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The Greater Jihad: Is it Just a Myth?

7946732984_22b2f75cbf_zMuslim scholars have long identified two types of jihad (lit. “striving” in God’s cause): an outer form of jihad and an inner one. The outward jihad refers to state-sanctioned military force (i.e. armed combat), which is waged defensively to protect both religion and realm; or offensively to combat tyranny, or protect the innocent and defenceless against unjustified aggression. As for the inner jihad (jihad al-nafs), it is the struggle to oppose the ego (nafs) and its impulses, until it is in submission to God. That this inner jihad is known as the “greater” jihad, as per mainstream Sunni scholarship, has raised some objections in our time. What follows is an explanation of why there needn’t be a concern about such a designation, and why objections to it are simply misplaced. The following nine points, I hope, get to the crux of the matter:

1. In regards to the overall schema of jihad, al-Raghib al-Asbahani, a notable scholar of the fifth Islamic century, wrote: ‘Jihad is of three types: striving against the apparent enemy; against the devil; and against the ego (nafs). All three types are included in the words of God, exalted is He: And strive hard in God’s path with all the striving that is due to Him. [22:78]’1 A few centuries on, and a similar abstract is offered by Ibn al-Qayyim: ‘Jihad is of four types: jihad against the ego, against the devil, against the disbelievers, and against the hypocrites.’2

2. Jihad against the apparent enemy; which is to say, jihad against hostile, belligerent disbelievers, finds its equivalence in another Qur’anic term: qital (“fighting”, “armed combat”). It is in this sense that the Qur’an charges: Fight for the sake of God those who fight against you, but do not transgress. God does not love the aggressors. [2:190] The rules of jihad as military warfare are stipulated in the manuals of Islamic law (fiqh) as well as the fatwas of recognised and qualified bodies of contemporary jurists.

3. Many verses in the Qur’an extol the virtues of seeking to purify the soul. One group of verses states: By the soul and Him that formed it, then inspired it with its depravity and  piety. He is indeed successful who purifies it, and he is indeed ruined who corrupts it. [91:7-10] Another offers these tidings: But those who feared the standing before their Lord and curbed their soul’s passions, the Garden is their abode. [79:40-41] Also in this context are these words of the Prophet, peace be upon him: ‘The fighter in God’s path is one who strives against his lower soul/ego in obedience to God (al-mujahid man jahada nafsahu fi ta‘ati’lLah).’3 Thus this inward jihad refers to the personal struggle against one’s ego so as to overcome temptations, false desires and spiritual vices, as well as internalise acts of worship like prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, dhikr and almsgiving. This inner jihad, or spiritual striving, is referred to as mujahadah.

4. Now for the tricky part. One lionised hadith states that the Prophet, peace be upon him, having returned from a military campaign with his companions, said: ‘You have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.’ When asked what the greater jihad was, he replied: ‘A person’s jihad against his desires.’4 However, according to classical hadith masters and specialists, this hadith is weak (da‘if). Which is to say, such words cannot authentically or reliably be ascribed to the Prophet, peace be upon him. Or to put it another way, the likelihood of the Prophet not having said these words is far far greater than the likelihood of him having uttered them.

Al-Bayhaqi says after citing it: ‘This is a chain containing weakness.’5 Al-‘Iraqi relays the same ruling in his hadith verification of the Ihya.6 While Ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani states: ‘It is related via ‘Isa b. Ibrahim; from Yahya b. Ya‘la; from Layth b. Abi Sulaym: all three are weak. Al-Nasa’i recorded it in al-Kuna as the statement of Ibrahim b. Abi ‘Abla, a famous successor (tabi‘i) of Syria.’7 Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali declares the hadith to be weak, but relates it as the saying of the above Ibrahim b. Abi ‘Abla.8 In more recent times, al-Albani made a thorough analysis of the hadith’s various chains, declaring the hadith to be unreliable (munkar).9 As for ‘Ali al-Qari and al-Suyuti, they both recorded the hadith in their respective dictionaries of weak and fabricated hadiths.10

5. The above analysis concerns the chain (isnad) of the hadith. As for its meaning, then many scholars point out how the meaning is sound in terms of the inner jihad, jihad al-nafs, having primacy over the outer jihad. The hadith may also be read in a way that gives it a completely false meaning, which is the one I’ll tackle first. Thus, if one takes the hadith to mean that the outer “lesser” jihad is inconsequential or of little worth; or that the inner “greater” jihad replaces it or is an alternative to it, this is utterly false and at odds with the very Qur’an itself. From such a perspective, Ibn Taymiyyah said about the hadith: ‘It has no basis, and none of those who are an authority (ahl al-ma‘rifah) in the words and deeds of the Prophet, peace be upon him, have reported it. Jihad against the disbelievers is one of the greatest of deeds; in fact, it is the best of the optional deeds a person could perform. God, exalted is He, says: Not equal are those of the believers who sit [at home], other than those who have a disabling hurt, with those who strive in the cause of God with their wealth and their lives. God has conferred on those who strive with their wealth and their lives a rank above the ones who sit [at home]. To both has God promised goodness, but God has preferred those who strive over those who do not with an immense reward. [4:95]’11 There is also the hadith: A man asked: O Messenger of God, guide me to a deed equivalent to jihad. He replied: ‘You do not have the ability.’ He went on to say: ‘Do you have the ability, from the time the person leaves for jihad [until he returns], to go into the mosque and pray without stopping and fast without a break?’ The man said: Who has the ability to do this?12

6. The hadith undoubtedly has a sound meaning, in that the inner and outer jihad are both great and of tremendous merit, but the inner jihad has primacy over the outer; and so is “greater”. A number of scholarly statements testify to this fact, including Ibn al-Qayyim who, avoiding the terms “lesser” and “greater”, noted about the verse: As for those who strive in Us, We will guide them to our paths. [29:69]: ‘The most obligatory jihad (afrad al-jihad) is jihad against one’s ego (nafs), desires (hawa), the devil (shaytan), and worldliness (dunya). One who wages jihad against these four in obedience to God, will be guided by God to the paths of His good pleasure which, [in turn], shall lead to His Paradise. One who neglects jihad shall be veiled from guidance to the degree he forsakes it.’13

7. Explaining why jihad al-nafs has such a rank and distinction, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah stated: ‘Jihad against the ego and desires is the basis for jihad against the disbelievers and hypocrites. Indeed, one cannot do jihad against them unless he first wages jihad against his ego and desires; then he goes out and fights them.’14 Tragically, this simple truism seems to have been lost on many of those who have spent the best past of their years waging war against the preeminence of jihad al-nafs!

8. Al-Munawi adds another dimension as to why the inward jihad is greater, or more obligatory, than the outward one. He says: ‘It is the greatest form of jihad; for fighting the disbelievers is a collective duty (fard kifayah), while jihad against one’s own ego is a personal obligation (fard ‘ayn), at all times, on all who are legally responsible: Truly the devil is an enemy to you, therefore treat him as an enemy. [35:6] So fight in the path of God. You are not responsible except for your own soul. [4:84]15

9. Those who’ve dealt with the issue of the greater and lesser jihad have usually been of two camps. There are those who have sought to sweep the tradition and prophetic history of military jihad under the carpet, in favour of a purely spiritualised reading of “striving” in God’s cause. Such apologetics are usually proffered by those who feel the need to gratify modernist (or now liberal) notions of religion and non-violence; those, both Muslim and non-Muslim, with either colonised minds, staggering ignorance, or lacking all academic honesty and integrity. In contrast, there are those, again Muslim and non-Muslim, who insist upon surface readings of the Quranic verses relating to jihad, devoid of the juristic nuances found in fiqh manuals and contemporary Muslim juristic thought. Unlike the watered-down readings of the first group, this one seeks to make Islam synonymous with violence, war and terror, and perpetuate animosity between peoples so as to serve their political agendas. Both these misreadings, liberal and extremist, must be categorically rejected and repudiated.

Conclusion: The above verses, hadiths and scholarly quotes should have helped lay to rest the anathema some seem to have about the primacy of jihad al-nafs. Yet this need not be the case. For although the commonly cited hadith about it isn’t authentic, other evidences testify to its centrality in a believer’s overall worship of God. Thus the affair is as Ibn al-Jawzi decisively proclaimed: ‘I reflected over jihad against the ego (jihad al-nafs) and realised it to be the greater jihad.’16

1. Mufradat Alfaz al-Qur’an (Beirut & Damascus: Dar al-Qalam, 2002), 208; under the entry, j-h-d.

2. Zad al-Ma‘ad (Berut: Mu’assasah al-Risalah, 1998), 3:9.

3. Al-Tirmidhi, no.1671, where he graded the hadith hasan sahih. However, he narrates it without the final phrase, ‘in obedience to God.’ This additional phrase is found in Ibn Hibban, no.4707, and is sahih. Cf. al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1985), 2:81; no.549.

4. Al-Bayhaqi, Kitab al-Zuhd al-Kabir (Beirut: Dar al-Janan and Mu’assasah al-Kutub al-Thaqafiyyah, 1987), no.373; al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad (Egypt: Matba‘ah al-Sa‘adah, 1929), 13:494, with the wording: ‘Jihad of the heart.’

5. Kitab al-Zuhd al-Kabir, p.165; no.373.

6. Al-Mughni ‘an Haml al-Asfar (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Tabariyyah, 1995), 2:709; no.2584.

7. Al-‘Asqalani, Takhrij al-Kashshaf (Beirut: Dar al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 1997), 4:114; no.33.

8. Jami‘ al-‘Ulum wa’l-Hikam (Beirut: Mu’assasah al-Risalah, 1998), 1:489.

9. Al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Da‘ifah wa’l-Mawdu‘ah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma‘arif, 1996), 5:478-81, no.2460.

10. Al-Qari, al-Asrar al-Marfu‘ah (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1986), no.211; al-Suyuti, al-Durar al-Muntathirah (Riyadh: University of Riyadh, 1983), no.245.

11. Majmu‘ Fatawa (Riyadh: Dar ‘Alam al-Kutub, 1991), 11:197-8. Stating that the hadith ‘has no basis (la asl lahu)’ conventionally means the hadith is chainless which, in this case, is incorrect. For the hadith does indeed have a chain, albeit flawed. Declaring that no hadith authorities have recorded it is another erroneous claim. For al-Bayhaqi and al-Khatib both relate it in their respective works.

12. Al-Bukhari, no.2785. Something similar is related by Muslim, no.1876.

13. Al-Fawa’id (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Rushd, 2001), 177.

14. Cited by Ibn al-Qayyim, Rawdat al-Muhibbin (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi, 1996), 475-6, where he begins by insisting: ‘Even if jihad against one’s desires was not greater than jihad against the disbelievers, it is certainly not lesser than it. A man once asked al-Hasan al-Basri, may God have mercy on him: O Abu Sa‘id! What is the best jihad? He said: “Your jihad against your desires.” I once heard our Shaykh remark …’ He then goes on to cite the words of Ibn Taymiyyah above.

15. Fayd al-Qadir (Beirut: Dar al-Ma‘rifah, n.d.), 4:511.

16. Sayd al-Khatir (Egypt: Dar al-Yaqin, 1998), 122.

Know Your Soul, Grow Your Soul

a flower on the woodMany verses in the Qur’an extol the significance of the soul or nafs. In one celebrated passage, it states: By the soul and Him that formed it, then inspired it with its wickedness and God-fearingness. He is truly successful who purifies it, and he is indeed ruined who corrupts it. [Q.91:7-10]

The Qur’an also offers this glad-tiding: But those who feared the standing before their Lord and curbed their soul’s desires, the Garden is their abode. [Q.79:40-41]

The idea of curbing the soul’s passions and of seeking to purify it is reiterated in the following hadith: ‘There are three acts that, whoever does them will experience the sweetness of faith: one who worships God alone, for there is no true god but Him; one who pays his zakat on his wealth with an agreeable soul: not giving a weak, decrepit nor diseased animal, but giving from his middle wealth, for God does not ask for the best of your wealth and nor orders to give the worst of it; and one who purifies his soul.’ A man said: What is purification of the soul (tazkiyat al-nafs)? The Prophet ﷺ replied: ‘To know that God is with him wherever he may be.’1

The Qur’an describes the human soul (nafs) as possessing three potentials or degrees which are present within it simultaneously.2

The lowest degree is al-nafs al-ammarah bi’l-su’ – “the soul that constantly incites to evil”. The Qur’an says: The soul does indeed incite to evil. [Q.12:53] This wild, untamed and unweaned soul is the abode of a host of incessant cravings, whims, greed or desires: be it for money, fame, power, physical gratification or exploiting others; that is, anything which deflects one away from God and to the lower possibilities of the human condition. So this nafs, equivalent to the English word “ego”, gives rise to the reprehensible aspects of our actions and character – actions in respect to our sins of omission or commission; character in terms of pride, envy, spite, vanity, impatience, ostentation, and the like.

As the believer strives to purge his soul of blameworthy traits (radha’il) and labours to replace them by their praiseworthy opposites (fada’il), the nafs al-ammarah is gradually weaned away from its heedlessness and disobedience to God, and begins to give way to al-nafs al-lawwamah – “the reproachful soul.” The Qur’an declares: No! I swear by the reproachful soul. [Q.75:2] This soul is man’s active conscience that is afflicted with regret, remorse or self-reproach whenever God’s Will is violated and disobeyed and elements of the lower, evil-inciting soul resurface.

After much inward striving and discipline, the nafs al-lawwamah is further purified of any opposition to God’s will or shari‘ah, and becomes ever receptive to heavenly outpourings. Here the nafs al-mutma’innah – “the soul at peace” or “the tranquil soul” then begins to predominate. It is this soul that truly attracts divine assistance and acceptance. It is about this that the Qur’an announces: O tranquil soul! Return to your Lord, pleased and well-pleasing. Enter among My servants. Enter My Paradise. [Q.89:27-30] Having been graced with establishing His obedience and internalising it, it is intimate with God, at peace with God’s decree (rida bi’l-qada’).

In all this, four factors are crucial and have a significant bearing in tazkiyah or purification of the soul: (i) one’s inborn nature; (ii) his upbringing; (iii) spiritual striving (mujahadah) and self-discipline (riyadah) in adulthood; and, of course, (iv) God’s tawfiq or enabling grace. Concerning spiritual struggle or mujahadah, the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The mujahid is the one who strives against his lower soul in obedience to God.’3 So let’s roll-up our sleeves and begin the work.

Our Lord! Grant piety to our souls and purify them.
You are the Best of those who purify;
You are their Guardian
and Master.
Amin!

1. Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, no.7275. Its chain is sahih – as per al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma‘arif, 1987), no.1046.

2. Cf. T.J. Winter (trans.), al-Ghazali, Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the Two Desires (Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1995), xxviii-xxix.

3. Ibn Hibban, Sahih, no.4707; al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, no.1671, who said the hadith is hasan sahih.

How Can Hearts be Softened?

tumblr_mgj2jfodnj1qlubbqo1_500This following piece by Ibn al-Jawzi (d.597H/1200CE) – Hanbali scholar, famous preacher, prolific author – is from his book Sayd al-Khatir. Part meditative, part autobiographical, part exhortational, the book is a rather frank account of his life, works, experiences, achievements, disappointments, hopes, burdens and aspirations. Since it was written over a period of twenty years, it reflects the evolution of his ideas as Ibn al-Jawzi the man, scholar and pietist.

Here we find him reminiscing over how certain types of knowledge can, if the student is not careful, make the heart dry and hard; and how it is critical to keep spiritual company and bathe the soul in the stories of the righteous – if the heart is to be kept “moist”. One of Islam’s enduring pieces of wisdom states: inda dhikri’l-salihin tanzilu’l-rahmah – ‘Upon mentioning the righteous, mercy descends.’ Thus he wrote:

رَأَيْتُ الِاشْتِغَالَ بِالْفِقْهِ وَسَمَاعُ الْحَدِيثِ لَا يَكَادُ يَكْفِي فِي صَلَاحِ الْقَلْبِ؛ إِلَّا أَنْ يُمْزَجَ بِالرَّقَائِقِ، وَالنَّظَرِ فِي سَيْرِ السَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِينَ. فَأَمَّا مُجَرَّدُ الْعِلْمِ بِالْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ، فَلَيْسَ لَهُ كَبِيرُ عَمَلٍ فِي رِقَّةِ الْقَلْبِ؛ وَإِنَّمَا تَرِقُّ الْقُلُوبُ بِذِكْرِ رَقَائِقِ الْأَحْدِيثِ، وَأَخْبَارِ السَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِينَ؛ لِأَنَّهُمْ تَنَاوَلَا مَقْصُودَ النَّقْلِ، وَخَرَجُوا عَنْ صُوَرِ الْأَفْعَالِ الْمَأْمُورِ بِهَا إِلَى ذَوْقِ مَعَانِيهَا وَالْمُرَادُ بِهَا. وَمَا أَخْبَرْتُكَ بِهَذَا إِلَّا بَعْدَ مُعَالَجَةٍ وَذَوْقٍ، لِأَنِّي وَجَدْتُ جُمْهُورَ الْمُحَدِّثِينَ وَطُلَّابَ الْحَدِيثِ هِمَّةَ أَحَدِهِمْ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الْعَالِي، وَتَكْثِيرِ الْأَجْزَاءِ، وَجُمْهُورُ الْفُقَهَاءِ فِي عُلُومِ الْجَدَلِ، وَمَا يُغَالِبُ بِهِ الْخَصْمُ. وَكَيْفَ يَرِقُّ الْقَلْبُ مَعَ هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ؟

وَقَدْ كَانَ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ السَّلَفِ يَقْصِدُونَ الْعَبْدَ الصَّالِحَ لِلنَّظَرِ إِلَى سَمْتِهِ وَهَدْيِهِ لَا لِاقْتِبَاسِ عِلْمِهِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ ثَمَرَةَ عِلْمِهِ هَدْيَهُ وَسَمْتَهُ. فَافْهَمْ هَذَا، وَامْزِجْ طَلَبَ الْفِقْهِ وَالْحَدِيثَ بِمُطَالَعَةِ سَيْرِ السَّلَفِ وَالزُّهَّادِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، لِيَكُونَ سَبَبًا لِرِقَّةِ قَلْبِكَ.

‘I see that occupying oneself with jurisprudence or learning hadiths is hardly sufficient to rectify the heart, unless one adds to this the reading of heart-melting traditions (raqa’iq) and the study of the lives of the pious predecessors (al-salaf al-salihin). For they reached the objective of the texts and transcended the external form of the prescribed duties to taste their inner meanings and intent. I do not inform you of this save after personal exposure and experience. For I have found that most of the scholars and students of hadith are primarily concerned with attaining the shortest chain of transmission, or to increase the collections of hadiths narrated by a single narrator or dealing with a single theme or subject; while the majority of jurists busy themselves with dialectics or how to win debates. So how can hearts ever be softened by such things?

Previously, groups of the salaf would visit a pious person only to observe his manners and conduct, not to learn knowledge from him. This is because the fruits of knowledge are in one’s manners and conduct; so understand this. So combine learning fiqh and hadith with studying the lives of the salaf and the worldly renunciants, that this may be a cause for your heart to soften.’1

1. Sayd al-Khatir (Damascus: Dar al-Qalam, 2004), 228.

* Above Photo: The Painted Door, at www.petersanders.com

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