What is the meaning of Jihad?

Literally, jihad means doing one�s utmost to realize a goal. It is not the equivalent of war, for which Arabic and the Qur�an use qital. Jihad has a wider connotation and embraces every kind of striving in God�s cause. A mujahid is devoted to his or her cause; uses all physical, intellectual, and spiritual capacities to serve it.

Jihad�s related principle, that of amr bi al-ma�ruf wa nahy �an al-munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil), seeks to convey the benefits of Islam to everyone and to convince them to abandon all of their evil practices. The Qur�an calls Muslims the model community, one required to communicate the Prophet�s message to humanity and to live Islam, just as the Prophet did: Thus, We have made you a community justly balanced, that you might be witnesses for all humanity, and the Messenger may be a witness for you (2:143).

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