The Concept of Jihad in Islam

The True Jihad the Quran in the sense of effort and struggle, not directly as a synonym for war. THE TRUE JIHAD Jihad involves discovering God, attaining Godrealisation, and searching for ways to develop closeness with God. T o better understand what jihad is, one must first know that whatever the Muslims are doing today in the name of jihad is not jihad. These are all wars unleashed by communal sentiments wrongly named jihad. Jihad means peaceful struggle. It is not synonymous with war. However, the word jihad is sometimes used in an extended sense to refer to war. However, in the literal sense, jihad and war, or what is called qital in Arabic, are not synonymous terms. Consider the following Quranic verses and Hadith, sayings of the Prophet of Islam, to appreciate some usages of the term ‘jihad’: 1. The Quran says: “We will surely guide in Our ways those who strive hard for Our cause.” (29:69)