Al-jihad al-akbar – the greater jihad, is
the inner battle; the invisible war towards self development and unity of mind,
body and soul. Many Islamic scholars view this as the prime ambition in Islam,
for without this inner jihad, man’s will over his personal and public life is
meaningless as man’s physical tendencies and weaknesses can not be overcome.
The modern exterior of life created by man has added ugliness where the signs of
Allah (swt) through nature once added beauty, meditation and reflection.
The
Qur’an states “…Allah does not change the condition of a people until
they change their own condition…” (Surat ul Ra’d 13:11). However,
before the external changes (political and social) can take place, the internal
must transpire first, otherwise it is all short lived.
In
the past for Chinese Muslims, the martial arts were a means to bring the inner
jihad into a tangible method of self development. Many reports have shown that
the proper learning of martial arts has helped troubled youths claim and
earn self-respect and understanding. The enemy within is tamed and understood.
Ali
ibn Abi Talib said, “A man’s enemies can be of more benefit to him than his
brothers, for they draw attention to his faults from which he can then turn away
(Haeri p.112).”
Mind-Body-Spirit
Union
Martial
arts is seemingly a physical art form that has undergone many transformations
along the years making it appear to focus on defense and attack. Yet in
its truest form, as in Islam, it uses the physical world of man to understand
the non-physical world to create a mind-body-spirit union.
Christian
educator and theosophist Rudolph Steiner (1861-) once pointed out that a great
debt was owed by western natural science to the spiritual stream of what he
called ‘Arabism’. He argued that Western natural science was the product of
the Christian Crusades and Muslim Holy War in a martial age (Boardman p.1).
It
was during the battle for Christendom in Northern Spain that the works of ibn
Sina and others’ overwhelming belief in the transcendence of Allah (swt)
affected and influenced such prominent Christian scientists of the times such as
Roger Bacon. Crusaders witnessed Muslims as having a spiritual power and sense
of unity that moved them with elemental force (Boardman p.2).
Kung
fu is part of our long history as Muslims in seeking to learn and develop within
ourselves. Kung fu actually means the ‘mastery of a difficult task to a
standard of excellence’ (Lohan p.1). It is the origin of most of the
Asiatic martial arts, but focuses on the development of the complete person
mentally and physically (Lohan p.1).
The
art of energy management, however, is not confined to Chinese martial arts forms
which Muslims have helped to develop and even originate as some might claim!
Energy
as in the life force directed through the human energy field in Chinese is
called chi and shan. In Islam it is nafas and ruh
(Geocities p.2). Used in spiritual cultivation, the direction of the life force
plays a different role – the inner jihad.
Islam
and the Martial Arts
Muslims
in Malaysia and Indonesia practice Muslim forms of martial arts like Silat. In
China, where the Muslim place of worship is called Qing Zhen Si (Temples of
Purity and Truth), Muslims have contibuted to the development of chi kung
and kung fu (Geocities p.3).
Emperor
Zhu Yuanzhang was the founder of the famous Ming Dynasty, and although he never
proclaimed to be a Muslim, his six most trusted commanders were. They were Chang
Yuchan, Hu Dahai, Mu Ying, Lan Yu, Feng Sheng and Ding Dexing (Coral web p.1).
They were all wushu (Chinese for martial arts) masters. As commanders
they defeated rebellious activities including that of the Mongols. A significant
number of Muslims died between 1644 –1911 AD in the attempt to restore the
Ming Dynasty, which was instituted to bring harmony and fellowship amongst all
the different groups of China (Kabiling p.2).
The
leaders of the Hui, a Muslim minority of five million, called on the people to
learn wushu as a “holy practice in the struggle for survival and
self-improvement.” During the Lesser Bairam (Eid ul Fitr) and the Prophet’s
(peace be upon him) birthday, the Hui local mosques held wushu contests or
exhibitions (Coralweb p.1).
The
Chinese martial arts technique called Tan Lui (spring leg) was actually
developed by a Hui Muslim named Chamir from Xingjiang during the Ming Dynasty
(1368 –1644 AD) (Stark p.1).
Cha
Kungfu is a Muslim technique from Northern Shaolin also named after a Muslim
Kung Fu master - Cha Mi Er. Another Muslim master was Cheong Ho, an
admiral of the Ming Dynasty (geocities p.3).
The
Baijiquan (8 extreme fists – rake hand) was first practiced by Wu Zhong, a
Chinese Muslim from the Mong village in Kang country (Zheng p.2). In 1936, Zheng
Wen Guang, a Muslim, attended the 11th Olympic Games as a specially invited
member on the Chinese Wushu team (Xianding p.2).
This
is a glimpse at what once was. Last August, China’s military completed a
large-scale ‘exercise’ in the Muslim region of Xingjiang (McGregor p.1).
Not
acknowledging our religion and the wealth that has been offered to us is a
reflection of our inability to bring into focus the inner jihad, as we seek to
develop understanding and further control over our lives.
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