NON-VIOLENCE AND ISLAM

~ 48 ~ Both the Qur’an and the Hadith have attached great importance to jihad. What is jihad? Jihad means struggle, to struggle one’s utmost. It must be appreciated at the outset that this word is used for non-violent struggle as opposed to violent struggle. One clear proof of this is the verse of the Qur’an (25:52) which says: ‘Perform jihad with this (i.e. the words of the Qur’an) most strenuously.’ The Qur’an is a book of ideology. In such a case performing jihad with the Qur’an would mean an ideological struggle to conquer peoples’ hearts and minds through Islam’s superior philosophy. In the light of this verse of the Qur’an, jihad in actual fact is another name for peaceful activism or non-violent activism. Where qital is violent activism, jihad is non-violent activism. PEACEFUL BEGINNING When the Qur’an began to be revealed, the first verse of the revelation conveyed the injunction: Jihad with the Quran means an ideological struggle to conquer peoples’ hearts and minds.