What is jihad?
To get a comprehensive understanding on what jihad is, we have to go to the Islamic sources of truth that provide a clear definition.
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has famously said that the jihad for Muslim women is for them to go on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Visit online http://Altoheed.com for more details ,Jihad is the physical struggle in the path of Allah, and it oftentimes implies the physical act of fighting against enemies who seek to eradicate Islam. While Islam permits and typically encourages Muslim men to physically fight against oppressive enemies in defense of the religion, the Prophet of Islam has also famously said that the best jihad is to speak a word of justice to an oppressive ruler.
The rigorously authenticated hadith narrations on the sayings and teachings of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, make it very clear that jihad is an endeavor to uphold and promote that which is lawful and good. If Sunni Muslims had a problem with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of the Shia-aligned Alawite sect, they should have engaged Assad in diplomatic discussions rather than provoking him into all-out civil war.
Muslims who want to fight against oppression would be better served in standing up to the oppressive Buddhist regime in Myanmar that oppresses the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority simply because the Rohingya Muslims say Allahu akbar rather than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
If Muslims are forced into battle against an oppressive enemy, then the Muslims should be prepared to do battle. Being prepared to wage a battle of necessity, however, does not mean that Muslims should look forward to clashes of violence and turmoil. Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said to his comrades:
“O people! Do not wish to meet the enemy, and ask Allah for safety, but when you face the enemy, be patient, and remember that Paradise is under the shades of swords.” Then he said, “O Allah, the Revealer of the Holy Book, and the Mover of the clouds and the Defeater of the clans, defeat them, and grant us victory over them.” — Source: Sahih al-Bukhari 3024, 3025
In going against the great Islamic tradition, the Islamic State terrorist group is actually encouraging its fighters to look forward to maiming and killing people disloyal to the ISIS cause. ISIS fighters puff up with excitement at the prospect of doing battle, and they very much cannot wait to record and then broadcast their atrocities for the world to see.
The ISIS-fueled battles in Syria and Iraq have no resemblance to an actual jihad, because an actual jihad is a righteous act of justice that adheres to the principles of the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. No person of knowledge endorses what ISIS does, because anyone with actual knowledge on Islam understands that ISIS is an extreme organization that aspires for political power by any means necessary, including theft, murder, and extortion, among other acts of evil.
Many of the American, European, and Australian Muslims who seek to join ISIS in Syria do not even seek to get the permission of their parents. The presumption is that the parents of these aspiring terrorists do not approve of ISIS. I am 100 percent certain that the vast majority of Muslim parents would not approve of their children traveling to Syria for the purpose of fighting alongside ISIS terrorists.
It is an Islamic duty and responsibility for Muslims to be kind to their parents. It is a jihad for Muslim adults to look after their aging parents. In an authentic hadith narration, a man had approached Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and asked the Prophet, “Shall I participate in jihad?” The Prophet responded, “Are your parents living?” The man said, “Yes.” The Prophet then responded, “Do jihad for their benefit.”
A Muslim man doing jihad for the benefit of his parents does not mean the Muslim takes the next flight to Damascus to behead Americans on camera. A Muslim man who does jihad for the benefit of his parents puts aside his own selfish ambitions in favor of operating with the advice and consent of his parents.
The problem, of course, is that many of the Muslims who aspire to be ISIS fighters are motivated by self-serving interests and desires to the extent that they refuse to listen to any advice from their parents, elders, neighbors, or imams. These extreme Muslims listen to no one other than the folks who invite them to extremism. Muslims believe that Satan is the chief deceiver who calls people to evil. Satan is a smooth player who convinces people that bad things are good and that good things are bad. The extreme Muslims are so blinded by their selfish desires that they cannot see that ISIS is entirely misguided in its approach.
As terrible as it is to see Muslim men joining the ISIS axis of evil, it is even worse to see Muslim women joining that death cult that also goes by the acronym ISIL. The best act a Muslim woman can do is perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is entirely selfish for a Muslim woman to join ISIS in Syria and Iraq rather than go on Hajj with her father or uncles. These women who seek to join ISIS do so out of the selfish desire to get married to a bad-boy ISIS fighter who they view as the Muslim version of James Bond. These Muslim women come rushing toward the strong arms of these ISIS fighters, and these women often find themselves strong-armed, the eventual victims of rape.