Jih?d

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Jihād (Arab., jahada, ‘he made an effort’). More fully, jihād fī sabīl Allāh, ‘striving in the cause of God’. Jihād is usually translated as ‘holy war’, but this is misleading. Jihād is divided into two categories, the greater and the lesser: the greater jihād is the warfare in oneself against any evil or temptation. The lesser jihād is the defence of Islam, or of a Muslim country or community, against aggression. It may be a jihād of the pen or of the tongue. If it involves conflict, it is strictly regulated, and can only be defensive.

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