Intended Meaning
Jihad here is understood as broader than fighting, insofar as it includes the jihad of the word and speaking the truth and violence is resorted to only at the final stages when all other avenues are blocked
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: definitional
- Argument movement: jihad is broader than fighting, and includes speaking the truth through words.
- Key terms: jihad, the jihad of the word, speaking the truth, violence, fighting.
- Degree of centrality: central.
This atom redefines jihad from the field of fighting to the field of speech and stance. It also makes violence a final exception, not an original principle in religious action.
Links that help with reading
- Muhammad Shahrur, Religion and Authority
- Jihad, Fighting, and Critique of Violence
- Jihad
- Fighting
- Islamic heritage has become a standard instead of remaining material for study
Grounding
- Supporting text: “He expands the meaning of jihad to include the jihad of the word and speaking the truth, not fighting alone, while considering violence the last of the stages when other avenues are blocked.”
Place of the grounding in the book
- Book: Religion and Authority.
- Location: in the final section of the book, within the discussion of freedom and jihad
- Type of grounding: direct witness.
- Mark that helps verification: the jihad of the word and speaking the truth
- Reading note: the location is suitable because it explicitly states that jihad does not mean fighting exclusively, and clearly mentions the jihad of the word and speaking the truth.
Degree of documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: the formulation above is an analytical summary, and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted textually.
Its function in the book
Its function here is definitional; it establishes a meaning or conceptual distinction that Shahrur relies on in building the idea.
Related to
Editorial note
It expands the concept of jihad into the realm of speech.