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Most of us aren't going to have bombs dropped on our houses. Most of us won't have our salaries denied us for over a year because we voted for the wrong political party. Most of us, indeed, will never be required to lose our lives or the lives of those we love because we're Muslim. Let's be honest; this is what's happening to many Muslims in the world today. In the comfort of our own homes, we can thank Allah that our countries haven't been invaded and that our brothers or sisters haven't been detained with no explanation for months on end.
The Two Types of Jihad
One of the greatest misconceptions that exist about Islam concerns the word "jihad." Mention jihad in any gathering, and you'll draw attention to yourself. Shout it out loud in the street, and you'll have passers-by fleeing for their lives! This one word, more than any other, has managed to create in people's minds an image of Islam and Muslims that is violent and uncompromising. No matter how much we talk about peace, jihad is brought into the conversation by our non-Muslim friends, and we're left looking a bit defenseless, not knowing what to say. Even Pope Benedict XVI, who should have known better the consequences his words would have, used this image of Islam and the sword to create confusion in the world about the real nature of Islam.
As all Muslims know, there are two types of jihad. The first, known as the Lesser Jihad, is what non-Muslims have mischievously named Holy War. The other jihad, known as the Greater Jihad, is the daily struggle we all have with our own selves to be better people, better Muslims. This last one doesn't get much mention, because it's not very exciting. It doesn't make news headlines to describe how millions of Muslims are trying their utmost every day to overcome selfishness or to put others first for Allah's sake. Bombs make better headlines, don't they?
Before saying more about this daily struggle to be better, which makes us all brave in today's world, let's pause for a moment to explain the other jihad, the famous one. First of all, in Islam there's no such thing as a holy war. War is either just or unjust, it isn't holy. Make sure your non-Muslim friends know that. This kind of jihad is to fight in defense in the cause of Allah. To fight in defense. Muslims can't start the war, but they must be defending themselves or their religion. They're required to stop fighting the very minute their enemy asks for peace. Innocent people, and even birds and plants, cannot be harmed in such a war. And the war must be called for by the legitimate Muslim authority. In other words, any person in the street can't call for jihad and expect anyone to follow him. Now that doesn't sound much like anything I've read about jihad in newspapers. But that's exactly what it is.
Exert your Utmost Efforts
It's a pity even some of our Muslim brothers and sisters haven't fully understood the true meaning of the religious defensive war, which was highly significant during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) because Islam was constantly under attack from those who wished to destroy it. It's a pity, too, that many journalists and politicians don't take just a moment to inform themselves about the real nature of Islam. If they did, they would see that Islam goes far beyond what are normally the rules of warfare. Who heard of being required to stop fighting as soon as your enemy wants peace, especially if you're winning?
However, it's the other jihad, the Greater Jihad, that we can think about for a moment now. There aren't many defensive wars going on in the center of Sydney or Manchester at the moment, but as Muslims we're called to struggle every day to be better and to repel evil of every kind, whether it be within ourselves or in the society around us. The word jihad, by the way, comes from the Arabic root word juhd, which means to exert one's utmost efforts.
As Muslims, we're called upon to exert our utmost efforts whenever we see injustice, and we're called upon to fight the jealousy, envy, and hatred that can lurk deep in our own soul.
Being brave in today's world, then, means struggling with all those things within ourselves that pull us back. Just before we make a nasty remark, then, we must struggle to keep the words to ourselves. Just before we become envious of a friend for having better exam results, we need to check ourselves. Just before we feel real hatred for someone we see on TV who has committed a terrible crime, we're called to find the real facts and to suspend judgment until we know what they really are.
No Heroic Adventures!
It doesn't seem very exciting, and it certainly won't make the newspapers, to exert our utmost efforts to be good persons, resisting the temptations that are all around us in this world. In Ramadan, for example, we exercise the Greater Jihad, by turning down that sip of water in the heat of the afternoon, even though no one knows we had taken it. We exercise the Greater Jihad by speaking out in school or college or at work when someone is being picked on by everyone else. Muslims hate injustice, so sticking up for others' rights is what Muslims should do naturally. You know, if the shoe was on the other foot and Jews in Palestine were being persecuted unjustly, we should be the first ones to defend them. That's what Islam is like.
So we don't need to go off on heroic adventures to prove ourselves as Muslims. Others might think highly of us if we did, but Almighty Allah knows our true selves. He knows every leaf that falls from every tree. Struggling every day to be better Muslims will win for us the blessing of Almighty Allah. Trying really hard to get up every morning for the Dawn Prayer might not seem world shattering, but it'll bring us the blessings of Almighty Allah. Speaking up in class when someone picks on Islam or Muslims might not make us the most popular in school, but this is our daily struggle.
Being brave in today's world doesn't require at all drawing any attention upon us. The only attention we're looking for is the good favor of Allah. With His help, we can struggle every day to be better.
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