Sorry if this is open somewhere else but I am following someone's suggestion in another thread to start this topic and ask the question: What does Jihad mean? Or what is the meaning of it?

I always thought it meant Holy War but maybe I got the wrong end of the stick here!

Could someone please explain it to me?

It means natural struggle. Something that we do it in an instant. An act that we must do.

A pregnant woman is doing jihad because it is a natural struggle. A man working to feed his family is doing jihad. When you fight a burglar that robbing your house you are doing jihad. It is natural struggle.

When people defending their own country from an invading foreigners they are doing jihad. I am now doing jihad explaining my best to you because it is natural for me to do this.

Now you have the idea of what it is - now you can find further that fall into jihad.

Why has Jihad come to be interpreted as Holy War?

Why is it used to describe the conflict between Isreal and the rest of the Middle East?

I am not trying to insult or provoke, I am genuinely interested to know

Sorry to clarify - perhaps I should have asked why had Jihad come to mean Holy War, the conflict with Israel etc in the West? Is this just the Western interpretation of it?

Is it just the result of trying to over-simplify different cultures, words, meanings etc so that it is available and accessible for everyone to understand?

Leii wrote: Why has Jihad come to be interpreted as Holy War?

Qital or fighting is part of jihad.

wrote: Why is it used to describe the conflict between Isreal and the rest of the Middle East?

There are millions of palestinian refugees who want to return to their homes, unless if you have any othere sugestion what they suppose to do? And the remaining palestinian in there also want to live in their home freely. Being free at home without fear is natural for human to live, unless of course if you want to say otherwise?

wrote: I am not trying to insult or provoke, I am genuinely interested to know

Don't worry about that with me, it will take you few post of insults before I will remind you first with question if it is insultive even to your standard. Otherwise it will be different people with different ideologies, ideologies that have shaped us into what we are today.

Jihad

It is an Arabic word the root of which is Jahada, which means to strive for a better way of life. The nouns are Juhd, Mujahid, Jihad, and Ijtihad. The other meanings are: endeavor, strain, exertion, effort, diligence, fighting to defend one's life, land, and religion.

Jihad should not be confused with Holy War; the latter does not exist in Islam nor will Islam allow its followers to be involved in a Holy War. The latter refers to the Holy War of the Crusaders.

Jihad is not a war to force the faith on others, as many people think of it. It should never be interpreted as a way of compulsion of the belief on others, since there is an explicit verse in the Qur'an that says:"There is no compulsion in religion" Al-Qur'an: Al-Baqarah (2:256).

Jihad is not a defensive war only, but a war against any unjust regime. If such a regime exists, a war is to be waged against the leaders, but not against the people of that country. People should be freed from the unjust regimes and influences so that they can freely choose to believe in Allah.

Not only in peace but also in war Islam prohibits terrorism, kidnapping, and hijacking, when carried against civilians. Whoever commits such violations is considered a murderer in Islam, and is to be punished by the Islamic state. during wars, Islam prohibits Muslim soldiers from harming civilians, women, children, elderly, and the religious men like priests and rabies. It also prohibits cutting down trees and destroying civilian constructions.

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/glossary/term.JIHAD.html - http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/glossary/term.JIHAD.ht ml

Leii wrote: Thank you Peacemaker

You are welcome.

Peacemaker:

Sorry if I'm going off on a little tangent here but what are the differences between Sunni Islam and Shi'ite Islam? Where can I learn more?

Leii wrote: Peacemaker: Sorry if I'm going off on a little tangent here but what are the differences between Sunni Islam and Shi'ite Islam? Where can I learn more?

More than 90% Muslims are Sunni. In other words, you can say these are the followers of the main stream Islam. On this site, for example, you will see main stream Islam, though various sects are still allowed to discuss in Intra faith section.

You have many sects, and Shia is one of them. In general, all Muslims commonly believe in many major things, for example, faith in one God ( Allah ), His revelation in Qur�an , belief in the last Messenger Muhammad ( peace be upon him ), prayers, fasting in the month of Ramadan, charity, pilgrimage to Mecca once in life time ( if one can afford ) etc.

I don�t know your level of knowledge about Islam. However, as a beginner, you should concentrate more on reading Qur�an. There are many translations available by prominent Islamic Scholars, pick up the copy and start there. I suggest that you not read from anti-Islam sources as that would only misguide you.

As the time passes, you will gain the understanding of Islam by the grace of Allah.

Good Luck

Peace

( deleted the previous post in this regard )

ejdavid wrote: JIHAD EXAMPLE "Robert Redeker ... south-west France, is receiving ... police protection ... after publishing an article describing the Koran as a "book of extraordinary violence" and Islam as "a religion which ... exalts violence and hate". "There is a very clear map of how to get to my home, with the words: �This pig must have his head cut off�," he said. Another e-mail says: "You will never again be safe on this earth. One billion, 300 million Muslims are ready to kill you." This man does not agree "Islam is a Peaceful religion". As a result, One billion, 300 million Muslims are ready to kill him? I believe the number is less then that. http://jihadwatch.org/ - http://jihadwatch.org/

What if Robert Redeker speaks the same way about Jews or Judaism. wouldn't he be charged with being anti-semitic? But, he misrepresents Islam, so nobody cares. Well, he is free to believe what he believes, but if he speaks so negative in a public space, he should be engaged in interfaith talks. And yes, he should not be physically harmed in any way. That is not the message of Islam, and that is not jihad.

The behavior of some Muslims and non-Muslims is one thing, but the message of Islam has nothing to do if someone doesn�t properly practice it

If we are all mujahidin how do we determine when we are to engage in fighting as a military struggle for religious reasons?

Many wars that are not Religious wars, often still include elements of religion. Also differences in religion can further inflame a war being fought for other reasons. Historically temples have been military targets that are destroyed to weaken the morale of the opponent, even when the war itself is not being waged over religious ideals.

To Help Answer Leii:

There are two main classifications of jihad; lesser jihad and greater jihad. There has come some dispute to the previous comment, whether the "greater" or "lesser" form of jihad refers to physical combat or an inner struggle. The debate comes from a hadith, or narration from the Prophet Muhammad, where he was quoted as saying, after returning from combat, "We have returned from the lesser jihad (jihad al-asghar) to the greater jihad (jihad al-akbar)" This hadith is considered fabricated by the scholars of hadith as it has no chain which can be traced directly to the Prophet.

Some view the greater jihad to be that of "the sword," or physical combat, using multiple references to the importance of fighting (al-qital) in the Qur'an and narrations from the hadith as evidence. Beside all of this, both sides of the debate agree that the physical fight requires an initial overcoming of spiritual dismay, which is itself an inner struggle; thus, intellectually, one could derive that both struggles, the physical and the spiritual, are encompassing one of the other. Likewise, the spiritual success supposedly leads one to yearn to fight for the sake of God, whether in pure defense or preemptive strikes, so the actual fulfilment of such inner struggle is requisite to the purity of the outward struggle.

Muslim scholars explained there are five kinds of jihad fi sabilillah (struggle in the cause of God):[1]

• Jihad of the heart/soul (jihad bin nafs/qalb) is an inner struggle of good against evil in the mind, through concepts such as tawhid.
• Jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan) is a struggle of good against evil waged by writing and speech, such as in the form of dawah (proselytizing), Khutbas (sermons), et al.
• Jihad by the pen and knowledge (jihad bil qalam/ilm) is a struggle for good against evil through scholarly study of Islam, ijtihad (legal reasoning), and through sciences (such as medical sciences).
• Jihad by the hand (jihad bil yad) refers to a struggle of good against evil waged by actions or with one's wealth, such as going on the Hajj pilgrimage (seen as the best jihad for women), taking care of elderly parents, providing funding for jihad, political activity for furthering the cause of Islam, stopping evil by force, or espionage.
• Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif) refers to qital fi sabilillah (armed fighting in the way of God, or holy war).

u Can Read About Shi'ite here>>>>> http://www.kr-hcy.com - www.kr-hcy.com

And Forum where Sunni And shi'ite discuss>>>>>>>. http://www.kr-hcy.org - www.kr-hcy.org

and a little reminder for Sunni Bros That Anyone who curse Sahaba(companions) And Do Worship Of Graves They r Not Muslims.

Wassalam