The British Government and Jihad — Page 3
1 2 The philosophy and true nature of jihad is a matter both complex and subtle. Grave errors have been made both in our age and in the middle age [of Islam] because people failed to understand this subject. It is with great embarrassment that I am forced to admit that these dangerous mistakes have exposed the holy religion of Islam, which is a mirror of the laws of nature and a manifestation of God’s glory, to the criticism of its opponents. It should be understood that the word “ jihad ” is derived from the [Arabic] root “ juhd ”, which means “to strive” and is there- fore used figuratively for religious wars. It seems that the word “yudh”, which is commonly used by Hindus to mean war, is in reality a corruption of the word jihad. Since Arabic is the mother of all languages, out of which all other languages emerged, the word “yudh ” which in Sanskrit means war is actu- ally the same as “ juhd” or “ jihad ”. Over time the letter “ j i m ” was replaced by the letter “ y ” and after further alteration the word was spoken with phonetic emphasis. 1. In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. [Translator] 2. We praise Allah and invoke His blessings upon His noble Prophet sa. [Translator]