the TRUE meaning of Jihad....(removing the misconception)

Submitted by Hafsa (Pakistan), Jan 3, 2003 at 23:02

Here is an extract from my article "Removing the misconceptions about Jihad":

Jihad literally means "to strive or to struggle." In Islam there are three types of Jihad.
Jihad of the heart
Jihad of the tongue and hands
Jihad of the sword

Since the first two Jihads concern only the spiritual side of Muslim beliefs and have no external interference, I will directly come on to the third kind of Jihad. Jihad by the sword means struggling against those who are non-Muslims, BUT mark my words, Jihad is ONLY allowed when a certain condition is met and there are very strict rules about waging Jihad against a community.

The basic rule about Jihad is that it is only allowed when non-Muslims initiate it. It is NOT to be initiated by the Muslims at all. Muslims are not allowed to raise their swords and start killing every non-Muslim in their community, whether in majority or minority, to force them to accept Islam. God says in the Quran: -

"There is no compulsion in religion"
And in another place He says: -
"If it had been your God's Will, they would all have believed, all who live on this earth. Will you (the Muslims) then compel mankind against their will to believe?"

Jihad is allowed only in these conditions: -
-Muslims of a certain community or country are being denied religious freedom. They are not allowed to conduct their religious practices nor can they pray freely.
-Muslims are being oppressed and ill treated in a certain community or country.
-A non-Muslim community starts collecting its army for the intention of launching an attack against a Muslim community.

In all three conditions the common factor is that Jihad is allowed only for defence purposes and not for any territorial expansion/dictation. And even when Jihad becomes compulsory for defence purposes, Muslims strictly have to abide by the following rules

1) They are not allowed to burn down property and houses
2) They are not allowed to attack women, children and old people
3) They have to respect places of worship (churches, monasteries etc.)
4) They are not supposed to cut down trees or destroy the harvest
5) They are not supposed to mutilate the bodies of their opponents
6) When the enemy surrenders and is helpless they have to stop fighting

Here I may mention that those who do not abide by these rules and follow their self-made rules by killing innocent people DO NOT follow Islam. The rules of Islam are what I have mentioned and anyone who disobeys, and does wrong things in the name of Islam, in fact spoils its name. Islam is a religion of peace. Muslims have to respect the rights of the non-Muslims in their community and respect their places of worship. Those who don't, do not follow Islam at all.

I hope this removes the misconceptions about Jihad ...

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