Sociohistorical and theological components in understanding the essence of the 'greater' and 'lesser' jihad

R.A. Nabiev ^a*, R.A. Fatkhullin ^a,b**

^aKazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 Russia

^bBolgar Islamic Academy, Bolgar, 422840 Russia

E-mail: ^*professor.nabiev@yandex.ru, ^**ramismuslim@mail.ru

Received June 21, 2019

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DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.1.80-92

For citation: Nabiev R.A., Fatkhullin R.A. Sociohistorical and theological components in understanding the essence of the “greater” and “lesser” jihad. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2020, vol. 162, no. 1, pp. 80–92. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.1.80-92. (In Russian)

Abstract

The study discloses the meaning of the term jihad, which is a constant source of disputes and misunderstandings among Muslims and representatives of other faiths.

The linguistic and terminological meaning of the term jihad was analyzed. The derivatives of the term jihad in the Quran were considered. Comparison of the term jihad in the main collections of Hadith, because the Hadiths are most often used in interpretations to the Quran, was performed.

It was revealed that, lexically and terminologically, the term jihad has the meaning not only of struggle, in various ways and means, but also denotes the value of exerting effort. The term jihad used in the Quran is presented in six categories: armed struggle, its financial support, peaceful confrontation, meaning of the term jihad and its derivatives, which often leads to a wrong understanding of the ayah, if the tafsirs are not referred to. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately convey the linguistic and terminological meanings inherent in a particular ayah in order to avoid distortion of the meaning of the ayah and its understanding. The term jihad used in the main collections of Hadith comes not only in the sense of battle, but as a struggle with words and property as well, also in a social context: the fight against vices, caring for parents and loved ones. Regarding whether jihad is offensive or defensive, there are known battles form an integral part of the history – cultural country code.

In conclusion, we emphasized that the theological evolution of the term jihad and its division into greater and lesser is directly dependent on the socio-historical context of its origin and development. pendent relations between the representatives of Islam and other faiths.

Keywords: Quran, Sunnah, Muslims, pagans, jihad, battle, ayat, hadith, “greater” and “lesser” jihad

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