WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -The term ‘jihad’ has accrued both violent and non-violent meanings. According to John Esposito, it can simply mean striving to live a moral and virtuous life, spreading and defending Islam as well as fighting injustice and oppression, among other things.

Detailed explanation-2: -Within Islam, there are two basic theological understandings of the word: The “Greater Jihad” is the struggle against the lower self – the struggle to purify one’s heart, do good, avoid evil and make oneself a better person. The “Lesser Jihad” is an outward struggle.

Detailed explanation-3: -The importance of jihad is rooted in the Quran’s command to “struggle or exert” (the literal meaning of the word jihad) oneself in the path of God. The Quranic teachings have been of essential significance to Muslim self-understanding, piety, mobilization, expansion and defense.

Detailed explanation-4: -“Jihad” does not mean “holy war.” Often mistranslated in Westernized media, he term simply means “to struggle” or “to strive.” The Five Pillars of Islam: Muslims pray five times a day.