Jihad is an Arabic word meaning "striving" or "struggle," especially struggle for the sake of God. In Islamic teaching it covers the inner effort to master one's own ego, speaking truth against injustice, serving family and community, and, in limited circumstances, armed fighting under strict rules. It does not mean "holy war."
The word became familiar in English mostly through news of terrorism, so many readers meet it only in its most violent sense. This guide explains what the word means, how the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used it, what Islamic law says about war, and how mainstream scholars have answered groups that claim jihad to justify killing.
Key takeaways
- Jihad comes from the root j-h-d, meaning effort or exertion; the Quran's separate word for fighting is qital.
- The Prophet called serving one's parents a form of jihad (Sahih al-Bukhari 3004) and said the best jihad is a word of justice before a tyrant (Sunan Abi Dawud 4344).
- The Quran permits fighting against aggression but forbids transgression (Quran 2:190) and treats the unjust killing of one person as like killing all humanity (Quran 5:32).
- The Prophet forbade killing women and children in war (Sahih al-Bukhari 3015), and Abu Bakr's instructions to his army, recorded in the Muwatta of Imam Malik, extend protection to the elderly, monks, trees and livestock.
- The 2004–2005 Amman Message and the 2014 Open Letter to al-Baghdadi, signed by over 120 scholars, reject extremist claims to wage jihad.
What is the literal meaning of jihad?
Jihad (jihad, جهاد) comes from the Arabic root j-h-d, which means to exert effort, to strain, to do one's utmost. The same root gives ijtihad, the intellectual effort a scholar makes to reach a legal ruling, and mujahid, a person who strives.
The Quran often uses the word in a broad moral sense. One of its earliest uses, from the Makkan period when Muslims had no army and were forbidden to fight back, tells the Prophet to strive against disbelief using the Quran itself:
So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with the Qur'an a great striving.
Other verses tie striving to spiritual growth: "those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways" (Quran 29:69). Fighting with weapons is usually described with a different word, qital, which shows that the two ideas are related but not the same.
What are the forms of jihad?
Scholars have described several kinds of striving. They are not a ranked official list but a way of showing how wide the concept is.
| Form | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Jihad al-nafs (of the self) | Struggling against one's own ego, desires and bad habits | Jami at-Tirmidhi 1621: "the mujahid is the one who strives against himself" |
| Jihad of the tongue | Speaking truth and calling to justice | Sunan Abi Dawud 4344: the best jihad is a word of justice before a tyrant |
| Jihad of the pen and knowledge | Teaching, writing and answering falsehood with argument | Quran 25:52, striving "with the Qur'an" |
| Jihad in service | Caring for parents, and for women, an accepted Hajj | Sahih al-Bukhari 3004 and 1520 |
| Armed jihad (qital) | Fighting in defense, under legitimate authority and strict rules | Quran 2:190, 22:39 |
In Sahih al-Bukhari 3004, a man asked the Prophet's permission to join a military campaign. The Prophet asked whether his parents were alive, and when he said yes, told him to make his jihad in serving them. The hadith shows that, for the Prophet, armed jihad was not the default form of devotion.
Is there a "greater" and "lesser" jihad?
A widely quoted saying has the Prophet returning from battle and telling his companions, "We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad," meaning the struggle against the self. Hadith specialists, including al-Bayhaqi, al-Iraqi and Ibn Hajar, considered its chain weak, and Ibn Hajar traced the words to an early Muslim named Ibrahim ibn Abi Abla rather than to the Prophet.
So it is not accurate to say the Prophet definitely taught a "greater and lesser jihad." It is accurate to say that the struggle against the self is firmly grounded in authentic sources, such as the Tirmidhi hadith above, and that many classical scholars, especially in the Sufi tradition, treated it as the foundation of every other kind of striving.
What does the Quran say about fighting?
For about thirteen years in Makkah, the early Muslims were persecuted and did not fight back. After their emigration to Madinah, the Quran gave permission to fight for the first time, according to most commentators in this verse:
Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory.
The next verse explains the reason: the believers had been driven from their homes for saying "Our Lord is Allah," and without such defense "there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques" (Quran 22:40). The protection of all houses of worship is part of the justification.
The central rule of conduct comes in Surah al-Baqarah:
Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors.
The verses that follow are often quoted alone, especially "kill them wherever you overtake them" (Quran 2:191). Read in sequence, they refer to an enemy already fighting the Muslims and driving them from Makkah, and they end: "if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors" (Quran 2:193). The Quran also commands accepting peace when the enemy inclines to it (Quran 8:61).
Quran 5:32 in context
Quran 5:32 is often quoted to show the sanctity of life:
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.
Honest reading requires two notes. The verse comes after the story of Cain and Abel and is framed as a law given to the Children of Israel, which Muslims also accept as binding. And it contains exceptions, for killing in retribution and for "corruption in the land," which the next verse, 5:33, addresses with severe penalties for armed violence. Critics sometimes say apologists quote the verse selectively; the fair reading is that it sets a very high value on life while allowing lawful punishment and defense.
What are the rules of war in Islam?
Classical Islamic law developed detailed rules of war centuries before modern international law. They come from the Quran, the Prophet's example and the practice of his early successors.
The Prophet's prohibition is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 3015: when a woman was found killed in one of his campaigns, he forbade the killing of women and children. He also warned that whoever kills a person under a treaty of protection "shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3166).
Abu Bakr's instructions to the army
When the first caliph, Abu Bakr, sent armies toward Syria, he walked beside the commander Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan and gave him ten instructions. Imam Malik records them in the Book of Jihad of the Muwatta (Book 21, Hadith 10), in this translation:
"Do not kill women or children or an aged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place. Do not slaughter sheep or camels except for food. Do not burn bees and do not scatter them. Do not steal from the booty, and do not be cowardly."
In the same report, Abu Bakr tells Yazid to leave alone those who have "given themselves to Allah," which commentators understood as monks in their monasteries. Two points of accuracy: Malik's chain for this report skips a link (Yahya ibn Sa'id did not meet Abu Bakr), though similar versions appear in other collections; and the same narration orders a harsher treatment for another group of clergy, which scholars explain as combatants. Even so, it has been cited for centuries as a model of restraint in war.
The rules in summary
Drawing these sources together, classical jurists agreed on principles that include:
- War may be declared only by legitimate authority, not by individuals or private groups.
- Non-combatants, including women, children, the elderly, the sick, monks and farmers, may not be targeted.
- Treaties and promises of safety must be honored.
- Prisoners must be treated humanely, and mutilation is forbidden.
- Unnecessary destruction of crops, trees, animals and homes is forbidden.
- Fighting must stop when the enemy seeks peace.
Historians note that Muslim armies did not always live up to these rules, just as other armies broke their own codes. The rules still set the standard that scholars used to judge them.
Why is "holy war" a mistranslation?
"Holy war" (al-harb al-muqaddasah) is not a term used in the Quran or in classical Islamic law. The phrase entered European usage largely through the history of the Crusades, which were themselves called holy wars. Applying it to jihad imports a Christian historical concept and narrows a broad religious word to only one of its meanings.
Islamic law does recognize just war, as most religious and ethical traditions do. But jihad as a whole is closer to "striving in God's way," and when it involves fighting, it is bound by the conditions above.
How do extremist groups distort jihad?
Groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS claim the word jihad while breaking the rules that define it. They kill civilians, attack fellow Muslims, declare other Muslims unbelievers (takfir) and act without any legitimate authority. Mainstream scholars have answered them directly.
The Amman Message
In November 2004, King Abdullah II of Jordan issued the Amman Message. Building on fatwas from 24 senior scholars, including the Shaykh of al-Azhar and Ayatollah Sistani, an international conference of 200 leading scholars from 50 countries met in July 2005 and unanimously agreed three points: they recognized the legitimacy of the eight Sunni, Shia and Ibadi legal schools, forbade declaring their followers apostates, and set strict qualifications for anyone issuing fatwas. The aim was to cut away the self-appointed authority that extremists rely on.
The Open Letter to al-Baghdadi
In September 2014, more than 120 Muslim scholars from around the world signed an Open Letter to al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. Written in classical legal language, it lists 24 points, among them: "It is forbidden in Islam to kill the innocent," and "Jihad in Islam is defensive war. It is not permissible without the right cause, the right purpose and without the right rules of conduct." It also condemns torture, forced conversion, enslavement and harm to Christians and other People of the Scripture.
For the broader question of what the Quran and history say about violence, see is Islam a religion of peace?. For how war fits into Islamic law as a whole, see what sharia law is.
Read the verses on Quran Universe
Read the verses on fighting in their full context on Quran Universe, starting with Surah al-Baqarah 2:190–193 and Surah al-Hajj 22:39–40. Each verse page includes the Arabic text, word-by-word meaning and Tafsir Ibn Kathir, so you can see how classical scholars explained the setting. Surah al-Ankabut 29:69 shows the inner meaning of striving. You may also find our guide to Meccan and Medinan surahs useful for understanding when these verses were revealed.
Frequently asked questions
What does jihad mean in simple words?
Jihad means striving or struggling for the sake of God. It includes the personal struggle to be a better person, speaking up for justice, serving one's family and community, and, in limited cases, fighting in defense under strict rules. The common translation "holy war" is inaccurate, because jihad is a much broader word and the Quran uses a separate word for fighting.
What is jihad al-nafs?
Jihad al-nafs is the struggle against one's own ego, desires and weaknesses. A hadith in Jami at-Tirmidhi (1621), graded authentic, says "the mujahid is the one who strives against himself." Muslims see daily efforts, such as controlling anger, being honest, praying on time and resisting temptation, as part of this inner jihad, which supports every other kind of striving.
Is the greater and lesser jihad hadith authentic?
The saying "We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad" is popular but weak in its chain, according to hadith scholars such as al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Hajar. The idea that inner struggle is central is still supported by authentic narrations, such as the Tirmidhi hadith on striving against oneself, but the specific words are not reliably from the Prophet.
Does jihad mean holy war?
No. "Holy war" is not a term found in the Quran or classical Islamic law, and it comes from the European history of the Crusades. Jihad means striving in God's way. Armed jihad is one form of it, and Islamic law limits it to legitimate authority, a just cause and rules that protect non-combatants, prisoners and property.
What does the Quran say about jihad?
The Quran uses jihad for striving with one's wealth, self and the Quran itself. It permits fighting against those who attack and expel believers (22:39–40) but forbids transgression (2:190), commands accepting peace when the enemy seeks it (8:61), and calls the unjust killing of one soul like killing all humanity (5:32).
Do Muslim scholars condemn terrorism?
Yes. Major statements include the Amman Message, endorsed by 200 scholars from 50 countries in 2005, and the 2014 Open Letter to al-Baghdadi, signed by over 120 scholars, which states that killing the innocent is forbidden and that jihad without the right cause and rules is impermissible. National scholarly bodies across the Muslim world have issued similar rulings.