Striving in the Path of God

Asma Afsaruddin presents a comprehensive selection of early and medieval Islamic exegetical writings on the topic of jihad and martyrdom and compares them with contemporary treatments of these terms. In doing so, she makes a set of interrelated points: (i) the classical tradition of Qur'anic tafsir (exegesis) shows disagreement on the meaning of al jihad fi-sabil allah (striving in the path of God) as primarily combative, (ii) in addition to pro-military verses and interpretations of striving, there are a number of Qur'anic verses and interpretations that enjoin patience (sabr) and steadfastness in the face of wrongdoing as the best form of striving in God's path and (iii) any interpretation of the Qur'an is mediated by the socio-historical context of the interpreter and by an interpretive tradition, even if the interpreter is not particularly aware of one or the other. Taken together, these points suggest that the classical exegetical tradition, as well as hadith and literature on adab/akhlaq (character and morals), contain important resources regarding matters of war and peace for contemporary Islamic thought.

Character (mathematics) · Context (archaeology) · Epistemology · Exegesis · Interpretation (philosophy) · Interpreter · Islam · Linguistics · Meaning (existential) · Patience · Theology · History · Islamic Studies and History · Islamic Studies and Radicalism · Philosophy · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence