LESSONS ETERNAL AND EPHEMERAL — Differentiate Between Them

permanent. In a similar manner, there are two such terms used in the Quran: 1. ‘Jihad bil Quran’ — Jihad with the Quran 2. ‘Qital’ also known as ‘Jihad bil saif’ — Jihad as war What is meant by Jihad with the Quran? The Quran is a book which brings glad tidings to mankind along with divine admonition and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of truth. The objective of the Quran is to make man aware of the creation plan of God. It makes a man serious about life, gives him high thinking that develops a God-oriented personality or divine personality in man. Jihad with the Quran means to take all these aspects of the Quran and make every effort to imbibe them in one’s life and convey them to mankind so that not a single human being is unaware of them. This is true Jihad and only to make clear this meaning the following verse in the Quran was revealed, 'wa jahid hum bihi jihadan kabeera'. (strive with the utmost strenuousness by means of this — THE QURAN 25: 52) This kind of struggle is not just Jihad but according to the Quran it is the Jihadan kabeera or Greater Jihad. What is meant by Qital or Jihad bil saif? Another related term that is used in the Quran is ‘qital’ which means war. In this connection, the Quran says: 'And fight—do war against—them until there is no more fitna.' (THE QURAN 8: 39) In this verse, fitna means religious persecution. The obvious and literal meaning of this verse proves that according to the Quran, qital is a temporary command. It was a directive only until religious persecution remained and as soon as it was put to an end, the command or directive itself was nullified. That is if it is eliminated then the command for war is also eliminated. God desired that the system of religious persecution be eliminated and the natural system of religious freedom be established. Due to the prevailing political philosophy of the earlier times, there was a culture of religious persecution all over the world. This philosophy and culture functioned against the creation plan of God as it was a withdrawal of the God-given freedom to man. God desired that this contrived system of religious persecution be eliminated and the natural