(rhena) The Arabic term jihad is properly defined as “struggle” or “striving” and is generally described as taking place at two levels: the inner (or greater) and the outer (or lesser). According to the hadith (records of the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad), inner jihad is the struggle within oneself to avoid sinful behavior and live according to the principles of the Qurʾan, Sunna (example of the Prophet Muhammad), and Sharia (Islamic law). Outer jihad, on the other hand, refers to the defense of the Muslim community under attack. This can be a “soft defense,” such as through verbal or written debate or persuasion (jihad of the tongue, or jihad of the pen), or “hard defense” (also known as “jihad of the sword”), such as through physical or military defense of a community. Inner, or Greater, Jihad Discussions of inner jihad tend to focus either on personal piety and righteous living or on community service, such as in Ghandour 2002. The idea is that an inward focus on personal adherence to Islam’s teachings is played out in the public sphere through the application of an individual’s ethics and standards, as expressed in interactions with the family, community, and nation. A Sunni perspective on this aspect is presented in Esack 1997. Shiʿi interpretations, such as Shah-Kazemi 2006, also focus on jihad as an internal struggle for knowledge and betterment of the soul. In many cases, for both Sunnis and Shiis, such inner jihad is presented as being at odds with the often militant approach to outer jihad, or it may incorporate the concept of physical struggle with overcoming injustice, although not necessarily according to violent means, such as by engaging in civil disobedience, as discussed in Easwaran 1999 and Geoffroy 2003. Lakhani 2006 presents a Shiʿi discussion of the struggle between spiritual and military expressions of jihad. Inner jihad can also be a means of struggling against gender apartheid, as discussed in Wadud 2006, or of struggling for political and economic justice, as discussed in Ramadan 2002.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 07:02:37 +0000
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