Ramadan Day 19: Verses from the Quran
Sun Oct 23, 2005 at 08:22:54 PM PDT
Each day during
Ramadan, I am presenting a verse from the Quran with a few thoughts or comments. An introduction to this series is
here. Inshallah (God willing), I hope that this may be of benefit to any who are interested in learning a bit more about Islam and Muslim belief.
Quran 25:52:
So do not obey the rejectors but strive against them a great jihad with it
(don't forget to follow this one over the jump)
Whoa! What does this verse mean? Not what you may be thinking!
The question is, what is "it" that Muslims are supposed to be making a great jihad with?
According to the traditional commentary, the authoritative understanding of this verse among the early generations of Muslims was that "it" is the Quran.
So Muslims are to make a great jihad with the Quran. Not with bombs or guns, but with the Quran.
How? By bringing its message. By being models of what it commands. By embodying it with our characters.
The word "jihad" literally means "struggle" or "striving". It appears twice in this verse.
The Arabic is:
Fa laa tuti al-kafirina wa jahidhum bi hi jihadan kabira
So do not obey the rejectors but strive against them (jahidhum) a great jihad with it
The Arabic word for war is harb and the word for fighting is qital. These are the two words used in the Quran to talk about war and fighting.
The word jihad is applied to it only in references such as "strive against them with your lives and your wealth". The Quran also refers to other forms of striving or struggle. In this particular verse, it is talking about striving with the Quran. This too is a form of jihad and it is the one that the Quran itself uses the adjective "great" in connection with.
Again, the "great jihad" with those who reject the truth is not fighting or killing, it is to bring and embody the message of the Quran.
