Tell Me All About Ji-Had

I wanted to know if anyone here could help an explain Ji-had in the Islamic religion, I am very interested in this subject an would love to know the un-biased truth about the True Ji-Had.

I know it is a Holy War an there is a great an lesser Ji-Had

But is the practice of Physical violent Ji-Had the ultimate faith of a Muslim or is it a distortion as the Crusades were for the Christians.

If possible could anyone show some references to the Qur'an

thanks for anything
peace

[edit on 9-11-2006 by ragster]

Their belief is that you go to heaven if you kill a Christian or a Jew.

It is a different type of paganism, but still a religion of works.

can you explain at all the reality behind Ji-Had as in, do all believe this or anything, an if not do you know anyone on ATS that is a muslim or studies the different religons.

thanks

Anyone please could give me any knowledge on the subject, it would be awesome, any side or anything, I just wish to learn more of the truth.

thanks for anything

Originally posted by Sun Matrix
Their belief is that you go to heaven if you kill a Christian or a Jew.

Jihad has nothing to do with killing anybody actually.

To my knowledge it translates to "to sacrifice" in English. Jihad is to sacrifice things in life to better oneself, like goodworks are to a Christian, such as sacrificing food for Ramadan, money you can give to help the poor etc ...

The extremists you have heard of using the term, claiming to insight a 'holy war' are just that and using the word in extreme context.

I am sure one of our resident practicing muslims can shed more light on this for you ragster

The term is controversial among Muslims. Some think of it primarily as the waging of 'holy war' in order to defend Islam against unbelievers and evildoers. Others see it as an inner battle that a Muslim must fight against his own wickedness and religious doubts.

Here are links to some Web pages about the concept of jihad. As you will see as you read through them, opinions on the subject vary widely and often irreconcilably. Take your pick...

1. Quotes from the Koran and the Haadith used to interpret jihad as holy war against unbelievers and apostates. As shown by the quotes provided, the Koran and Islamic scriptural tradition strongly support this interpretation. Page posted in 1997.

‘O Prophet! Urge the believers to fight. If there are twenty steadfast amongst you, they will overcome two hundred, and if there are be a hundred steadfast they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (they disbelievers) are people who do not understand’ - Koran 8:65

'Fight against those who believe not in Allah nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the Religion of Truth...' - Koran 9:29

2. Definition from USC page that plumps for the 'internal struggle' interpretation.

Jihad should not be confused with Holy War; the latter does not exist in Islam nor will Islam allow its followers to be involved in a Holy War.

3. Page from danielpipes.org that attempts an even-handed exploration of both definitions. There are a number of links to other jihad-related sites at the bottom of the page.

Jihad in the sense of territorial expansion has always been a central aspect of Muslim life. That's how Muslims came to rule much of the Arabian Peninsula by the time of the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632. It's how, a century later, Muslims had conquered a region from Afghanistan to Spain. Subsequently, jihad spurred and justified Muslim conquests of such territories as India, Sudan, Anatolia, and the Balkans.

4. And here's the inevitable Wikipedia article.

Today's self-declared jihadists, such as al Qaeda, The Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban, Sudan's Turabi and other groups and regimes, relate their mission to the continuation of this ancient political expansion. Their interpretation of Islam and consequent legitimisation of their behaviour lies in early Islamic doctrinal roots...

One thing is certain: jihad most definitely is not a one-way ticket to Paradise for killing Jews and Christians. That's just bigotry and paranoia talking. Could be Islamic bigotry and paranoia, could be Western. They're hard to tell apart in the end, since, being identical diseases, they display identical symptoms.

Originally posted by Sun Matrix
Their belief is that you go to heaven if you kill a Christian or a Jew.

No, they don't. Indeed, since they beleive christians and jews go to heaven, that wouldn't make the least bit of sense.

ragster
But is the practice of Physical violent Ji-Had the ultimate faith of a Muslim

Of course not. The word jihad is arabic for struggle. When most people call for a jihad, they are calling for a sacred physical struggle, ie, holy war. BUt some do use it to mean an internal struggle to align with god. Similar to the american usage of 'war' in 'war on poverty', etc.

So there is no 'beleif' in jihad. Thats like saying 'i beleive in struggle'. A jihad is just a crusade, sometimes some clerics call for it, and some people respond. Jihad is no more the ultimate version of islamic faith than the crusades were for the christians.

That's how Muslims came to rule much of the Arabian Peninsula by the time of the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632.

And its also how christianity spread from iberia to iran, previously. Heck, at least the muslims aren't hypocritical about it, worshipping a pacifist, and then murdering people en mass over him.

Jihad, as stated earlier, is defined as a "struggle." Too often, the media portrays this as a "holy war," rather than its original meaning. The practice of Jihad is not limited to only Muslims, and as a matter of fact, every person does it, regardless of faith. Its purpose is not to wage a "holy war," but rather the struggle to choose good over evil.

Jihad can exist in many forms, including the Jihad of the mind, Jihad of the body, Jihad of Soul, Jihad of the society/mankind, and Jihad of the physical action. Examples of these are as follows:

Jihad of the mind is the one most common practiced by Muslims. It involves the struggle to avoid choosing sin or evil, and choosing to perform a good deed before a bad action, before it's even committed. To Muslims, this is one of the most difficult types of struggles as well as the most common, due to temptations we face in our everyday lives. Usually, struggling to overcome temptations will most often lead to the avoidance of committing sin through the physical action. You may have heard of "Ramadan" or "Ramazan," as the Muslim practice of fasting. What many may not know is that Ramadan's purpose is not only to promote fasting, but to promote the mind's self-restraint. This in turn helps Muslims gain greater control over temptations:

"O you who believe fasting is prescribed to you, as it was prescribed to those before you, so that you can learn self-restraint." (Quran 2:183).

Jihad of the body is one that is widely practiced as well. The struggle over the body means to promote good health and cleanliness over any self-inflicted harm done to the body. In Islam, deterioration of one's health due to one's own actions is strictly forbidden. An example of this is avoidance of laziness and use of drugs to obtain a state of incoherence or a "high." Anyone who exercises to attain better health, as well as one who is hygienic is well regarded for treatment of their own body, which in turn strengthens one's own mind and soul.

Jihad of the soul, or struggle of the soul, is a struggle than is performed in this life and the hereafter. When it occurs in this life, it's the prayers and asking for forgiveness of sin which helps the soul. In the afterlife, it's the passage to Jannat (Heaven) or Hell. In hell, the soul will not be damned for eternity, and will gain entry into heaven when the punishment in hell for the evil deeds is deemed fulfilled by God.

Jihad of the "society" or "mankind" is the struggle to do good for your community or humanity in general. This involves helping the less fortunate, promoting education (denying ignorance ), working against oppression of any people, and caring for the elderly. A Muslim's struggle in this sense will involve him/her choosing to being active in the community, rather than ignoring the issues and letting those in the community suffer.

Jihad of the physical action is one's struggle to control their physical actions. When an individual is angered and provoked into a fight, they will face jihad in whether or not to act on their anger. Islam forbids acting out of anger, for the reason that it will do great harm if the person loses control. For this reason, a Muslim must take responsibility and learn to control their actions.

In a span of a day, you could say that an individual must go through hundreds of jihads, some small such as keeping from lying, and some great such as avoiding cheating on their spouse.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to send me a u2u. Salaam.

[edit on 19-11-2006 by DJMessiah]

Originally posted by Sun Matrix
Their belief is that you go to heaven if you kill a Christian or a Jew.

You said this in another topic you made, and when I questioned you about it, asking for you to show me where the Quran states this, you merely shrugged it off and said "it was a joke." Yet, here you are saying it again.

It is a different type of paganism, but still a religion of works.

Do tell us what defines a "pagan" in your own words.