jihad

Or je·had

[ji-hahd]

noun

1. spiritual striving against moral failings, undertaken as a religious duty by Muslims.

2. 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.

3. any vigorous, emotional crusade for an idea or principle.

jihad

/ dʒɪˈhæd /

noun

1. Islam a holy war against infidels undertaken by Muslims in defence of the Islamic faith

2. Islam the personal struggle of the individual believer against evil and persecution

3. rare,  a crusade in support of a cause

jihad

1. In Islam, a holy war; a war ordained by God. The Koran teaches that soldiers who die in jihad go to heaven immediately.

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.

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jihad¹

First recorded in 1865–70; from Arabic jihād “struggle, strife”

Word History and Origins

Origin of jihad¹

C19: from Arabic jihād a conflict

Example Sentences

“I have been on a jihad to streamline the review process and get things out the door faster,” Dr. Pazdur said in 2016.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The strategy of "economic jihad" aims to choke off Bamako and the ruling military junta, which seized power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

Read more on Barron's

“They genuinely believe in this jihad to remove Israel from that land,” said April Longley Alley, a former United Nations diplomat who has engaged with the Houthi leadership.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Abroad, they openly sow the seeds of jihad, cheer for a global caliphate and preach for the destruction of Israel and Western civilization more broadly.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Since then, mosques in both Deraa and Damascus have reportedly called for jihad against Israeli forces.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• demonstration 
• expedition 
• movement