Gazavat to ''Jihad''
 |url                  = {{google books|plainurl=y|id=vbrOEAAAQBAJ}}
 |series               = Praeger Security International
 |publication-place    = Santa Barbara, California
 |publisher            = Bloomsbury Publishing USA
 |page                 = 64
 |isbn                 = 9780313386350
 |access-date          = 22 November 2023
 |quote                = 
}}
</ref>

==Defensive and offensive lesser ''jihad''==
Classical scholars considered various justifications for ''jihad'', including waging it defensively vs offensively. Scholarly opinions carried significant weight with Muslim leaders. Scholars paid more attention to conduct of war (''[[jus in bello]])'' than justification of war (''[[jus ad bellum]]'').<ref>{{cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=_98eEAAAQBAJ|page=119}} |title=Islamic Law: A Very Short Introduction|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|last=Baderin |first=Mashood A.|year=2021|page=119|quote=Similar to contemporary international law, there are more rules relating to jus in bello than to ''jus ad bellum'' under Islamic laws of war.}}</ref><ref name=AEF99>{{cite journal|last=Abou El Fadl|first=Khaled|author-link=Khaled Abou El Fadl|title=The rules of killing at war: An inquiry into classical sources|date=1999|journal=The Muslim World|volume=89|issue=2|pages=144–157|doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.1999.tb03675.x|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1478-1913.1999.tb03675.x|url-access=subscription}}
</ref>{{rp|150-151}} The decision of when to wage war was often viewed as a political decision best left to political authorities.<ref name=AEF01>{{Cite journal|last=Abou El Fadl|first=Khaled |author-link=Khaled Abou El Fadl|year=2001|title=Islam and the Theology of Power|jstor=1559337|journal=Middle East Report|issue=221|pages=28–33|doi=10.2307/1559337}}</ref>{{rp|30}}<ref name=AEF99/>{{rp|150-151}}

Two justifications for ''jihad'' were given: defensive war against external aggression, or an offensive or preemptive attack against an enemy state.<ref>{{cite book|title=Jihad, Radicalism, and the New Atheism|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=BFZsBgAAQBAJ}}|last=Khalil|first=Mohammad Hassan|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.1017/9781108377263|year=2017|isbn=9781108421546}}</ref>{{rp|18-19}} According to the majority of jurists, the ''[[casus belli]]'' (justifications for war) are restricted to aggression against Muslims,<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|78-79}}{{sfn|Abou El Fadl|2001|p=29|ps=: "the majority [of jurists] argued that non-Muslims should only be fought against if they pose a danger to Muslims"}} and ''[[Fitna (word)|fitna]]''—[[persecution of Muslims]] because of their religious belief.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|78-79}} They hold that unbelief in itself is not a justification for war. These jurists therefore maintain that only combatants are to be fought; noncombatants such as women, children, clergy, the aged, the insane, farmers, serfs, the blind, and so on are not to be killed in war.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|78-79}} Thus, the Hanafī Ibn Najīm stated: "the reason for ''jihād'' in our [the Hanafīs] view is ''kawnuhum harbā ‛alaynā'' [literally, their being at war against us]."<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|78-79}}<ref>Ibn Najīm, ''Al-Bahr al-Rā’iq'', Vol. 5, p. 76.</ref> The [[Hanafi school|Hanafī]] jurists al-Shaybānī state that "although unbelief in God is one of the greatest sins, it is between the individual and his God the Almighty and the punishment for this sin is to be postponed to the ''dār al-jazā’'', (the abode of reckoning, the Hereafter)."<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|78-79}} Al-Sarakhsī says something similar.<ref name=AEF99/>{{rp|152}} Offensive ''jihad'' involved forays into enemy territory either for conquest, thus enlarging the Muslim political order, or to dissuade the enemy from attacking Muslim lands.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mairaj Syed|title=Just War in Religion and Politics|chapter=Jihad in Classical Islamic Legal and Moral Thought|publisher=[[University Press of America]]|page=145|year=2013}}</ref>

Shia and [[Sunni]] theories of ''jihad'' are similar,<ref name="Peters-jihad-OEIW"/> except that Shias consider offensive ''jihad'' to be valid only under the leadership of the [[Mahdi]], who is currently believed to be in [[occultation]] but will return.<ref name=kohlberg/><ref name=OCAP/> However, defensive ''jihad'' is permissible in Shia Islam before the Mahdi's return.<ref name=kohlberg>{{cite web|last=Kohlberg |first=Etan |url=https://atharebartar.com/en/development-imami-shii-doctrine-jihad-2/|title=The Development of the Imami Shi'i Doctrine of ''Jihad'' |publisher=Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgen Laendischen Gesellschaft |issue=126 |year=1976 |pages= 64–86, esp. pp. 78–86}}</ref> In fact, Shia scholars emphasized it was a religious duty for Shia to defend all Muslims (including Sunni Muslims) from outside invaders.<ref name=Prism10>{{cite book|title=The Prism of Just War: Asian and Western Perspectives on the Legitimate Use of Military Force|editor=Howard M. Hensel|year=2010|publisher=Ashgate |url=https://www.routledge.com/The-Prism-of-Just-War-Asian-and-Western-Perspectives-on-the-Legitimate/Hensel/p/book/9780754675105|isbn=9780754675105|ref={{sfnRef|Prism|2010}}}}</ref>{{rp|152}}

===Rules of warfare===
{{main|Rules of war in Islam}}
{{Rquote |1=right
|2=They might be our enemies but they are human beings. They consist of civil population {{sic|comprising |hide=y|of}} women and children; how can one kill, loot and plunder them?
|3=[[Ali ibn Abi Talib]] |4=''Najh al-Balagha''<ref name=Prism10/>{{rp|155}}
}}

Rules prohibit attacking or molesting non-combatants, including women, children under the age of [[puberty]], elderly men, people with disabilities and those who are sick.<ref name=V15>{{cite book|title=War and Law in the Islamic World|url=https://brill.com/view/title/31941|first=Matthias|last=Vanhullebusch|year=2015|publisher=[[Brill publishers]]|isbn=9789004298248}}</ref>{{rp|33-35}}<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|78}} Diplomats, merchants and peasants are similarly immune from being attacked.<ref name=V15/>{{rp|33-35}}<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|134}} Monks are presumed to be non-combatants and thus have immunity; places of worship should not be attacked.<ref name=V15/>{{rp|33-35}} Even if the enemy disregarded the immunity of noncombatants, Muslims could not respond in kind.<ref name=handbook295/> However, these categories lose their immunity should they participate in fighting, planning, or supplying the enemy.<ref name=V15/>{{rp|33-35}} Some jurists argued that immunity was more related to noncombatant status than being in a certain demographic class. For example, [[Muhaqqiq al-Hilli]] opined that only old men are only immune from being killed if they neither fight, nor take a role in military decision making.{{clarify|date=October 2023}}<ref name=Prism10/>{{rp|154}}

Up until the [[Crusades]], Muslim jurists disallowed the use of ''[[mangonels]]'' because the weapon killed indiscriminately with the potential of harming noncombatants. During the Crusades this ruling was reversed out of military need.<ref name=Cook05/>{{rp|55-56}} Jurists grappled with the question of attacking an enemy that used women, children or Muslims as [[human shields]]. Most jurists held that it was permissible to attack the enemy in cases of [[military necessity]], but steps should be taken to direct the attack towards combatants to avoid the human shield.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|117}} Abu Hanifa argued that if Muslims stopped combat for fear of killing noncombatants, then such a rule would make fighting impossible, as every city had civilians.<ref name=handbook295>{{Cite book |last1=Cosman |first1=Madeleine Pelner |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=-Jf5t1vFw1QC|page=295}} |title=Handbook to Life in the Medieval World, 3-Volume Set |last2=Jones |first2=Linda Gale |date=2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-0907-7 |language=en|pages=295–296}}</ref> Mutilating the enemy dead is prohibited.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kelsay|first=John|date=2009|title=Arguing the Just War in Islam|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=9780674032347}}</ref>{{rp|101}}

Two rulings on destruction of enemy property conflict. In one military battle, Prophet [[Muhammad]] ordered the destruction of an enemy's palm trees as a means of ending a siege without bloodshed.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} By contrast, [[Abu Bakr]] prohibited destruction of trees, buildings and livestock.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|126-128}} Most jurists did not allow unnecessary destruction of enemy property,<ref name=handbook295/> but allowed it in cases of military necessity, such as destroying buildings in which the enemy is taking shelter.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|126-128}} Some jurists allowed destruction if it would weaken the enemy or win the war.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|126-128}} Many jurists cautioned against "unnecessary devastation", not just out of humanitarian concerns, but practical ones: it is more useful to capture an enemy's property than to destroy it.<ref name=V15/>{{rp|39}} Islamic scholars prohibited killing animals, unless due to military necessity (such as killing horses in battle). This is because, unlike property, animals feel pain.<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|126-128}}

==History ==
{{See also|List of expeditions of Muhammad}}
In pre-Islamic Arabia, [[Bedouin]]s raided enemy tribes and settlements to collect spoils. According to some scholars (such as James Turner Johnson), while Islamic leaders "instilled into the hearts of the warriors the belief" in ''jihad'' "holy war" and ''ghaza'' (raids), the "fundamental structure" of this Bedouin warfare "remained, ... raiding to collect booty".<ref name="johnson-147">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=James Turner |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=IoEjpRsvuzUC|page=148}}
|title=Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions |date=1 November 2010 |publisher=Penn State Press |isbn=978-0271042145 |pages=147–48 |quote=Islam ... instilled into the hearts of the warriors the belief that a war against the followers of another faith was a holy war ... The fundamental structure of bedouin warfare remained, however, that of raiding to collect booty. ... another element in the normative understanding of ''jihad'' as religiously sanctioned war ... [was] the ghaza, `[[Razzia (military)|razzia]] or raid.` ... Thus the standard form of desert warfare, periodic raids by the nomadic tribes against one another and the settled areas, was transformed into a centrally directed military movement and given and ideological rationale. |access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref> According to [[Jonathan Berkey]], the Qur'an's statements in support of ''jihad'' may have originally been directed against Muhammad's local enemies, the pagans of Mecca or the Jews of Medina, but these same statements could be redirected once new enemies appeared.<ref name="Berkey2003">{{cite book|last=Berkey|first=Jonathan Porter|author-link=Jonathan Berkey|title=The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600–1800|url=https://archive.org/details/formationofislam0000berk|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521588133 |page=[https://archive.org/details/formationofislam0000berk/page/73 73]|quote=The Koran is not a squeamish document, and it exhorts the believers to ''jihad''. Verses such as "Do not follow the unbelievers, but struggle against them mightily" (25.52) and "fight [those who have been given a revelation] who do not believe in God and the last day" (9.29) may originally have been directed against Muhammad's local enemies, the pagans of Mecca or the Jews of Medina, but they could be redirected once a new set of enemies appeared.}}</ref> According to scholar Majid Khadduri, it was the shift in focus to the conquest and spoils collecting of non-Bedouin unbelievers and away from traditional inter-Bedouin tribal raids, that may have made it possible for Islam to expand and to avoid self-destruction.<ref name="Khadduri-1955-62">{{harvnb|Khadduri|1955}} {{cite book|chapter-url=https://actforamericaeducation.com/downloads/All_Files_by_Type/khadduri.pdf|access-date=26 October 2015|title=War and Peace in the Law of Islam|pages=55–73|chapter=Book II - The Law of War: The Jihad - Chapter V. Doctrine of ''Jihad''|quote=The importance of the ''jihad'' in Islam lay in shifting the focus of attention of the tribes from their interribal warfare to the outside word; Islam outlawed all forms of war except the ''jihad'', that is the war in Allah's path. It would indeed, have been very difficult for the Islamic state to survive had it not been for the doctrine of the ''jihad'', replacing tribal raids, and directing that enormous energy of the tribes from an inevitable internal conflict to unite and fight against the outside world in the name of the new faith.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128192525/http://www.actforamericaeducation.com/downloads/All_Files_by_Type/khadduri.pdf|archive-date=28 November 2015|url-status=dead }}</ref>{{rp|60}}

===Classical===
According to [[Al-Baqara 256]] "there is no compulsion in religion".<ref name="qref|2|256">{{qref|2|256|b=yl}}</ref> The primary aim of ''jihad'' as warfare is not the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam by force, but rather the expansion and defense of the [[Islamic state]].<ref name=EIO-djihad>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Djihād|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam Online|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=lQpd0AEACAAJ}}}}</ref><ref name="Peters-1977-3">{{Cite book |last=Peters |first=Rudolph |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Lm4XnNtI_1wC\page=3}}|title=Jihad in Mediaeval and Modern Islam: The Chapter on Jihad from Averroes' Legal Handbook 'Bidåayat Al-mudjtahid' and the Treatise 'Koran and Fighting' by the Late Shaykh-al-Azhar, Maòhmåud Shaltåut |date=1977 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-04854-6 |language=en|page= 3}}</ref> There could be truces before this was achieved, but no permanent peace.<ref name=Lewis>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Bernard |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=br74_99YqSIC}}
|title=Islam and the West |date=1994-10-27 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-802393-7 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|9–10}} One who died "on the path of God" was a martyr (''[[shahid]]''), whose sins were remitted and who secured "immediate entry to paradise".<ref name="OCAP">{{cite book|editor1-last=Coates|editor1-first=David|title=The Oxford Companion to American Politics, Volume 2|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press |page=16 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=W_BMAgAAQBAJ|page=16}} |isbn=9780199764310}}</ref>

According with [[Bernard Lewis]], "from an early date Muslim law laid down" ''jihad'' in the military sense as "one of the principal obligations" of both "the head of the Muslim state", who declared ''jihad'', and the Muslim community.<ref name=Lewis/> According to legal historian Sadakat Kadri, Islamic jurists first developed classical doctrine of ''jihad'' "towards the end of the eighth century", using the doctrine of ''[[naskh (tafsir)|naskh]]'' (that God gradually improved His revelations over the course of Muhammed's mission). They subordinated Qur'anic verses emphasizing harmony to the more "confrontational" verses of Muhammad's later years and linked verses on exertion (''jihad'') to those of fighting (''qital'').<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|1501}} Muslims jurists of the eighth century divided the world into three divisions, ''dar al-Islam''/''dar al-‛adl''/''dar al-salam'' (house of Islam/house of justice/house of peace), ''dar al-harb''/''dar al-jawr'' (house of war/house of injustice, oppression), and ''dar al-sulh''/''dar al-‛ahd/dār al-muwada‛ah'' (house of peace/house of covenant/house of reconciliation).<ref>{{cite book |author=Ahmed Al- |title=The Islamic Law of War: Justifications and Regulations |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=9XfFAAAAQBAJ|page=92}}
 |date=28 March 2011b |publisher=Springer |isbn=9780230118089|pages=92}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/isjihadjustwar00zawa/page/50|title=Isw+bm Jihād a Just War?: War, Peace, and Human Rights Under Islamic and Public International Law|last=Zawātī|first=Ḥilmī M|date=2001|publisher=E. Mellen Press|isbn=0773473041|series=Studies in religion and society|volume=53|location=Lewiston, N.Y.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isjihadjustwar00zawa/page/50 50]|oclc=47283206}}</ref> The eighth century jurist [[Sufyan al-Thawri]] (d. 778) headed what [[Majid Khadduri|Khadduri]] called a pacifist school, which maintained that ''jihad'' was only a defensive war.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Law of War and Peace in Islam: A Study in Muslim International Law|last=Khadduri|first=Majid|date=1940|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=ejBHAAAAIAAJ}}|publisher=Luzac & Co|location=London|language=en|oclc=24254931}}</ref>{{rp|36ff}}<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|90}} He stated that the jurists who held this position, among whom he refers to [[Hanafi]] jurists [[Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i|al-Awza‛i]] (d. 774) and [[Malik ibn Anas]] (d. 795), and other early jurists, "stressed that tolerance should be shown unbelievers, especially scripturaries and advised the Imam to prosecute war only when the inhabitants of the ''dar al-harb'' came into conflict with Islam."<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|80}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Al-Shaybani |first=Muhammad Ibn al-H. |url=|title=The Islamic Law of Nations: Shaybani's Siyar. |date=1966 |publisher=Johns Hopkins Press |language=en|translator-first=[Majid |translator-last=Khadduri}}</ref>{{rp|58}} The duty of ''Jihad'' was a collective one (''[[fard al-kifaya]]''). It was to be directed only by the caliph who might delay it when convenient, negotiating truces for up to ten years at a time.<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|150–51}} Within classical [[fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]], during the first few centuries after the prophet's death,<ref>[[Albrecht Noth]], "''Der Dschihad: sich mühen für Gott''. In: Gernot Rotter, ''Die Welten des Islam: neunundzwanzig Vorschläge, das Unvertraute zu verstehen''{{-"}} (Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1993), p. 27</ref> ''jihad'' consisted of wars against unbelievers, [[Apostasy|apostated]], and was the only form of permissible warfare.<ref name="Khadduri"/>{{rp|74–80}} [[Bernard Lewis]] stated that fighting rebels and bandits was legitimate, though not a form of ''jihad'',<ref name="lewis-2004-31">{{cite book |last1=Lewis|first1=Bernard|title=The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror |date=2004 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group|page=31|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=kE9LmS6QvacC}} |quote=According to Islamic law, it is lawful to wage war against four types of enemies: infidels, apostates, rebels, and bandits. Although all four types of war are legitimate, only the first two count as ''jihad''. |isbn=978-0812967852}}</ref> and that while the classical perception and presentation of ''jihad'' was warfare in the field against a foreign enemy, internal ''jihad'' "against an infidel renegade, or otherwise illegitimate regime was not unknown."<ref name="lewis-237">{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |title=The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years |date=2000 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |pages=237–38 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=CjAABdA9z18C|page=237}} |access-date=30 September 2015 |isbn=9780684807126}}</ref>)

However, some argue martyrdom is never automatic, because it is God's province to judge who is worthy of that designation.<ref>According to [[Khaled Abou El Fadl]] martyrdom is within God's exclusive province; only God can assess the intentions of individuals and the justness of their cause, and ultimately, whether they deserve the status of being a martyr. The Qur'anic text does not recognize the idea of unlimited warfare, and it does not consider the simple fact that one of the belligerents is Muslim to be sufficient to establish the justness of a war. Moreover, according to the Qur'an, war might be necessary, and might even become binding and obligatory, but it is never a moral and ethical good. The Qur'an does not use the word ''jihad'' to refer to warfare or fighting; such acts are referred to as ''qital''. While the Qur'an's call to ''jihad'' is unconditional and unrestricted, such is not the case for qital. ''Jihad'' is a good in and of itself, while qital is not. Source: {{cite book|last1=Abou El Fadl |first1=Khaled |author-link=Khaled Abou El Fadl |title=The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists|date=23 January 2007|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=ZcVOJYyT9aAC}}|publisher=HarperOne|isbn=978-0061189036}}</ref>{{rp|222–223}}

Classical manuals of Islamic jurisprudence often contained a section called ''Book of Jihad'', with [[Rules of war in Islam|rules governing the conduct of war]] covered at great length. Such rules include treatment of nonbelligerents, women, children (also cultivated or residential areas),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamidullah |first=Muhammad |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=PHFvjl11z08C}}|title=The Muslim Conduct of State |date=2011 |publisher=The Other Press |isbn=978-967-5062-88-9 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|205–08}}<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|3}} and division of spoils.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|99}} Such rules offered protection for civilians.<ref name="onlinelibrary.wiley.com">{{Cite journal|title=Armed ''Jihad'' in the Islamic Legal Tradition|first=Ahmed|last=Al-Dawoody|url=https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec3.12071|date=27 August 2013|journal=Religion Compass|volume=7|issue=11|pages=476–484|doi=10.1111/rec3.12071|s2cid=143395594|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Spoils include ''[[Ghanimah]]'' (spoils obtained by actual fighting), and ''fai'' (obtained without fighting i.e. when the enemy surrenders or flees).<ref name="chaudhry-spoils">{{cite web|last1=Chaudhry|first1=Muhammad Sharif|title=Dynamics of Islamic ''Jihad'', Spoils of War|url=http://www.muslimtents.com/shaufi/b17/b176.htm|website=Muslim Tents|access-date=29 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411053917/http://www.muslimtents.com/shaufi/b17/b176.htm|archive-date=11 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first documentation of the law of ''jihad'' was written by 'Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i and [[Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani]]. (It grew out of debates that surfaced following Muhammad's death.<ref name="Peters-jihad-OEIW"/>) Although some Islamic scholars have differed on the implementation of ''Jihad'', the consensus amongst them is that ''jihad'' always includes armed struggle against persecution and oppression.<ref name="jihad-ghamidi">{{cite book|last=Ghamidi|first=Javed|author-link=Javed Ahmed Ghamidi|title=Mizan|publisher=[[Al-Mawrid|Dar ul-Ishraq]]|chapter=The Islamic Law of ''Jihad''|chapter-url=https://www.javedahmadghamidi.com/renaissance/view/the-islamic-law-of-jihad-part-1-2|year=2001|oclc=52901690|title-link=Mizan}}</ref>

Both [[Ibn Taymiyya]] and [[Ibn Qayyim]] asserted that [[Muhammad]] never initiated hostilities and that all the wars he engaged in were primarily defensive. He never forced non-Muslims to Islam and upheld the truces with non-Muslims so long as they did not violate them. Ibn Taymiyya's views on ''Jihad'' are explained in his treatise titled ''Qāʿidah mukhtaṣarah fī qitāl al-kuffār wa muhādanatuhum wa taḥrīm qatlahum li mujarrad kufrihim''. (An abridged rule on fighting the unbelievers and making truces with them, and the prohibition of killing them merely because of their unbelief). According to Ibn Taymiyya, human blood is inviolable by default, except "by right of justice". Although Ibn Taymiyya authorised offensive ''Jihad'' (''Jihad al-Talab'') against enemies who threaten Muslims or obstruct their citizens from freely accepting Islam, unbelief (''[[Kufr]]'') by itself is not a justification for violence, whether against individuals or stated. According to Ibn Taymīyah, ''jihad'' is a legitimate reaction to military aggression by unbelievers and not merely due to religious differences. Ibn Taymiyya wrote:<blockquote>"As for the transgressor who does not fight, there are no texts in which Allah commands him to be fought. Rather, the unbelievers are only fought on the condition that they wage war, as is practiced by the majority of scholars and is evident in the Book and Sunnah."<ref name="yaqeeninstitute.org"/><ref name=mqz>{{Cite book|last=QASIM ZAMAN|first=MUHAMMAD |title=Modern Islamic Thought in a Radical Age|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Uf0fAwAAQBAJ}}
|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1-107-09645-5| location=New York}}</ref>{{rp|265}}</blockquote>
However, there is a dispute amongst scholars regarding whether [[Ibn Taymiyya]] actually wrote the 'Qāʿidah mukhtaṣarah fī qitāl al-kuffār wa muhādanatuhum wa taḥrīm qatlahum li mujarrad kufrihim' treatise.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Yaser |last=Ellethy |title=A Medieval Derelict Jihad Canon: Ibn Taymiyya’s ''Qāʿida muḫtaṣara fī qitāl al-kuffār'' on Combating Non-Believers|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/si/120/2/article-p289_3.xml |journal=Studia Islamica |volume=120 |issue=2 |pages=289-322 |year=2025 |doi=10.1163/19585705-12341513 |access-date=31 January 2026|hdl=1871.1/dbcf8401-52bb-4f35-bca0-a62703370d19 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

As important as ''jihad'' was, it is not considered one of the "[[Five Pillars of Islam|pillars of Islam]]". According to one scholar ([[Majid Khadduri]], this is because the five pillars are individual obligations, but ''jihad'' is a "collective obligation" of the Muslim community meant to be carried out by the Islamic state. This was the belief of "all jurists, with almost no exception", but did not apply to ''defense'' of the Muslim community from a sudden attack, in which case ''jihad'' was an "individual obligation" of all believers, including women and children.<ref name="Khadduri-1955-60">{{harvnb|Khadduri |1955}} {{cite book|chapter-url=https://actforamericaeducation.com/downloads/All_Files_by_Type/khadduri.pdf |access-date=26 October 2015 |chapter=5. Doctrine of ''Jihad'' |title=War and Peace in the Law of Islam |quote=[Unlike the five pillars of Islam, ''jihad'' was to be enforced by the state.] ... 'unless the Muslim community is subjected to a sudden attack and therefore all believers, including women and children are under the obligation to fight—[jihad of the sword] is regarded by all jurists, with almost no exception, as a collective obligation of the whole Muslim community,' meaning that 'if the duty is fulfilled by a part of the community it ceases to be obligatory on others'.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128192525/http://www.actforamericaeducation.com/downloads/All_Files_by_Type/khadduri.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{rp|60}}

Scholars had previously claimed it was the responsibility of a centralized government to organize ''jihad''. But this changed as the authority of the [[Abbasid caliph]] weakened.<ref name=OEIP_combat/> [[Al-Mawardi]] allowed local governors to wage ''jihad'' on the caliph's behalf. This decentralization of ''jihad'' became especially pressing after the Crusades. [[Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami]] argued that all Muslims were responsible for waging wars of self-defense.<ref name=OEIP_combat/> Al-Sulami encouraged Muslim rulers from distant lands to assist Muslims who were under attack.<ref name=OEIP_combat>{{cite encyclopedia|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=V7CUngEACAAJ}} |first1=James|last1=Broucek|title=Combat|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics|location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2014}}</ref>

Classical Shia doctrine maintained defensive ''jihad'' was always permissible, but offensive ''jihad'' required the presence of the Imam. An exception to this, during medieval times, was when the first Fatimid caliph [[Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah]] claimed to be the representative of the Imam and claimed the right to launch offensive ''jihad''.<ref name=Prism10/>{{rp|157}}

After the [[Mongol invasions]], Shia scholar [[Muhaqqiq al-Hilli]] claimed that defensive war was not just permissible but praiseworthy, even obligatory. If a Muslim could not take part in the defense then he should, at least, send material support. This remained the case even if the Muslims were ruled by an unjust ruler.<ref name=Prism10/>{{rp|153}}

====Early Muslim conquests====
{{main|Early Muslim conquests}}
[[File:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|350px|thumb|right|Age of the [[Caliph]]s {{legend|#a1584e|Expansion under [[Muhammad]], 622–632/A.H. 1–11}} {{legend|#ef9070|Expansion during the [[Rashidun Empire|Rashidun Caliphate]], 632–661/A.H. 11–40}} {{legend|#fad07d|Expansion during the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], 661–750/A.H. 40–129}}]]

In the early era that inspired classical Islam ([[Rashidun Empire|Rashidun Caliphate]]) and lasted less than a century, ''jihad'' spread the realm of Islam to include millions of subjects, and an area extending "from the borders of India and China to the Pyrenees and the Atlantic".<ref name=Lewis/>{{rp|4}} The role of religion in these early conquests is debated. Medieval Arabic authors claimed the conquests were commanded by God, and presented them as orderly and disciplined, under the command of the caliph.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|60-61}} Many modern historians question whether hunger and [[desertification]], rather than ''jihad'', was a motivating force in the conquests. Historian [[William Montgomery Watt]] argued, "Most of the participants in the [early Islamic] expeditions probably thought of nothing more than booty ... There was no thought of spreading the religion of Islam."<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|87}} Similarly, Edward J. Jurji argues that the motivations of the Arab conquests were certainly not "the propagation of Islam....Military advantage, economic desires, [and] the attempt to strengthen the hand of the state and enhance its sovereignty...are some of the determining factors."<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|76}} Some recent explanations cite both material and religious causes in the conquests.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|62-63}}

===Post-classical usage===
According to some authors,{{who|date=March 2016}} the more spiritual definitions of ''jihad'' developed sometime after the 150 years of ''jihad'' wars and Muslim territorial expansion, and particularly after the [[Siege of Baghdad (1258)|Mongol invaders sacked Baghdad]] and overthrew the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Historian [[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb|Hamilton Gibb]] stated, "in the historic [Muslim] Community the concept of ''jihad'' had gradually weakened and at length it had been largely reinterpreted in terms of Sufi ethics."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gibb|first1=H.A.R. (Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen)|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=w4iWqgTzvp8C}}
|title=Mohammedanism|date=1969|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford}}</ref>{{rp|117}} notes that "despite the theoretical importance of the idea of ''jihad'' in classical Islamic juristic thought", by the time of the Abbasids, the concept was no longer central to [[politics|statecraft]].<ref name="johnson-147"/>

Rudolph Peters wrote that with the stagnation of Islamic expansionism, the concept of ''jihad'' became internalized as a moral or spiritual struggle.<ref name="Peters-jihad">{{cite book|last=Peters |first=Rudolph |title=Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam: A Reader |publisher=Marcus Wiener |year=1996 |location=Princeton |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Lm4XnNtI_1wC}}
|isbn=978-9004048546 }}</ref>{{rp|187, note 52}} Earlier classical works on fiqh emphasized ''jihad'' as war for God's religion, Peters claimed. Later Islamic scholars like Ibn al-Amir al-San'ani, [[Muhammad Abduh]], [[Rashid Rida]], [[Ubaidullah Sindhi]], [[Yusuf al-Qaradawi]], [[Shibli Nomani]], etc. emphasized the defensive aspect of ''jihad'', distinguishing between defensive ''jihad'' (''jihad al-daf'') and offensive ''jihad'' (''jihad al-talab'' or ''jihad'' of choice). They refuted the notion of consensus that ''jihad al-talab'' was a communal obligation (''fard kifaya''). In support of this view, these scholars referred to the works of classical scholars such as [[Al-Jassas]] and [[Ibn Taymiyyah]]. According to Ibn Taymiyya, the reason for ''jihad'' against non-Muslims is not their disbelief, but the threat they pose to Muslims. Citing Ibn Taymiyya, scholars including Rashid Rida, Al San'ani, and Qaradawi argued that unbelievers need not be fought unless they pose a threat to Muslims. Thus, ''jihad'' is obligatory only as defensive warfare to respond to aggression or "perfidy" against the Muslim community, and that the "normal and desired state" between Islamic and non-Islamic territories was one of "peaceful coexistence". This was similar to the Western "[[Just war theory|Just war]]" concept.<ref name=mqz/>{{rp|71, 72, 227, 228, 263–265, 286, 315}}<ref name="Peters-jihad"/>{{rp|150}} Similarly 18th-century scholar [[Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab]] defined ''jihad'' as a defensive military action to protect the Muslim community, and emphasized its defensive aspect in synchrony with later 20th century Islamic writers.<ref>{{harvnb|DeLong-Bas|2004}} "In Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's writings, ''jihad'' is a special and specific type of warfare, which can be declared only by the religious leader (imam) and whose purpose is the defense of the Muslim community from aggression." .. "What Shaltut calls for here is not only a defensive response but also the right to live peacefully without fear for life, home, or possessions, all of which is consistent with Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's assertion of ''jihad'' as a defensive activity designed to restore order and preserve life and property."... "Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's definition of ''jihad'' is restricted to a defensive military action designed to protect and preserve the Muslim community and its right to practice its faith".. "For Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, ''jihad'' is always a defensive military action. Here he is synchronous with Islamic modernist writers, who narrow the confines of ''jihad'' to defensive action.."}}</ref>{{rp|230, 235, 241 }} Today, some Muslim authors only recognize as legitimate wars fought for the purpose of territorial defense as well as wars fought for the defense of [[Freedom of religion|religious freedom]].<ref name=Peters-jihad/>{{rp| 125}}

Ibn Taymiyyah's hallmark themes included the permissibility of overthrowing a ruler who is classified as an unbeliever due to a failure to adhere to Islamic law, the absolute division of the world into ''dar al-kufr'' and ''dar al-Islam'', labeling anyone not adhering to one's particular interpretation of Islam as an unbeliever, and the call for warfare against [[Kafir|Non-Muslims]], particularly Jews and Christians.<ref name=DeLong-Bas2004/>{{rp |[https://archive.org/details/wahhabiislamfrom0000delo/page/256 256] }}

Ibn Taymiyyah recognized "the possibility of a ''jihad'' against `heretical` and `deviant` Muslims within ''dar al-Islam''. He identified as heretical and deviant Muslims anyone who propagated innovations (''bida''') contrary to the Qur'an and Sunna ... legitimated ''jihad'' against anyone who refused to abide by Islamic law or revolted against the true Muslim authorities." He used a broad definition of what constituted aggression or rebellion against Muslims, which would make ''jihad'' "not only permissible but necessary."<ref name=DeLong-Bas2004/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/wahhabiislamfrom0000delo/page/252 252] }} Ibn Taymiyyah paid careful attention to the questions of martyrdom and the benefits of ''jihad'': "It is in ''jihad'' that one can live and die in ultimate happiness, both in this world and in the Hereafter. Abandoning it means losing entirely or partially both kinds of happiness."<ref name="Peters-jihad"/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/jihadinclassical00pete/page/48 48]}}

Bernard Lewis stated that while most Islamic theologians in the classical period (750–1258 CE) understood ''jihad'' to be a military endeavor,<ref name=Lewis-1988/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/politicallanguag00lewi_680/page/n80 72]}} after Islamic conquest stagnated and the caliphate divided into smaller stated, "irresistible and permanent ''jihad'' came to an end". As ''jihad'' became unfeasible it was "postponed from historic to messianic time."<ref name="Lewis-revolt">{{cite magazine|last1=Lewis|first1=Bernard|title=The Revolt of Islam|magazine=The New Yorker|date=19 November 2001|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/11/19/the-revolt-of-islam|access-date=28 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904075017/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/11/19/the-revolt-of-islam|archive-date=4 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Even when the [[Ottoman Empire]] carried on a new holy war of expansion in the seventeenth century, "the war was not universally pursued". They made no attempt to recover Spain or Sicily.<ref name=jt1>{{cite book|last1=Gold|first1=Dore|title=Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism|date=2012 |publisher=Regnery Publishing|page=24|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=jT1xbK2EGRcC|page=24}}}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2016}}

By the 1500s, it had become accepted that the permanent state of relations between ''dar al-Islam'' and ''dar al-harb'' was that of peace.{{CN|date=September 2023}}

[[Shah Ismail]] of the [[Safavid dynasty]] tried to claim the right to wage offensive ''jihad'', particularly against the Ottomans. However, Shia ulama did not permit that, maintaining the classical position that the true Imam could wage such a war. During the Qajar period, Shia ulama adopted the position that the Shah was responsible for national security. They authorized the Perso-Russian wars in the 19th century as ''jihad''.<ref name=Prism10/>{{rp|158-159}}

In the 18th century, the [[Durrani Empire]] under the reigns of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] and his son and successor, [[Timur Shah Durrani]], had declared ''jihad''s against Sikh Misls in the [[Punjab]] region, often to consolidate territory and continue Afghan their region, efforts under Ahmad Shah failed, while Timur Shah had succeeded.<ref name="Fayz">{{cite journal |last1=Muhammad Katib Hazarah |first1=Fayz |title=The History Of Afghanistan Fayż Muḥammad Kātib Hazārah's Sirāj Al Tawārīkh By R. D. Mcchesney, M. M. Khorrami |journal=AAF |date=2012 |page=61 |url=https://archive.org/details/the-history-of-afghanistan-fayz-muhammad-katib-hazarahs-siraj-al-tawarikh-by-r.-/page/n255/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>

===Colonialism and modernism===
[[File:Fula jihad states map general c1830.png|thumb|The [[Fula jihads|Fulani jihad states]] of West Africa, c. 1830]]

When Europeans began to colonize the Muslim world, ''jihad'' was one of the first responses.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|157-158}} [[Emir Abdelkader]] organized a ''jihad'' in Algeria against French domination, tapping into existing Sufi networks.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|157-158}} Other wars were often declared to be ''jihad'': the [[Senussi]] religious order declared ''jihad'' against [[Italo-Turkish War|Italian control of Libya]] in 1912, and the "[[Muhammad Ahmad|Mahdi]]" in [[Sudan]] declared [[Muhammad Ahmad#Advance of the rebellion|jihad]] against the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] and [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egypt]] in 1881.<ref name=OCAP /> [[Rashid Rida]] and [[Muhammad Abduh]] argued that peaceful coexistence should be the normal state between Muslim and non-Muslim stated, citing verses in the Qur'an that allowed war only in self-defense.<ref name="OEIP">{{cite encyclopedia|first1=Rudolph|last1=Peters|first2=David|last2=Cook |title=Jihād|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics|location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2014|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t349/e0057|doi=10.1093/acref:oiso/9780199739356.001.0001|isbn=9780199739356|access-date=24 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123114402/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref:oiso/9780199739356.001.0001/acref-9780199739356-e-0263|archive-date=23 January 2017|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> However, this view left open ''jihad'' against colonialism, which was seen as an attack on Muslims.<ref name="OEIP"/>

[[Syed Ahmad Khan]] argued that ''jihad'' was limited to cases of [[oppression]], and since the [[British Raj]] allowed [[freedom of religion]], ''jihad'' against the British was unnecessary.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|159-160}} Instead, Khan formulated ''jihad'' as recovering [[Islamic golden age|past Muslim scientific progress]] to modernize the Muslim world.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|159-160}} A concept that played a role in anti-colonial ''jihad'' (or lack thereof) was the belief in ''[[Mahdi]]''.{{CN|date=September 2023}} According to Islamic [[eschatology]], a messianic figure named Mahdi will one day appear and restore justice on earth. This belief sometimes discouraged Muslims from conducting ''jihad'', instead inducing them to wait. Such messages were circulated in Algeria to undermine [[Emir Abdelkader]]'s ''jihad'' against the French.{{CN|date=September 2023}} Alternatively, this belief could be a powerful mobilizing force when someone proclaimed to be the Mahdi. Mahdist rebellions happened in India (1810), Egypt (1865) and Sudan (1881).{{CN|date=September 2023}}
[[File:The story of the greatest nations; a comprehensive history, extending from the earliest times to the present, founded on the most modern authorities, and including chronological summaries and (14596551060).jpg|thumb|Charging [[Mahdist War|Mahdist army]] during the [[Battle of Omdurman]] in 1898]]
With the [[Islamic revival]], a new "[[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalist]]" movement arose, with different interpretations of Islam that increased emphasis on ''jihad''. The [[Wahhabi]] movement that spread across the [[Arabian peninsula]] starting in the 18th century emphasized ''jihad'' as armed struggle.<ref>{{harvnb|Gold|2012|pp=7–8}} "... the revival of ''jihad'', and its prioritization as a religious value, is found in the works of high-level Saudi religious officials like former chief justice Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Humaid: `Jihad is a great deed indeed [and] there is no deed whose reward and blessing is as that of it, and for this reason, it is the best thing one can volunteer for."</ref> The [[Fula jihads]] in West Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries led to the establishment of various states, most notably the [[Sokoto Caliphate]]. None of these movements were victorious.<ref name=Lewis/> The [[Sokoto Caliphate]] lasted for a century until it was conquered by the British and incorporated into [[Colonial Nigeria]] in 1903.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Falola |first=Toyin |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Hd-Jp1t2n4sC}}|title=Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria |date=2009-09-25 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-00339-3 |language=en}}</ref>

===Ottoman Jihad in World War One===
{{Main|1914 Ottoman jihad proclamation}}
[[File:Ottoman regimental flag at Kanlisirt.jpg|thumb|Ottoman soldiers with Ottoman [[Shahada]] Regimental Standard at Kanlisirt, [[Gallipoli campaign]] in 1915]]
When the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] caliph [[Declaration of jihad by the Ottoman Empire|called for a "Great ''Jihad''" Muslims against Allied powers during World War I]], hopes and fears emerged that non-Turkish Muslims would side with Ottoman Turkey, but the appeal did not unite the Muslim world,<ref name=Lewis-revolt/><ref name=jt1/>{{Rp|page=24}} and Muslims did not turn on their non-Muslim commanders in the Allied forces.<ref name="Ardic-2012-192">{{cite book|last1=Ardic|first1=Nurullah|title=Islam and the Politics of Secularism: The Caliphate and Middle Eastern ...|date=2012|publisher=Routledge|pages=192–93|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=ZAXNxxkJKYsC|page=192}}|access-date=30 September 2015|isbn=9781136489846}}</ref> (The war led to the end of the caliphate as the Ottoman Empire allied with the war's losers and surrendered. Post-war capitulations were overturned by secularist [[Mustafa Kemal]], who later abolished the caliphate.)<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|157}}

Prior to the Iranian revolution in 1922, Shiite cleric [[Mehdi Al-Khalissi]] issued a ''[[fatwa]]'' prohibiting Iraqis from participating in the Iraqi elections, as the Iraqi government had been established by foreign powers. He later played a role in the [[Iraqi revolt of 1920]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/vol8-no1/islamic-revolution-1920-iraq-zuhayr-sulayman/islamic-revolution-1920-iraq |title=The Islamic Revolution of 1920 |date=27 February 2013 |publisher=al-islam.org }}</ref> Between 1918 and 1919 in the Shia holy city of [[Najaf]] the League of the Islamic Awakening was established by religious scholars, tribal chiefs, and landlords who assassinated a British officer in the hopes of sparking a similar rebellion in [[Karbala]].{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

During the revolt, Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Shirazi, father of [[Mohammad al-Husayni al-Shirazi]] and grandfather of [[Sadiq Hussaini Shirazi]], declared British rule impermissible and called for ''jihad'' against European occupations in the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Akhlaq |first=Sayed Hassan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o0KAEQAAQBAJ |title=The Making of Shia Ayatollahs |date=2023-04-17 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-9787-8577-9 |pages=169 |language=en}}</ref>

===Post-colonialism===
{{Main|Islamism|Criticism of Islamism}}
[[Islamism]] played an increasing role in the Muslim world in the 20th century, especially following the [[Financial crisis#20th century|economic crises of the 1970s and 1980s]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Slooten |first=Pippi |date=April 2005 |title=Dispelling Myths About Islam and Jihad |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631370500333013 |journal=Peace Review |language=en |volume=17 |issue=2–3 |pages=289–294 |doi=10.1080/14631370500333013 |issn=1040-2659|url-access=subscription }}</ref> One of the first Islamist groups, the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], emphasized physical struggle and [[Shahid|martyrdom]] in its creed: "God is our objective; the Qur'an is our constitution; the Prophet is our leader; struggle (''jihad'') is our way; and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations."<ref name="sacred">{{cite book|last1=Benjamin|first1=Daniel|last2=Simon|first2=Steven|title=The Age of Sacred Terror|url=https://archive.org/details/ageofsacredterro00benj|url-access=registration|date=2002|publisher=Random House|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/ageofsacredterro00benj/page/57 57]|isbn=9780375508592}}</ref><ref name="slogan">{{cite web|title=Article eight of the Hamas Covenant. The Slogan of the Islamic Resistance Movement|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp|website=Yale Law School. Avalon Project|publisher=Yale Law School|access-date=7 September 2014|quote=Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: ''Jihad'' is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307133603/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp|archive-date=7 March 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Hassan al-Banna]] emphasized ''jihad'' of the sword, and called on Egyptians to ''jihad'' against the [[British Empire]],
<ref name=Banna78/>{{rp|150, 155}} (the first influential scholar since the 1857 India uprising to do so).<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|158}} The group called for ''jihad'' against [[Israel]] in the 1940s,<ref name="Al-Khatib">{{cite book|last1=Al-Khatib|first1=Ibrahim|title=The Muslim Brotherhood and Palestine: Letters To Jerusalem|date=2012|publisher=scribedigital.com|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=6RdWFL8sbpIC|page=14}}|access-date=7 September 2014|quote=The Muslim Brothers believed a well-planned ''Jihad'' to be the only means to liberate Palestine. Its press confirmed that ''Jihad'' became an individual obligation upon every Muslim ... [who would] gain one of the two desirable goals (i.e. gaining victory or dying martyrs). The jurists of the Group issued a fatwa during the 1948 War that Muslims had to postpone pilgrimage and offer their money for ''Jihad'' (in Palestine) instead.|isbn=978-1780410395}}</ref> and its Palestinian branch, [[Hamas]], called for ''jihad'' against Israel during the [[First Intifada]].<ref name="Abū ʻAmr">{{cite book|last1=Abū ʻAmr|first1=Z.|author-link=Ziyād Abū ʻAmr|title=Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza: Muslim Brotherhood and ..|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1994|page=23|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=jrTG5sdLHD8C|page=23}}|quote=According to the [Muslim Brotherhood] society, the ''jihad'' for Palestine will start after the completion of the Islamic transformation of Palestinian society, the completion of the process of Islamic revival, and the return to Islam in the region. Only then can the call for ''jihad'' be meaningful, because the Palestinians cannot along liberate Palestine without the help of other Muslims.|isbn=978-0253208668}}</ref><ref name="miller-387">But according to [[Judith Miller]], the MB changed its mind with the intifada. {{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Judith|title=God Has Ninety-Nine Names: Reporting from a Militant Middle East|publisher=Simon & Schuster|page=387|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=tH_ThgVEoAcC|page=387}}|quote=Sheikh Yasin had initially argued in typical Muslim Brotherhood tradition that violent ''jihad'' against Israel would be counterproductive until Islamic regimes had been established throughout the Muslim realm. But the outbreak of the Intifada changed his mind: Islamic reconquest would have to start rather than end with ''jihad'' in Palestine. So stated the Hamas covenant.|isbn=978-1439129418|date=19 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="Hamas Covenant">{{cite web|title=Hamas Covenant 1988|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp|website=Yale Law School Avalon Project|access-date=7 September 2014|quote=[part of Article 13 of the Covenant] There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through ''Jihad''. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307133603/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp|archive-date=7 March 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

Modern Muslim thought had been focused on when to go to war (''[[jus ad bellum]]''), not paying much attention on conduct during war (''[[jus in bello]]''). This was because most Muslim theorists viewed [[international humanitarian law]] as consistent with Islamic requirements. However, Muslims later discussed conduct during war in response to [[terrorist]] groups who targeted civilians.<ref name=hashmi/>{{rp|[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=1jcCwXo3CCgC|page=14}}|14]}}

According to [[Rudolph F. Peters]] and [[Natana J. DeLong-Bas]], the new "fundamentalist" movement brought a reinterpretation of Islam and their own writings on ''jihad''. These writings tended to be less involved with the different of schools of Islamic law, or in solutions for all potential situations. "They emphasize more the moral justifications and the underlying ethical values of the rules, than the detailed elaboration of those rules." They also tended to ignore the distinction between Greater and Lesser ''jihad'' because it distracted Muslims "from the development of the combative spirit they believe is required to rid the Islamic world of Western influences".<ref name=DeLong-Bas2004/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/wahhabiislamfrom0000delo/page/240 240–41] }}<ref name="Peters-jihad"/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/jihadinclassical00pete/page/127 127]}}

Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists were often influenced by the ideas of Ibn Taymiyyah, and Egyptian journalist [[Sayyid Qutb]].
[[File:Sayyid Qutb.jpg|thumb|[[Sayyid Qutb]], Islamist author and influential leader of the Muslim Brotherhood|left]]
Qutb preached in his book ''[[Ma'alim fi al-Tariq|Milestones]]'' that ''jihad'', “is not a temporary phase but a permanent war ... ''Jihad'' for freedom cannot cease until the Satanic forces are put to an end and the religion is purified for God in toto.”<ref name="Milestones"/>{{rp|125–26}}<ref name=DeLong-Bas2004/>{{rp|264}} Qutb focused on martyrdom and ''jihad'', adding the theme of treachery and enmity towards Islam of [[Ma'alim fi al-Tariq#Western and Jewish Conspiracies|Christians and especially Jews]]. If non-Muslims were waging a "war against Islam", ''jihad'' against them was defensive, not offensive. He insisted that Christians and Jews were ''[[Shirk (Islam)|mushrikeen]]'' (not monotheists) because (he alleged) they gave their priests or rabbis "authority to make laws, obeying laws which were made by them [and] not permitted by God" and "obedience to laws and judgments is a sort of worship".<ref name="Milestones">{{cite book|last1=Qutb|first1=Sayyid|title=Milestones|url=http://www.izharudeen.com/uploads/4/1/2/2/4122615/milestones_www.izharudeen.com.pdf|pages=82, 60|access-date=7 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813061043/http://www.izharudeen.com/uploads/4/1/2/2/4122615/milestones_www.izharudeen.com.pdf|archive-date=13 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Symon">{{cite news|last1=Symon|first1=Fiona|title=Analysis: The roots of ''jihad''|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1603178.stm|publisher=BBC|access-date=7 September 2014|date=16 October 2001|quote=For Qutb, all non-Muslims were infidels—even the so-called "people of the book", the Christians and Jews—and he predicted an eventual clash of civilisations between Islam and the west.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907115409/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1603178.stm|archive-date=7 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

Later ideologue, [[Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj]], departed from some of Qutb's teachings. While Qutb felt that ''jihad'' was a proclamation of "liberation for humanity" (in which humanity has the free choice between Islam and unbelief), Faraj saw ''jihad'' as a mean of conquering the world and reestablishing the [[caliphate]].<ref name=Cook05/>{{rp| 107-108}} Faraj legitimized lying, attacking by night (even accidentally killing innocents), and destroying trees of the infidel.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jansen |first=Johannes J. G. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=O8trAAAAIAAJ}}|title=The Neglected Duty: The Creed of Sadat's Assassins and Islamic Resurgence in the Middle East |date=1986 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-02-916340-5 |language=en}} Includes a facsimile of ''al-Farida al-gha'iba'' (The Neglected Duty) by Muhammad 'Abd al-Salam Faraj.</ref><ref name=Cook05/>{{rp| 190, 192}} His ideas influenced Egyptian Islamist extremist groups,<ref name="Gerges"/>{{rp|9}} and [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], later the leader of [[al-Qaeda]].<ref name="Gerges"/>{{rp|11}}

During the [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]], and although it was predominantly [[Sunni]], Afghanistan's [[Shia Islam in Afghanistan|Shiite population]] took arms against the [[Communist]] government and allied [[Soviet forces]] and the nation's Sunnis and were collectively referred to as the Afghan [[Mujahideen#Afghanistan|Mujahideen]]. Shiite jihadists in Afghanistan were known as the [[Tehran Eight]] and received support from the [[Iranian government]] in fighting the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Communist Afghan government]] and allied Soviet forces in Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Afghan-War|title=Afghan War &#124; History & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=24 May 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistansendl00good|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/afghanistansendl00good/page/147 147]|title=Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban|first=Larry P.|last=Goodson|date=10 August 2001|publisher=University of Washington Press|via=Internet Archive|isbn=9780295980508}}</ref>

===Terrorism===
{{Counterterrorism}}
Many Muslims, including scholars like [[al-Qaradawi]] and [[Sayyid Tantawi]], denounced Islamic terrorist attacks against [[civilian]]s, seeing them as contrary to rules of ''jihad'' that prohibit targeting [[noncombatant]]s.<ref name= "OEIP_combat"/> After the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, the United States blamed [[Saudi Arabia]]n [[Osama bin Laden]] and the [[Taliban]] in [[Afghanistan]], triggering bin Laden, who in turn on October 7 issued a televised message, declaring "Allah had blessed a vanguard group of Muslims, the spearhead of Islam, to destroy America." American and British forces were deployed around Afghanistan, and [[Mullah]] [[Mullah Omar|Mohammad Omar]], also the Commander to the Faithful of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in turn called the world's Muslims to join him in ''jihad''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kepel |first=Gilles |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=tttzgNKFAI8C}}|title=Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam |date=2002 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-01090-1 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|2}} Justifying violence can be seen as [[incitement]]<ref name="q718">{{cite journal | last=Danziger | first=Roni | title=Interpretive constructs: The case of incitement to violence and terror | journal=Journal of Pragmatics | volume=245 | date=2025 | doi=10.1016/j.pragma.2025.06.004 | pages=35–49 | url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378216625001407 | access-date=2026-04-26| doi-access=free }}</ref> and mitigated with [[deradicalization]].<ref name="l917">{{cite web | last=Köhler | first=Daniel | title=The Routledge International Handbook on Hate C | publisher=Routledge | date=2014 | doi=10.4324/9780203578988-40 | url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203578988-40/deradicalization-daniel-k%C3%B6hler | access-date=2026-04-26 | page=420–429}}</ref>

====Abdullah Azzam====
{{Main|Abdullah Azzam}}

In the 1980s [[Abdullah Azzam]] advocated waging ''jihad'' against the "unbelievers".<ref name="Riedel">{{cite web|last1=Riedel|first1=Bruce|title=The 9/11 Attacks' Spiritual Father|url=http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2011/09/11-riedel|date=11 September 2011|publisher=Brooking|access-date=6 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021192758/http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2011/09/11-riedel|archive-date=21 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Azzam issued a [[fatwa]] calling for ''jihad'' against the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet occupation of Afghanistan]], declaring it an obligation for all able-bodied Muslims to repel invaders. His fatwa was endorsed by others, including [[Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Blanchard|first=Christopher M|title=Saudi Arabia: Background and U. S. Relations|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=J0WWUQBl2PwC|page=27}}|date=November 2010|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=978-1-4379-2838-9|page=27}}</ref> Azzam saw Afghanistan as the beginning of ''jihad'' to repel unbelievers from many countries—the [[Former Soviet Republics|southern Soviet Republics]] of Central Asia, [[Bosnia]], the [[Philippines]], [[Kashmir]], [[Somalia]], [[Eritrea]], Spain, and especially his home country of Palestine.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Lawrence |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=8dCnb4uR63EC}}|title=The Looming Tower |date=2006-08-08 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-26608-8 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=8dCnb4uR63EC|page=130}} 130]}} The Soviet defeat in Afghanistan is said to have "amplified the jihadist tendency from a fringe phenomenon to a major force in the Muslim world."<ref name=Commins>{{Cite book |last=Commins |first=David |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=cNuRDwAAQBAJ}}|title=The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia |date=2005-12-20 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85771-780-1 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|174}} Many fighters returned to their home countries to continue ''jihad'', participating in insurgencies and later creating a "transnational jihadist stream."<ref name=Commins/>{{rp|156–57}}

Azzam also argued for a broader interpretation of who it was permissible to kill, which may have influenced students such as bin Laden.<ref name=jt1/> He argued, based on his interpretation of the [[hadith]], that it is a sin to not wage offensive ''jihad'' against the [[Kafir|unbelievers]] in [[Divisions of the world in Islam#Dar al-harb|non-Muslim lands]], continuing until only those who submit to Islam remain; expelling unbelievers from [[Divisions of the world in Islam#Dar al-Islam|Muslim lands]], contrastingly, is defensive ''jihad''.<ref name="Azzam-DOTML">{{cite book | last=Azzam | first=Abdullah |author-link=Abdullah Azzam| title=Defense of the Muslim Lands: The first Obligation After Iman | publisher=Islamic Books | url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=EDoeN1r3PjQC}}| access-date=8 July 2024 }}</ref> In February 1998, bin Laden put a "Declaration of the World Islamic Front for ''Jihad'' against the Jews and the Crusaders" in the ''Al-Quds al-Arabi'' newspaper.<ref name=OBL-jihad>{{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=Bernard |date=1998 |title=License to Kill: Usama Bin Ladin's Declaration of Jihad |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20049126 |journal=Foreign Affairs |language=en |volume=77 |issue=6 |pages=14–19 |doi=10.2307/20049126|jstor=20049126|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He later organised the [[September 11 attacks]] against the United States.

===Shia===
In [[Shia Islam]], ''jihad'' is one of the ten [[Practices of the Religion]]<ref name="practices">{{cite web |title=Part 2: Islamic Practices |url=http://www.al-islam.org/invitation-to-islam-moustafa-al-qazwini/part-2-islamic-practices |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907022817/http://www.al-islam.org/invitation-to-islam-moustafa-al-qazwini/part-2-islamic-practices |archive-date=7 September 2014 |access-date=27 August 2014 |publisher=al-Islam.org}}</ref> (though not one of the five pillars). Traditionally, [[Twelver]] Shi'a doctrine differed from that of [[Sunni Islam]] on the concept of ''jihad'', with ''jihad'' seen as a "lesser priority" in Shia theology and "armed activism" by Shias "limited to a person's immediate geography".<ref name="nationalae">{{cite news|last1=Hassan|first1=Hassan |title=The rise of Shia ''jihad''ism in Syria will fuel sectarian fires |url=http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/the-rise-of-shia-jihadism-in-syria-will-fuel-sectarian-fires |url-status=dead |access-date=27 August 2014|work=The National|location=Abu Dhabi|issue=5 June 2013}}</ref>{{New archival link needed|date=April 2026}}

Because of their history of oppression, Shias also associated ''jihad'' with certain passionate features, notably in the remembrance of [[Ashura]]. [[Mahmoud M. Ayoub]] says:

<blockquote>In Islamic tradition ''jihad'' or the struggle in the way of God, whether as armed struggle, or any form of opposition of the wrong, is generally regarded as one of the essential requirements of a person's faith as a Muslim. Shi'î tradition carried this requirement a step further, making ''jihad'' one of the pillars or foundations (arkan) of religion. If, therefore, [[Husayn ibn Ali|Husayn]]'s struggle against the Umayyad regime must be regarded as an act of ''jihad'', then, In the mind of devotees, the participation of the community in his suffering and its ascent to the truth of his message must also be regarded as an extension of the holy struggle of the Imam himself. The ''hadith'' from which we took the title of this chapter stated this point very clearly. [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]] is said to have declared to [[al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi|al-Mufaddal]], one of his closest disciples, 'The sigh of the sorrowful for the wrong done us is an act of praise ([[tasbih]]) [of God], his sorrow for us is an act of worship, and his keeping of our secret is a struggle (''jihad'') in the way of God'; the Imâm then added, 'This [[hadith]] should be inscribed in letters of gold'.<ref name=WDG>{{Cite book |last=Ayoub |first=Mahmoud M. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=rpaPWv5Iyd8C}}|title=Redemptive Suffering in Islam: A Study of the Devotional Aspects of Ashura in Twelver Shi'ism |date=2011-07-26 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-080331-0 |language=en|authorlink=Walter de Gruyter}}</ref>{{rp|142}}</blockquote>

and

<blockquote>Hence, the concept of ''jihad'' (holy struggle) gained a deeper and more personal meaning. Whether through weeping, the composition and recitation of poetry, showing compassion and doing good to the poor or carrying arms, the Shi'i Muslim saw himself helping the Imam in his struggle against the wrong ([[zulm]]) and gaining for himself the same merit ([[thawab]]) of those who actually fought and died for him. The [[ta'ziyeh|ta'ziyah]], in its broader sense the sharing of the entire life of the suffering family of Muhammad, has become for the Shi'i community the true meaning of compassion.<ref name=WDG/>{{rp|148}}</blockquote>

In the [[Syrian civil war]], Shia and Sunni fighters waged ''jihad'' against each other.<ref name=RF17/> In Yemen, the [[Houthi]] Movement used appeals to ''jihad'' as part of their ideology as well as their recruitment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thedefensepost.com/2019/06/20/yemen-houti-child-soldiers-noammar-al-eryani/|title=Houthis recruit 50,000 Yemen child soldiers in 3 months, minister says|date=20 June 2019|website=The Defense Post}}</ref>

==Islamic jurisprudence==
Observers have noted the evolution in the rules of ''jihad''—from the original "classical" doctrine to that of 21st century [[Salafi jihadism]].<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|172}} According to [[legal historian]] Sadarat Kadri,<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|172}} during the last few centuries, incremental changes in Islamic legal doctrine (developed by Islamists who otherwise condemn any ''[[bid‘ah]]'' (innovation) in religion), "normalized" what was once "unthinkable".<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|172}} "The very idea that [[Muslims]] might blow themselves up for God was unheard of before 1983, and it was not until the early 1990s that anyone anywhere had justified killing innocent Muslims who were not on a battlefield."<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|175}}

The first or the "classical" doctrine of ''jihad'' which was developed towards the end of the 8th century, emphasized the ''jihad'' of the sword (''jihad bil-saif'') rather than the "''jihad'' of the heart",<ref name=Lewis-1988/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/politicallanguag00lewi_680/page/n80 72]}} but it contained many legal restrictions developed from interpretations of the [[Quran]] and the [[Hadith]], such as detailed rules involving "the initiation, the conduct, the termination" of ''jihad'', the treatment of prisoners, the distribution of booty, etc. Absent a sudden attack on the [[Ummah|Muslim community]], ''jihad'' was not a "personal obligation" (''fard ayn''); instead it was a "collective one" (''[[fard al-kifaya]]''),<ref name=Khadduri-1955-60/> which had to be discharged "in the way of God" (''fi sabil Allah''),<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|150}} and could only be launched by the [[caliph]], "whose discretion over its conduct was all but absolute."<ref name=Kadri12/>{{rp|150–51}} (This was designed in part to avoid incidents like the [[Khawarij|Kharijia]]'s ''jihad'' against and killing of [[Ali as Caliph|Caliph Ali]], once [[Takfir|they deemed]] that [[Apostasy in Islam|he was no longer a Muslim]]). [[Shahid|Martyrdom]] resulting from an attack on the enemy with no concern for your own safety was praiseworthy, but dying by your own hand (as opposed to the enemy's) merited a special place in [[Jahannam|Hell]].<ref name="ARSI-BL-xii">{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Bernard|title=The Assassins, a radical sect in Islam|orig-year=1967|year=2003|publisher=Basic Books|page=xi–xii |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=sRVmL_h_PcsC}}
 |access-date=13 October 2015|isbn=978-0786724550}}</ref> The collective obligation to ''jihad'' is sometimes simplified as "offensive ''jihad''" in Western texts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Edwards |first1=Richard |last2=Zuhur|first2=Sherifa |title=The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and|page=553|publisher=ABC-CLIO|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=YAd8efHdVzIC|page=553}}
|isbn=978-1851098422 |date=12 May 2008 }}</ref>

[[Islamic theology|Islamic theologian]] Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir has been identified as the key theorist and [[ideologue]] behind modern jihadist violence.<ref name="Atlantic 2016">{{cite magazine |last1=al-Saud |first1=Abdullah K. |last2=Winter |first2=Charlie |title=Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir: The Obscure Theologian Who Shaped ISIS |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |location=Washington, D.C. |date=4 December 2016 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/12/isis-muhajir-syria/509399/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140424/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/12/isis-muhajir-syria/509399/ |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=28 September 2020}}</ref> His theological and legal justifications influenced [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]] of [[al-Qaeda]] as well as jihadi terrorist groups, including [[ISIS]].<ref name="Atlantic 2016"/> Zarqawi used a manuscript of al-Muhajir's ideas at AQI training camps that were later deployed by ISIS, referred to as ''The Jurisprudence of Jihad'' or ''The Jurisprudence of Blood''.<ref name="Atlantic 2016"/><ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/12/isis-jihadist-manual-analysed-rebutted-by-islamic-scholar|title=The core Isis manual that twisted Islam to legitimise barbarity|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=9 June 2018|date=12 May 2018|last1=Townsend|first1=Mark |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609090007/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/12/isis-jihadist-manual-analysed-rebutted-by-islamic-scholar|archive-date=9 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ChrisStout">{{cite book |last1=Stout|first1= Chris|title= Terrorism, Political Violence, and Extremism: New Psychology to Understand, Face, and Defuse the Threat|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |date=9 June 2018 |orig-year=24 May 2017|pages=5–6|chapter=The Psyhchology of Terrorism|chapter-url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=QvHeDgAAQBAJ|page=5}}|isbn=978-1440851926|author1-link= Chris Stout (psychologist)}}</ref>

The book has been described as rationalising "the murder of non-combatants" by Mark Towsend, citing Salah al-Ansari of [[Quilliam (think tank)|Quilliam]], who noted: "There is a startling lack of study and concern regarding this abhorrent and dangerous text ''The Jurisprudence of Blood'' in almost all Western and Arab scholarship".<ref name="Guardian"/> Charlie Winter of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' describes it as a "theological playbook used to justify the group's abhorrent acts".<ref name="Atlantic 2016"/> He stated:

{{Blockquote|Ranging from ruminations on the merits of beheading, torturing, or burning prisoners to thoughts on assassination, siege warfare, and the use of biological weapons, Muhajir's intellectual legacy is a crucial component of the [[Ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|literary corpus of ISIS]]—and, indeed, whatever comes after it—a way to render practically anything permissible, provided, that is, it can be spun as beneficial to the ''jihad''. [...] According to Muhajir, [[Suicide attack#Islam|committing suicide to kill people]] is not only a theologically sound act, but a commendable one, too, something to be cherished and celebrated regardless of its outcome. [...] neither Zarqawi nor his inheritors have looked back, liberally using Muhajir's work to normalize the use of suicide tactics in the time since, such that they have become the single most important military and terrorist method—defensive or offensive—used by ISIS today. The way that Muhajir theorized it was simple—he offered up a theological fix that allows any who desire it to sidestep the Koranic injunctions against suicide.<ref name="Atlantic 2016"/>}}

Psychologist [[Chris Stout (psychologist)|Chris E. Stout]] claimed that jihadists regard their actions as "for the greater good"; that they are in a "weakened in the earth" situation that renders [[Islamic terrorism|terrorism]] a valid resort.<ref name="ChrisStout"/>

==Usage==
The term 'jihad' has accrued both violent and non-violent meanings. According to [[John Esposito]], it can simply mean striving to live a moral and virtuous life, spreading and defending Islam as well as fighting injustice and oppression, among other things.<ref name=JLE02/>{{rp|26}} The relative importance of the two forms of ''jihad'' is a matter of controversy. Rudoph Peters wrote that, in the contemporary world, traditionalist Muslims understand ''jihad'' from classical works on [[fiqh]]; [[Islamic Modernism|modernist Muslims]] regard ''jihad'' as a [[Just war theory|just war]] in [[international law]] and emphasize its defensive aspects; and fundamentalists view it as an expansion of Islam and realization of Islamic ideals.<ref name="Peters-jihad"/>{{rp|150}} David Cook wrote that Muslims understood ''jihad'' in a military sense, in both classical and contemporary texts. Cook located the idea that ''jihad'' is primarily non-violent in Sufi texts and the Western scholars who study them, or from Muslim apologists.<ref name=Cook05/>{{rp|165–166}} [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] stated that its surveys show that the concept of ''jihad'' among Muslims "is considerably more nuanced than the single sense in which Western commentators invariably invoke the term".<ref name=gallop/>

===Muslim public opinion===
A [[The Gallup Organization|Gallup]] poll asked Muslims in eight countries to define ''jihad''. In Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, and Morocco, the most frequent response was to "duty toward God", a "divine duty", or a "worship of God", with no military connotations. In Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia, many of the responses includes "sacrificing one's life for the sake of Islam/God/a just cause" or "fighting against the opponents of Islam".<ref name="gallop">{{cite web|last1=Burkholder|first1=Richard|title=Jihad – 'Holy War', or Internal Spiritual Struggle?|date=3 December 2002|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/7333/jihad-holy-war-internal-spiritual-struggle.aspx|publisher=gallup.com|access-date=24 August 2014|ref=3 December 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826161152/http://www.gallup.com/poll/7333/jihad-holy-war-internal-spiritual-struggle.aspx|archive-date=26 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Other common meanings of "''jihad''" in the Muslim world include "a commitment to hard work", "promoting peace", and "living the principles of Islam".<ref name="gallop"/><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Esposito |first1=John L. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=9NxDCwAAQBAJ}}|title=Who Speaks For Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think |last2=Mogahed |first2=Dalia |date=2007 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-59562-017-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|20ff}} The terminology was also applied to the fight for [[feminism|women's liberation]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Al-Batal|first=Mahmoud|author2=Kristen Brustad |author3=Abbas Al-Tonsi |title=Al-Kitaab fii Ta<sup>c</sup>llum al-<sup>c</sup>Arabiyya, Part II|edition=2|year=2006|publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]]|location=Washington, DC|language=ar, en|isbn=978-1589010963|chapter=6 "من رائدات الحركة النسائية العربية" (One of the Pioneers of the Arabic Feminist Movement)|quote=To struggle or exert oneself for a cause........جاهََدَ، يجاهِد، الجهاد}}</ref>

===Other struggles===
Shia Muslim scholar [[Mahmoud M. Ayoud]] stated, "The goal of true ''jihad'' is to attain a harmony between Islam (submission), iman (faith), and ihsan (righteous living)." ''Jihad'' is a process encompassing both individual and [[social reform]], this is called ''jihad fi sabil Allah'' ("struggle in the way of God"), and can be undertaken following the Qur'an (''jihad bi-al-qur'an'').<ref name="Ayoud">{{cite book |last1=Ayoub |first1=Mahmoud M. |title=Islam: Faith and History |date=2013 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-78074-452-0 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Lhy9DwAAQBAJ|page=57}}|access-date=13 September 2020 |language=en |page=57 |author-link=Mahmoud M. Ayoub}}</ref> According to Ayoud the greatest ''jihad'' is the struggle of every Muslim against social, moral, and political evils. However, depending on social and political circumstances, ''jihad'' may be regarded as a sixth fundamental obligation (''[[farid]]'') incumbent on the entire Muslim community (''[[ummah]]'') when their integrity is in danger, in this case ''jihad'' becomes an "absolute obligation" (''fard 'ayn''), or when social and religious reform is gravely hampered. Otherwise it is a "limited obligation" (''fard kifayah''), incumbent upon those who are directly involved. These rules apply to armed struggle or "''jihad'' of the sword".<ref name="Ayoud"/>

In modern times, Pakistani scholar and professor [[Fazlur Rahman Malik]] used the term to describe the struggle to establish a "just moral-social order",<ref name=FR09/>{{rp|63–64}} while President [[Habib Bourguiba]] of [[Tunisia]] used it to describe the struggle for economic development in that country.<ref name=Peters-jihad/>{{rp|116–17}}

According to the [[BBC]], a third meaning of ''jihad'' is the struggle to build a good society.<ref name="BBCjihad">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/jihad_1.shtml|title=Jihad|access-date=20 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426225745/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/jihad_1.shtml|archive-date=26 April 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> In a commentary of the ''hadith'' [[Sahih Muslim]], entitled al-Minhaj, the [[Islamic Golden Age|medieval Islamic]] scholar [[Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi]] stated, "one of the collective duties of the community as a whole (''fard kifaya'') is to lodge a valid protest, to solve problems of religion, to have knowledge of Divine Law, to command what is right and forbid wrong conduct".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnah.org/fiqh/jihad_judicial_ruling.htm|title=Jihad – A Misunderstood Concept from Islam|access-date=16 August 2006|author=Shaykh Hisham Kabbani|author2=Shaykh Seraj Hendricks|author3=Shaykh Ahmad Hendricks|work=The Muslim Magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717071555/http://www.sunnah.org/fiqh/jihad_judicial_ruling.htm|archive-date=17 July 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>

Scholar Natana J. DeLong-Bas lists a number of types of "''jihad''" that have been proposed by Muslims:
* educational ''jihad'' (''jihad al-tarbiyyah'');
* missionary ''jihad'' or calling the people to Islam (''jihad al-da'wah'')<ref name=DeLong-Bas2004/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/wahhabiislamfrom0000delo/page/240 240–41] }}

Other "types" mentioned include:
* "Intellectual" ''jihad'' (similar to missionary ''jihad'').<ref name=whyislam/>
* "Economic" ''jihad'' (doing good involving money such as spending within one's means, helping the "poor and the downtrodden")<ref name="whyislam">{{cite web|title=Why does Islam have the concept of ''Jihad'' or Holy War, Which Some Use to Justify VIolence or Terrorism|work=WhyIslam |url=http://www.whyislam.org/jihad-2/jihad-faqs/islamic-concept-of-jihad-holy-war/|publisher=whyislam.org|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916012323/http://www.whyislam.org/jihad-2/jihad-faqs/islamic-concept-of-jihad-holy-war/|archive-date=16 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Bourguiba used ''jihad'' to describe the struggle for economic development.<ref name="Streusand-greater"/> Iran has a [[Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture]],<ref name="Jalal 2009"/>{{rp|240}} and formerly [[Jihad of Construction]] responsible for public works.
* ''Jihad Al-Nikah,'' or [[sexual jihad]], "refers to women joining the ''jihad'' by offering sex to fighters to boost their morale".<ref name="strait">{{cite news|title=Malaysian women offer their bodies to ISIS militants in 'sexual jihad'; Najib slams Islamic radicals|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysian-women-offer-their-bodies-isis-militants-sexual-jihad-repor#sthash.jdPWWEDG.dpuf|access-date=27 August 2014|work=Straits Times|date=27 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830093901/http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysian-women-offer-their-bodies-isis-militants-sexual-jihad-repor#sthash.jdPWWEDG.dpuf|archive-date=30 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The term originated from a ''fatwa'' believed to have been fabricated by the Syrian government to discredit its opponents, and the prevalence of this phenomenon has been disputed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sex Jihad and Other Lies: Assad's Elaborate Disinformation Campaign|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/assad-regime-wages-pr-campaign-to-discredit-rebels-a-926479.html|work=Der Spiegel|first=Christoph |last=Reuter|date=7 October 2013|access-date=16 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229195523/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/assad-regime-wages-pr-campaign-to-discredit-rebels-a-926479.html|archive-date=29 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Hilmi M.|last1=Zawati |author1-link=Hilmi M. Zawati|last2=Chair of the Center for Justice and Accountability|author2-link=Center for Justice and Accountability|title=Sectarian War in Syria Introduced New Gender-Based Crimes|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilmi-m-zawati/sectarian-war-in-syria-in_b_9236606.html|work=Huffington Post|date=16 February 2016|access-date=16 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231090546/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilmi-m-zawati/sectarian-war-in-syria-in_b_9236606.html|archive-date=31 December 2016|url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Usage by some non-Muslims ====
* The [[United States Department of Justice]] used various ''ad hoc'' definitions of ''jihad'' in indictments of individuals involved in terrorist activities:
** "As used in this First Superseding Indictment, ''jihad'' is the Arabic word meaning 'holy war'. In this context, ''jihad'' refers to the use of violence, including paramilitary action against persons, governments deemed to be enemies of the fundamentalist version of Islam."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.milnet.com/2nd-indictment-hayat-dist-court.pdf |title=Hamid and Umer Hayat 2nd-indictment California |date=22 September 2005 |via=Milnet.com |access-date=24 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051227172402/http://www.milnet.com/2nd-indictment-hayat-dist-court.pdf |archive-date=27 December 2005 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
** "As used in this Superseding Indictment, 'violent ''jihad''' or 'jihad' include planning, preparing for, and engaging in, acts of physical violence, including murder, maiming, kidnapping, and hostage-taking."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/padilla/uspad111705ind.pdf |title=José Padilla and others Florida indictment |via=Findlaw.com |date=17 November 2005 |access-date=24 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051125090748/http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/padilla/uspad111705ind.pdf |archive-date=25 November 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in the indictment against several individuals including [[José Padilla (prisoner)|José Padilla]].
* [[Karen Armstrong]]: "Fighting and warfare might sometimes be necessary, but it was only a minor part of the whole ''jihad'' or struggle".<ref name="Robinson">{{cite web|url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_jihad.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030605145412/http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_jihad.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=5 June 2003|title=The Concept of ''Jihad'' ("Struggle") in Islam|access-date=16 August 2006|author=B.A. Robinson|date=28 March 2003|publisher=Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance}}</ref>
* [[Maxime Rodinson]]: "''Jihad'' is a propagandistic device which, as need be, resorts to armed struggle—two ingredients common to many ideological movements".<ref name=MR21/>{{rp|351}}
* [[Benjamin R. Barber]] used the term ''jihad'' to point out the resistant movement by fundamentalist ethnic groups who want to protect their traditions, heritage and identity from globalization (which he refers to as '[[McWorld]]').<ref name=BB92/>{{rp|53–65 }}

===Other groups===

====Ahmadiyya====
{{Main|Ahmadiyya view on Jihad}}

In [[Ahmadiyya]] Islam, ''jihad'' is primarily one's personal inner struggle and should not be used violently for political motives. Violence is only to be used to protect religion and one's own life in extreme situations of persecution.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2010-10-20a.284.0|title=Ahmadiyya Community, Westminster Hall Debate|publisher=TheyWorkForYou.com|access-date=28 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026214828/http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2010-10-20a.284.0|archive-date=26 October 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Quranist====
[[Quranism|Quranists]] do not believe that the word ''jihad'' means holy war. They believe it means to struggle, or to strive. They believe it can incorporate both military and non-military aspects. When it refers to the military aspect, it is understood primarily to be defensive warfare.<ref>Dr. Aisha Y. Musa, [http://iiit.org/Research/ScholarsSummerInstitute/TableofContents/TowardsaQuranicallyBasedArticulation/tabid/242/Default.aspx Towards a Qur’anically-Based Articulation of the Concept of "Just War"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426024807/http://iiit.org/Research/ScholarsSummerInstitute/TableofContents/TowardsaQuranicallyBasedArticulation/tabid/242/Default.aspx |date=26 April 2013 }}, International Institute of Islamic Thought. Retrieved 5 May 2013</ref><ref>Caner Taslaman, [http://www.canertaslaman.com/2011/11/the-rhetoric-of-%E2%80%9Cterror%E2%80%99%E2%80%99-and-the-rhetoric-of-%E2%80%9Cjihad%E2%80%9D-a-philosophical-and-theological-evaluation/ The Rhetoric of "Terror" and the Rhetoric of "Jihad"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703214912/http://www.canertaslaman.com/2011/11/the-rhetoric-of-%E2%80%9Cterror%E2%80%99%E2%80%99-and-the-rhetoric-of-%E2%80%9Cjihad%E2%80%9D-a-philosophical-and-theological-evaluation/ |date=3 July 2013 }}, canertaslaman.com. Retrieved 28 April 2013</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ijtihad]]
* [[Islam and war]]
* [[Islamic military jurisprudence]]
* [[Jihadism and hip-hop]]
* [[Religious war]]
* [[Milkhemet Mitzvah]]
* [[Islamic Jihad (disambiguation)|Islamic Jihad]]
* [[Jihadism]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Banna78>{{Cite book |last=Bannā |first=Ḥasan al- |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=OyQ9AAAACAAJ}} |title=Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949): A Selection from the Majmu'at at Rasail Al-Iman Al-Shahid Hasan Al-Banna |date=1978 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-608-15367-4 |language=en|translator-first=Charles |translator-last=Wendell}}</ref>
<ref name=BB92>{{Cite book |last=Barber |first=Benjamin |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=E7gZ-8wtQAkC}}|title=Jihad vs. McWorld: Terrorism's Challenge to Democracy |date=2010-04-21 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-87444-3 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name=Cook05>{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=David |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=s7EwDwAAQBAJ}}
 |title=Understanding Jihad |isbn=978-0-520-24448-1 |language=en |author-link=David Cook (historian) |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2015 |edition=2nd |location=[[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] |pages=93–127 |chapter=Radical Islam and Contemporary ''Jihad'' Theory |jstor=10.1525/j.ctv1xxt55.10 |lccn=2015010201 |chapter-url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=SqE2DwAAQBAJ|page=93}}|orig-date=2005}}</ref>
<ref name=DeLong-Bas2004>{{cite book
 | last = DeLong-Bas
 | first = Natana J.
 | author-link = Natana J. DeLong-Bas
 | title = Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global ''Jihad''
 | url = https://archive.org/details/wahhabiislamfrom0000delo
 | url-access = registration
 | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
 | year = 2004
 | location = New York
 | edition = First
 | isbn = 978-0195169911
 }}</ref>
<ref name=JLE02>{{Cite book |last=Esposito |first=John L. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=GAIMtgEACAAJ}} |title=Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam |date=2002 |publisher=Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name=FR09>{{Cite book |last=Rahman |first=Fazlur |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=iCXWnDIaxsIC}}|title=Major Themes of the Qur'an: Second Edition |date=2009-06-15 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-70286-5 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="Gerges">{{cite book
 | last = Gerges
 | first = Fawaz A.
 | title = The far enemy: why ''Jihad'' went global
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | year = 2009
 | location = New York
 | edition = reprint 2010
 | url = {{google books|plainurl=y|id=TgYo05-2F7EC|page=29}}
 | isbn = 978-0521519359
 }}
</ref>
<ref name=hashmi>{{Cite book |last=Hashmi |first=Sohail H. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=1jcCwXo3CCgC}}|title=Just Wars, Holy Wars, and Jihads: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Encounters and Exchanges |date=2012-07-03 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-975503-5 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name=RF17>{{Cite journal |last1=Rabi |first1=Uzi |last2=Friedman |first2=Brandon |date=2017 |title=Weaponizing Sectarianism in Iraq and Syria |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0030438717300340 |journal=Orbis |language=en |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=423–438 |doi=10.1016/j.orbis.2017.04.003|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
<ref name=MR21>{{Cite book |last=Rodinson |first=Maxime |authorlink=Maxime Rodinson|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=mFsbEAAAQBAJ}}|title=Muhammad |date=2021-03-02 |publisher=New York Review of Books |isbn=978-1-68137-492-5 |language=en}}</ref>
}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|first1=Ahmed|last1=Al-Dawoody|date=2011|title=The Islamic Law of War: Justifications and Regulations|url=https://archive.org/details/islamiclawwarjus00alda|url-access=limited|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0230111608}}
* "Djihad" in: ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam#2nd edition, EI2|The Encyclopaedia of Islam]]''
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Jihad |volume=15 |page=415 |short=1}}
* {{cite book
 | last = ibn Abd al-Wahhab
 | first = Muhammad
 | author-link = Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
 | title = Kitab al-Tawhid, volume I of Mu'allafat al-Shaykh al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahahb
 | publisher = Jamiat al-Imam MUhammad bin Saudi al-Islamiyah
 | year = 1398h
 | location = Riyad
 | edition=First
 |ref=IAWKT}}
* {{cite book|last1=Khadduri|first1=Majid|title=War and Peace in the Law of Islam|date=1955|publisher=Johns Hopkins Press|location=Baltimore|access-date=26 October 2015|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=UHWd6gLZsFIC}}}}
* {{Cite book|title = War and Peace in Islam: The Uses and Abuses of ''Jihad''|last1 = H.R.H. Prince|first1 = Ghazi Muhammad|publisher = The Islamic Texts Society Cambridge|year = 2013|isbn = 978-1903682838|last2 = Ibrahim|first2 = Kalin|author3-link = Mohammad Hashim Kamali|last3 = Mohammad Hashim|first3 = Kamali|url = http://rissc.jo/books/War-Peace-Islam.pdf|ref = CITEREFGhaziKalinKamali2013|author1-link = Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad|access-date = 5 May 2016|archive-date = 9 July 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170709055514/http://rissc.jo/books/War-Peace-Islam.pdf|url-status = dead}}
* {{cite book|author=[[Rudolph Peters]]|title=''Islam and Colonialism: The Doctrine of ''Jihad'' in Modern History''|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|year=2015|ref={{sfnRef|Peters|2015}}}}
*{{cite book|last1=Bonner|first1=Michael|title=Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice|date=2006|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Qxq7eykoJgoC}}|isbn=978-1400827381}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Madigan|first1=Daniel|date=2001|title=Book|editor1-last=McAuliffe|editor1-first=Jane Dammen|editor1-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān|doi=10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00027}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Sharon|first1=Moshe|author1-link=Moshe Sharon|date=2004|title=People of the Book|editor1-last=McAuliffe|editor1-first=Jane Dammen|editor1-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān|doi=10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00319}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Vajda|first1=Georges|author1-link=Georges Vajda|date=1960–2007|title=Ahl al-Kitāb|editor1-last=Bearman|editor1-first=P.|editor1-link=Peri Bearman|editor2-last=Bianquis|editor2-first=Th.|editor2-link=Thierry Bianquis|editor3-last=Bosworth|editor3-first=C.E.|editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|editor4-last=van Donzel|editor4-first=E.|editor4-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel|editor5-last=Heinrichs|editor5-first=W.P.|editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0383}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* {{cite book|authorlink=Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti |first=Biancamaria Scarcia |last=Amoretti |title=Tolleranza e guerra santa nell'Islam |publisher=Scuola aperta/Sansoni |location=Firenze|year= 1974}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Dajani-Shakeel |first1=Hadia |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=zC0sAQAAIAAJ}} |title=The Jihād and Its Times |last2=Messier |first2=Ronald A. |last3=Ehrenkreutz |first3=Andrew S. |date=1991 |publisher=Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan |isbn=978-0-932098-24-5 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=DeLong-Bas|editor-first=Natana |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=a-w2ooBibjQC}}|title=Jihad: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide |date=2010-05-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-980400-9 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Firestone |first=Reuven |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=FXc8DwAAQBAJ}} |title=Jihād: The Origin of Holy War in Islam |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-512580-1 |language=en|authorlink=Reuven Firestone}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hashmi |first=Sohail H. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=9g8WDAAAQBAJ}}|title=Just Wars, Holy Wars, and Jihads: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Encounters and Exchanges |date=2012-08-16 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-975504-2 |language=en}}* [[John Kelsay]]: ''Just War and Jihad'' New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
* {{cite book |title=Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea |first=Shiraz |last=Maher |year=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190651121 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=MXsQDgAAQBAJ}}|authorlink=Shiraz Maher}}
* {{Cite book |last=Majumadāra |first=Suhāsa |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=jkHYAAAAMAAJ}}|title=Jihād: The Islamic Doctrine of Permanent War |date=1994 |publisher=Voice of India |isbn=978-81-85990-19-4 |language=en}}
* {{cite book|last=Malik|first=S. K.|year=1986|title=The Qur'anic Concept of War|url=https://wolfpangloss.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/malik-quranic-concept-of-war.pdf|publisher=Himalayan Books|isbn=978-8170020202}}
* {{Cite journal |title=A Hanafi treatise on rebellion and ğihād in the Ottoman age (XVII c.) |url=https://www.academia.edu/9173217 |access-date=2024-10-08 |journal=Eurasian Studies|volume=II|issue=2 |date=December 2003|pages=215–26}}
*{{cite journal|last=McGregor|first=A. |date=2006|title=Jihad and the Rifle Alone: 'Abdullah 'Azzam and the Islamist Revolution |journal=Journal of Conflict Studies|volume=23|issue=2|url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/JCS/article/view/219}}
* Alfred Morabia, ''Le Ğihâd dans l'Islâm médiéval. "Le combat sacré" des origines au XIIe siècle'', Albin Michel, Paris 1993
* {{cite journal|year=2009|author=Masood Ashraf Raja|title=Jihad in Islam: Colonial Encounter, the Neoliberal Order, and the Muslim Subject of Resistance|journal=The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences|volume=26|issue=4|page=25|author-link=Masood Ashraf Raja}}
*{{cite journal|last=Rothman|first=Norman C. |date=2018|title=Jihad: Peaceful Applications for Society and the Individual |journal=Comparative Civilizations Review |volume= 79 |issue= 7|url= https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr/vol79/iss79/7}}
{{div col end}}

== External links ==
* {{commonscat-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* {{Wikiversity-inline}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Jihad| ]]
[[Category:Arabic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Sharia terminology]]
[[Category:Islamic jurisprudence rulings]]