Islam recognizes that jihad means to struggle and strive in good works to attain nearness to God. Islam teaches that violent jihad has no place in today’s world. The Holy Quran declares, “…whosoever killed a person…it shall be as if he had killed all mankind” (5:33). The Holy Quran explicitly places equal value on all human life.
Islam rejects violent jihad, whether it be against Muslims or non-Muslims. The Holy Quran explains that Muslims are permitted to fight only in specific situations:
Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged (22:40).
Islam recognizes that fighting is only permissible in self-defense, and only after an aggressor first wages war. The Holy Quran further clarifies the purpose of war:
“And if God did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of God is oft commemorated” (22:41).
Thus, even when war in self-defense is permitted, its purpose is to ensure freedom of religion for all faiths, not just Islam.
Instead of violent jihad, Islam champions a bloodless intellectual “jihad of the pen” (part of one’s perennial jihad to acquire knowledge) to engage in dialogue regarding matters of faith, without any compulsion. The Holy Prophet Muhammad’ssa life illustrates this belief. When he became the de facto ruler of Mecca, he forgave his former persecutors on the singular condition that they respect freedom of religion for all faiths—paganism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In fact, the Holy Quran’s first revealed verses demonstrate that the jihad of the pen is the only way to propagate Islam:
Convey thou in the name of thy Lord Who created, Who created man from a clot of blood. Convey! And thy Lord is most generous, who taught man by the pen (96:2-5).
The Holy Prophet Muhammadsa has reported to have said:
The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr.
Therefore, Islam advocates non-violent jihad as a fundamental tenet.