Al-Furqan · Makki · ayah 52 of 77

Al-Furqan 25:52

فَلَا تُطِعِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ وَجَـٰهِدْهُم بِهِۦ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا

“So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with it [i.e., the Qur’ān] a great striving.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The first jihad named in revelation had no army: refuse their terms, and strive against them with the Quran, a great striving that never slackens.

A reflection

The first jihad was a book

A sixth-former is revising for a religious studies exam. On one flashcard she has written: Jihad = holy war. She is not hostile. It is simply what the word means, as far as she has ever heard. Many Muslims carry a softer version of the same card. Jihad is something about fighting, somewhere far away, nothing to do with an ordinary Tuesday.

Now look at where the word first appears. By order of revelation, the earliest surah to use this root is Al-Furqan. It is a Makkan surah, revealed years before fighting was permitted. The Muslims were few and persecuted, with no army and no state. And the command was: strive against them with it, a great striving.

With what? A Companion known for his grasp of the Quran's meaning answered in two words: with the Quran. The commentators repeat it. One of them records that some read 'with it' as 'with the sword', and calls that reading far-fetched. The surah is Makkan, he says, revealed before the command to fight. A classical theologian reaches the same verdict for the same reason.

A later scholar goes further. Jihad, he says, is of two kinds. One is with the hand and the spear, and many share in it. The other is with proof and clear explanation, the jihad of the closest followers of the messengers. He calls it the better of the two: for its great benefit, its heavy cost and its many enemies. And he quotes this ayah as his proof.

The flashcard is not wrong that jihad can include fighting; later ayat use it so. It is wrong about where the word begins, and about its greatest form. Its first weapon was a book recited in a hostile city.

The full entry has 7 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.