PERHAPS there is no term or word most misunderstood and misused at this point in time than the term jihad. After the tragedy in the United States on Sept 11, jihad has cropped up more often than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, the term has been overused by various quarters, both Muslim and non-Muslim, so much so that jihad has been misinterpreted and misunderstood, again by both Muslims and non-Muslims.If we follow reports in the print and electronic media, be they local or foreign, it is most unfortunate that jihad is directly translated into \u201choly war.\u201d This is, perhaps, the best example of misunderstanding with regards to Islamic concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, and throughout history, especially in the past few centuries since the decline of Islamic civilisation, we find that Islam has been the most misunderstood religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jihad is an Islamic concept that is, more often than not, used to paint Islam as having a \u201cdark and evil\u2019\u2019 side. The term has been used, time and time again, to scare people and portray Islam in a very negative manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is very unfortunate, because the word \u201cIslam\u2019\u2019 itself comes from the root word salam which literally means \u201csafe\u201d or \u201cpeaceful.\u201d How then can a religion that declares itself to be peaceful be so violent and bloodthirsty?It is apparent that these past couple of weeks the term jihad has been used wantonly to imply that Islam is violent and bloodthirsty. The biggest misconception about jihad is to translate this term to mean \u201choly war\u201d when, in truth, \u201choly war\u201d is not a translation of the term jihad, either directly or subtly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This mistranslation started during the Crusades when \u201choly war\u201d was used to describe the war against the Muslims. There is, in fact, no equivalent in the Muslim vocabulary that describes \u201choly war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Centuries have gone by since the Crusades ended, yet sadly many people still translate jihad into \u201choly war.\u201dEven today\u2019s Muslims got so used to, or rather confuse with, this translation that they themselves begin to describe jihad, in particular jihad fi sabilillah as \u201choly war.\u201d Jihad fi sabilillah actually means \u201cto strive on the path of God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, if one were to actually translate \u201choly war\u201d into Arabic, the term would be al-harbu al-muqaddasah. Neither the Quran nor the Hadiths equates jihad as \u201choly war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a matter of fact, there is no mention of \u201choly war\u201d in either of the primary sources of Islamic teaching, namely the Quran and the Hadiths. There are, however, references to war in both these sources, and the terms used to describe war or fighting are either qital or harb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To understand jihad, we must first take a look at its literal translation. The word jihad comes from the Arabic word al-jahd, which means \u201ctireless\u201d or al-juhd which means \u201cenergy\u201d or \u201cenergetic.\u201dThe word jihad is thus translated into \u201cto strive tirelessly\u201d or \u201cto channel all energies into an endeavour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many forms and levels of jihad. Many Islamic scholars stated that the highest form of jihad or jihad al-akbar is the struggle within one\u2019s self to become a better Muslim by resisting the temptations and lures of lust and sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is highlighted in one Hadith of the Prophet who explained: \u201cThe mujahid (one who carries out jihad) is he who strives against himself for the sake of God, and the muhajir (one who migrates) is he who abandons evil deeds and sin.\u201dIn other words, the highest form of jihad for a Muslim is to observe the akhlaq (virtues) of Islam in one\u2019s daily life. On this matter, the Prophet was once asked by a man: \u201cShould I join jihad?\u201d The Prophet then asked: \u201cDo you have parents?\u201d The man said: \u201cYes.\u201d The Prophet replied: \u201cThen strive by serving them.\u201d Indeed, Islam regards serving one\u2019s parents as a virtuous character. This form of jihad, therefore, is considered to be the most noble and admirable.The question that arises now is why is it that many people equate the term jihad with war or harb?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usually we see the phrase jihad fi sabilillah being equated with war and fighting or, as evident today, this sacred phrase is even used to insinuate acts of terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This may be a result of the history of Islam that saw this phrase being used during wartime. If we look back at history, Islam had to strive against attacks from the Musyrikin of Mecca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wars like the Battle of Badr and Battle of Uhud were results of acts of transgression against the Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Muslims, having only established the city of Madinah, had to defend themselves, and thus a call for jihad as an act of self-defence was made. This was stated in the Quran (verse 39 of Surah al-Taubah), translated thus: \u201cTo those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged, and verily
God is Most Powerful in their aid\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word used to describe \u201cto fight\u201d is yuqataluna which originates from the Arabic word qital. Even here, the word jihad is not used. The Quran thus allows fighting to defend the religion of Islam and the Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This permission is given under several conditions, one of which is self-defence and the protection of family and property. In the early days of Islam, as stated earlier, the Muslims had to defend themselves and their faith from the attacks of the pagans of Quraisy in Mecca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this matter, the Quran outlined clearly the dos and don\u2019ts of war: \u201cFight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits, for God loves not transgressors\u201d (Verse 190, Surah al-Baqarah).Further in the same chapter of the Quran in verse 193, it is stated to the effect that: \u201cAnd fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevails justice and faith in God, but if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practised oppression.\u201dAgain, in these verses the word used to describe fighting is qatala which originates from qital and not jihad. Thus, it is imperative that this misconception and misunderstanding of jihad be corrected. In this regards, the media should play an important role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When translating the word jihad, the media should not use \u201choly war\u201d as its equivalent. The truth to the matter is that there is nothing holy about wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War should only be regarded as a last resort after all attempts have been exhausted to solve whatever problems that one faces. While there are still other means to solve disputes, quarrels or squabbles, then they should be used before war is even considered.Diplomatic negotiations, mediations and dialogues could perhaps be the best means to overcome problems. These efforts may look to be slow and tedious, but they can definitely save many innocent lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have seen too many wars in our history. We have seen too many people die as a result of wars. We should ask ourselves whether we would like to go through another war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What happened in the United States on Sept 11 was an act of sheer terror that is not accepted by any faith in the
world. Islam does not condone violence and acts of terror. The killing of innocent lives is not part of the teaching of Islam. Such acts are, therefore, not jihad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PERHAPS there is no term or word most misunderstood and misused at this point in time than the term jihad. After the tragedy in the United States on Sept 11, jihad has cropped up more often than before. Unfortunately, the term has been overused by various quarters, both Muslim and non-Muslim, so much so that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-star","category-220","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25207\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}