A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Appendix A/49

by Moulavi Gerágh Ali

[Sidenote: Jihád does not mean the waging of war.]

49. These are all the verses of the Koran which contain the word "Jahd" or "Jihád," or any derivations from them. I believe that I have clearly shown by means of a careful comparison between the translators and commentators and the original passages in the Koran, that the word Jahd or Jihád in the classical Arabic and as used in the Koran does not mean waging war or fighting, but only to do one's utmost and to exert, labour or toil. The meaning which has come to be ascribed to the word is undoubtedly a conventional one, and is one that has been applied to it at a period much less recent than the revelation of the various chapters of the Koran.