jihad

or je·had

[ ji-hahd ]
See synonyms for jihad on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. spiritual striving against moral failings, undertaken as a religious duty by Muslims.

  2. armed struggle in defense of Islam: in traditional Muslim law, bound by a number of rules, conditions, and restrictions on when and where it is acceptable.

  1. any vigorous, emotional crusade for an idea or principle.

Origin of jihad

1
First recorded in 1865–70; from Arabic jihād “struggle, strife”

usage note For jihad

The term jihad, literally meaning struggle, has always had multiple meanings within Muslim discourse. It has been interpreted to mean an individual spiritual struggle toward righteousness, and to mean a collective struggle for self-defense. This second meaning was picked up by both the international media and Islamic fundamentalists, and the word is now often understood to mean a holy war against nonbelievers, despite the lack of support for this meaning in the religious scholarship of mainstream Islam.

Words Nearby jihad

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How to use jihad in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for jihad

jihad

jehad

/ (dʒɪˈhæd) /


noun
  1. Islam a holy war against infidels undertaken by Muslims in defence of the Islamic faith

  2. Islam the personal struggle of the individual believer against evil and persecution

  1. rare a crusade in support of a cause

Origin of jihad

1
C19: from Arabic jihād a conflict

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for jihad

jihad

[ (ji-hahd, ji-had) ]


In Islam, a holy war; a war ordained by God. The Koran teaches that soldiers who die in jihad go to heaven immediately.

Notes for jihad

Modern-day terrorists often claim that they are carrying out acts of destruction, such as the attacks on the World Trade Center towers, as part of a jihad.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.