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Jihad in Islam

In Islam Jihad, also known as the sixth Islam pillar, is defined as a meritorious effort or

struggle. Following the rise of the Islam religion and the expansion of its community, Jihad has

played a significant role. It has been translated as “holy war” even though it refers to the human

right to promote good in the religious realm. Jihad and its significance are rooted in the

command to struggle and effort in Quran in God’s path. Therefore, Jihad generally means the

obligation vested on every Muslim to live according to the will of God for instance extending the

Islam community through preaching. Additionally, it implies the defense of the Islamic religion

and its community against any external aggressions. This paper explores the Islamic perception

of the word Jihad and highlights two distinct Islamic sects.

The meaning of Jihad

The exact meaning of the word Jihad in the Islamic perspective mainly depends on the

context. The two interpretations of Jihad, violent and non-violent constructed in a

comprehensively established prophetic tradition. Jihad has been used to describe three distinct

types of events; holy water, internal fight, and hardship experienced by the Muslims (Fisher and

Robin, 418). The “Holy War” is used as a war aimed at defending the Islamic religion and its

community. The internal fights are experienced by the believer when trying to pull out of the

Islamic faith. Hardship refers to the challenges that Muslims experience when following God’s

path and developing a good Islamic community. However, most of the non-Muslim faith people
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perceive jihad as a name for military war. This is a wrong interpretation with regards to the

Muslim definition as t is related to the spiritual struggle, protection of the Islamic community

and avocation for peace.

Two main sects of the Muslim faith

The three main branches of Muslim include Kharijites, Shia and Sunni Muslims. There

exist two key sects; the Sunni Muslims and Shia. Even though the two main sects of Muslims

agree on most of the significant beliefs, laws, doctrine and the organization of theology. The

main splitting issues are traced back to the 14th century. The split is rooted in the dispute over the

succession of Muhammed as the executive leader of the Islamic faith. Roughly 85% of the

Muslim community belongs to the Sunni sect while the remaining 15% make up the Shia dissect

of the Muslim faith. The Sunni dissect is more popular in over 40 nationalities while the Shia

represents the majority of the Islamic population in Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, and Azerbaijan (Kendall,

296). The Sunni Muslims believe that the Muslim tradition is defined by the practices that

Muhammed supported. On the other hand, the Shia believes in Iman that he will come to bring

peace towards the end of the world.

Comparison of the interpretation of Jihad among the Shia and Sunni

The two key sects of the Muslim faith, Shia and Sunni, hold different interpretations of

Jihad and based on their justification they have a common argument. Both the sects believe that

Jihad should only be used as a means of protecting the Islamic faith by responding to external

aggressions attacking the Islamic community. Both are in agreement that they can use war to

respond to various risks that aim to interfere with their religious freedom or practices. Therefore,

Shia and Sunni hold the same perspectives with regard to safeguarding their religion, territory,
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lives and property (Fisher and Robin, 418). Consequently, their interpretation is the use of Jihad

as a “holy war” that serves to bring them closer to God.

On the other hand, during Jihad, there are various beliefs and riles that are specific to

Shia and Sunni Muslims. The belief requires the combatants t present themselves in the honor of

Jihad. Additionally, the combatants are barred from causing damage to children, monks, rabbis,

and women. The two sects advocates for distinct forms of Jihad even though they share some of

the beliefs (Kendall, 302) The key distinction in the interpretation of Jihad between the Shia and

Sunni relates to the coming of the Shia’s twelfth Iman. The Sunni’s perspective on Jihad is based

on its conduction highlighting that the action is taken when non-believers have posed a risk to

the Muslim community. On the other hand, the Shia Muslims perceive Jihad as a way of

defending themselves when the Sunni launches an offensive attack against them.

The different beliefs of the Shia and Sunni Muslims are interpreted as offensive Jihad and

defensive Jihad. From launching the offensive Jihad, the Sunni believers justify the act as

persecution of an individual who holds a potential risk against their faith, property or life (Abdo,

47). On the other hand, the Shia justifies their defensive Jihad since they tend to defend their

lives, religion, and lives against an already initiated attack. The Shia believes that the powers to

initiate the defensive Jihad are with mujtahids, the most executive religious scholar while the

Sunni believes that offensive Jihad is acceptable contrary to the beliefs of the Shia Muslims.

Additionally, the Shia believes that Iman, who they believe to having disappeared over 1100

years ago, has the authority to establish an offensive Jihad.

The role of Jihad in Shia Islam

Among the Shia faith, Jihadism is essential as it advocates for political and religious

quietness. The believers of the Shia Islamic faith often face discrimination from their Sunna
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counterparts. This is evident in the nations that are led by Sunni believers, a number of the Shia

believer in those areas are situated in flawed areas thereby making them oppression victims in

those nations (Kendall, 300). This long-term discriminative act raises questions about whether

the Shia believers need to launch an offensive attack to fight for their rights. However, the

doctrines of the Shia Islamic faith condemn its members from beginning a war, instead, they are

allowed to defend themselves from an attack. Therefore, the Shia Muslims adopt a harmonious

approach to dealing with issues. Their beliefs regarding Jihad have limited them from claiming

equity and bringing an end to prejudice within the broader Muslim community and has played an

essential role in their historical insight.

Jihad’s role among Sunni Muslims

The doctrines of the Sunni doctrine enable them to begin a war against external forces

when they suspect potential risk to their faith and property. The establishment of war by the

authority in the name of Jihadism has given rise to movements such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Consequently, several forms of violent activities have been executed in various areas of the

world with a justification of Jihadism. However, it has developed into a terrorist group whose

activities apply the offensive Jihadism to cause destruction to innocent lives including women

and children. The initial aim was to prevent an attack on their faith by first noting the risk and

attacking earlier before they face the outcomes but not to attack innocent lives who have no

motive of attacking the religion (Fisher and Robin, 501). Therefore, the terrorist groups have

established the cover of the Sunni doctrines and their interpretation of Jihad to source

justification. Their actions are however wrong and are an effect of the misinterpretation that has

occurred to the doctrine over decades.

How the roles of Jihad have changed or remained from the initial times
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The two main sects of the Islamic faith, Shia and Sunni Muslims have retained most of

their perception and interpretation of Jihad which defines its roles in the Islamic community.

However, the role of Jihad among the Shia Muslims has made some partial alterations in the

Jihad doctrine. The Shia Muslims never initiate war against their oppressors due to their firm

belief in the defensive Jihad. Most of the clerics of the Shia Muslims have motivated their

believers to indulge in religious and political quietism. Such perception diverted within the

1970s after taking the initiative of waging war for their freedom and rights. The revolution

resulted in the establishment of different activities such as Shia jihadist. Most of the individuals

that made up the Shia jihadist are currently located in Iraq, Syria, and Iran and have indulged in

battle with the Sunni-le jihadist.

In conclusion, Jihadism majorly refers to meritorious effort or struggle and it has been

used to describe three distinct types of events; holy water, internal fight, and hardship

experienced by the Muslims. The two key sects of the Islamic faith include Sunni Muslims and

Shia. Roughly 85% of the Muslim community belongs to the Sunni sect while the remaining

15% make up the Shia dissect of the Muslim faith. Shia and Sunni hold different interpretations

of Jihad and based on their justification they have a common argument. The aim of Jihad was to

defend their religion, lives and properties. In the real sense, Jihadism is meant for a good course,

however, there has been a misinterpretation of the doctrine thereby giving rise to terrorist groups

that source justification for their criminal acts from the Jihad doctrine. The role of Jihad among

the Shia Muslims has made some partial alterations in the Jihad doctrine. Terrorism among the

Al-Qaeda has used the Sunni doctrine of the Jihad to seek justification of the range of injustices

towards the innocent.

Works Cited

Abdo, Geneive. "The Sunni Salafists." The New Sectarianism, May 2017, pp. 45–63.,

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190233143.003.0003.

Kendall, Elisabeth, and Ewan Stein. Twenty-First Century Jihad: Law, Society and Military

Action. I.B. Tauris, 2017. pp. 1–325. doi:10.1080/09596410.2017.1286070

Fisher, Mary Pat, and Robin Rinehart. Living religions. New York, NY: Pearson, 2016.