Sample Solution

Almost as soon as the Arab armies of Islam conquered new lands, they began erecting Mosques  and palaces and commissioning other works of art as expressions of their faith and culture. Many aspects of religious practice in Islam also emerged and were codified. The religious practice of Islam, which literally means “to submit to God”, is based on tenets that are known as the Five Pillars (arkan), to which all members of the Islamic community (umma) should adhere.

The five Pillars of Islam form an exercise of Jihad in this sense, since a Muslim gets closer to Allah by performing them.

Other ways in which a Muslim engages in the ‘greater Jihad’ could include:

• Learning the Qur’an by heart, or engage in other religious study.
• Overcoming things such as anger, greed, hatred, pride, or malice.
• Giving up smoking.
• Cleaning the floor of the mosque.
• Taking part in Muslim community activities.
• Working for social justice.
• Forgiving someone who has hurt them.

The Prophet is said to have called the internal Jihad the “greater Jihad”.

On his return from a battle, the Prophet said: “We are finished with the lesser jihad; now we are starting the greater jihad.” He explained to his followers that fighting against an outer enemy is the lesser jihad and fighting against one’s self is the greater jihad (holy war).

This quotation is regarded as unreliable by some scholars. They regard the use of jihad as meaning ‘holy war’ as the more important.

However the quotation has been very influential among some Muslims, particularly Sufis.