The Concept of Jihad in Islam: An Historical Perspective (original) (raw)

ABSTRACT: Islam, the youngest of the three Semitic religions in the world today, is the fastest growing religion on earth. As a result, it faces a lot of criticism and blackmail directed at its adherents as well as renowned Muslims. The Islamic view on “shariah” (divine law), “hijab” (headscarf), polygamy, and, above all, “jihad”, are erroneously and mischievously translated by some non-Muslims historians. “Jihad” to them is nothing but war, terrorism, assassination, and using the sword’s edge to convert non-Muslims to Islam. This paper intends to analyze the historical perspectives of “jihad”, the concept, justifications, and the methods of recruitment of soldiers in “jihad”. It also analyses the Islamic instructions for Muslims in war front and the treatment of Islamic prisoners of war. The method of approach is purely from written sources, which comprise of documents, monographs, manuscripts, books, journals as well as magazines. The study reveals that those wars fought by the Mu...