Jihad in Islam Jihad in Islam The literal meaning of Jihad in
Arabic language is “to strive” or “to endeavor.” Taken as a
whole in Islam, Jihad means to strive in the way of Allah to
spread the religion Islam. Jihad is incumbent on Muslims for the
betterment and welfare of the community. However, this has been
misinterpreted as killing innocent people for the purposes of
personal gain. Unlike all the obligatory acts of worship like
prayers, fasting, giving alms and pilgrimage, Jihad is a non
obligatory form of worship. Yet this is regarded as the best
worship one can voluntarily offer and therefore has its own
promises of blessings and reward from Allah Almighty. The
benefits of jihad are not only limited to individuals performing
it but is beneficial to the Muslim community as a whole. Jihad
ensures prosperity of the society as well as unity of the
fraternity. Jihad brings glory and splendor to the society and
provides all kinds of successes and dignity to the Muslim Ummah.
According to the verses of the Hol