TYPES OF JIHAD


THE QUESTION THEN rises: What is the difference between the literal meaning and figurative meaning of Jihad? And how do we know which one is applied and when? The answers to these questions can be understood easily when we learn the different types of Jihad. In the Holy Quran, three different types of Jihad are mentioned:


  1. Jihad-e-Akbar (Greatest Jihad) - striving against the self that incites to evil
  2. Jihad-e-Kabīr (Greater Jihad) – striving against satan and satanic teachings
  3. Jihad-e-Asghar (Lesser Jihad) – striving with financial sacrifices and sacrificing one’s life (through warfare in specific circumstances)

Dr. Qureshi argues here that such distinctions between greater and lesser Jihad have “no place in the foundations of Islam”.58 He suggests that both the Holy Quran and Aḥādīth emphasize Jihad in the context of violence and so there is no reason why it should be classified as “lesser Jihad”. We find it strange that Dr. Qureshi even thought of making this argument when the Holy Quran is very clear about this, as it makes the specific classification in the following words:


…wa jāhid-hum bihī Jihadan kabīrā: And fight against them by means of it (the Holy Quran) a great fight.59


Here the words Jihadan Kabīrā (Greater Jihad) are used by the Holy Quran itself in order to indicate very clearly that a struggle with the Holy Quran – which can only be in the spiritual sense – is what is the intended meaning here.

Additionally, the Jihad one wages against one’s own negative, evil, and satanic thoughts and inclinations is the greatest and purest form of Jihad for every Muslim, as mentioned in the following verses:


And as for those who strive [jāhadū] in Our path — We will surely guide them in Our ways. And verily Allah is with those who do good.60


O ye who believe! be heedful of your own selves. He who goes astray cannot harm you when you yourselves are rightly guided. To Allah will you all return; then will He disclose to you what you used to do.61


Similarly, in one ḥadīth, Prophet Muhammadsa is quoted to have said, “The Mujāhid [one who engages in Jihad] is one who strives against his own soul”62.

Furthermore, in one tradition, Prophet Muhammadsa used the same terminology that the Holy Quran uses above in order to differentiate between the greater and lesser Jihad, when he said, “We return from the lesser Jihad heading towards a greater Jihad”.63 At the time, he was returning from a battle and this was a clear indication that physical violence is a lesser Jihad while striving against evil is a greater Jihad. This tradition is not found in the most authentic collections of Aḥadīth but since it uses the same terminology that the Holy Quran uses, and does not deviate from the Quranic teachings in any way, there is no reason to reject it.

There is no doubt that the lesser Jihad of fighting in self-defence – when such fighting is thrust upon the Muslims by a violent enemy – is mentioned in the Holy Quran in several verses. However, all of this fighting was done in a specific context and in a specific period, with very particular goals in mind. In those contexts, the Holy Quran had full rights to glorify a form of fighting that is meant for religious freedom for all, and for the protection of the Muslim community. Even in worldly terms, fighting is justified when a person’s country is under attack and his or her family’s life is at stake.