The True Jihad
The True Jihad
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life, and the prevention of any obstacle coming in
the way of fulfilling God’s will—for instance, the
desires of the self, the urge to serve one’s own
interests, the compulsion of social traditions, the
need for compromises, ego problems, greed for
wealth, etc. All these things directly thwart
righteous actions. Overcoming all such hurdles and
persevering in obeying God’s commands are the
real
jihad
. And the word
jihad
has been used
primarily in this sense. We quote here some
traditions, as recorded in Musnad Ahmad, which
define the role of the
mujahid
.
1. A
mujahid
is one who struggles with himself for
the sake of God. (6/20)
2. A
mujahid
is one who exerts himself for the cause
of God (6/22)
3. A
mujahid
is one who struggles with his self in
submission to the will of God.
The present world is a testing ground: the entire
fabric of this world has been designed with a view
to fulfilling the purposes of the divine trial of man.
This being so, the human being is necessarily faced
