The True Jihad
The True Jihad
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the most effective course of action. It would
therefore be no exaggeration to say that in present
times a violent struggle is not only a hard option
but is not in practice useful. Whereas non-violence
is not only an easier option, but is also highly
effective and result-oriented. Now, a peaceful
course of action is not just one of the possibilities: it
is the only feasible and result-oriented option. This
being so, it would be right to say that violence has
been practically abandoned. This is what we call an
abrogated command in the language of the
shariah
(Islamic law). Now believers are, in reality, left with
only one choice, and that is indeed the peaceful
course of action.
In recent times, one celebrated example of the
success of such a course is to be found in the life of
the Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi (d.1948). Due to
temporal changes, it became possible for Mahatma
Gandhi to wage political battles successfully by
adopting the principle of non-violence and
engaging in peaceful activism in the full sense of
these expressions.
