jihad
Americannoun
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spiritual striving against moral failings, undertaken as a religious duty by Muslims.
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armed struggle in defense of Islam: in traditional Muslim law, bound by a number of rules, conditions, and restrictions on when and where it is acceptable.
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any vigorous, emotional crusade for an idea or principle.
noun
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Islam a holy war against infidels undertaken by Muslims in defence of the Islamic faith
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Islam the personal struggle of the individual believer against evil and persecution
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rare a crusade in support of a cause
Usage
The term jihad, literally meaning struggle, has always had multiple meanings within Muslim discourse. It has been interpreted to mean an individual spiritual struggle toward righteousness, and to mean a collective struggle for self-defense. This second meaning was picked up by both the international media and Islamic fundamentalists, and the word is now often understood to mean a holy war against nonbelievers, despite the lack of support for this meaning in the religious scholarship of mainstream Islam.
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Modern-day terrorists often claim that they are carrying out acts of destruction, such as the attacks on the World Trade Center towers, as part of a jihad.
Etymology
Origin of jihad
First recorded in 1865–70; from Arabic jihād “struggle, strife”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Since then, mosques in both Deraa and Damascus have reportedly called for jihad against Israeli forces.
From BBC
"They just kill the people, and steal their livestock. What is happening is not jihad and so I do not like it," he said.
From BBC
Extended bloody conflict turned Afghanistan into a cauldron of instability that eventually gave birth to al-Qaeda and a global jihad.
From BBC
The group also faced criticism for allegedly colluding with foreign powers to undermine "the jihad" in Syria.
From BBC
From the start, he prioritised winning Syrian support, distancing himself from IS's brutality and emphasising a more pragmatic approach to jihad.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
