Mahzarnama (The Memorandum) — Page 117
117 The Truth About the Alleged Denial of Jehad 1 he opponents of the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at also level this allegation against him that he (God forbid) abrogated the Islamic duty of Jehad. This is a baseless allegation. Jehad is an important duty and its obligatory nature and its importance is quite clear on the basis of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet's Ahadith. Jehad is a comprehensive word which packs a vast range of meaning within it. Scholars of Islam and authorities on religious matters have expounded various kinds of Jehad, e. g. , Jehad against one's self (Jehad bin Nafs), Jehad through financial sacrifice (Jehad bil Maal), Jehad with the help of one's knowledge (Jehad bil 'Ilm), the Greatest Jehad (Jehad-e-Akbar), the Great Jehad (Jehad-e-Kabeer), and the Smallest Jehad (Jehad-e-Asghar) etc. etc. As regards the Smallest Jehad, i. e. , the Jehad with Sword, the scholars of Islam and authorities on religious matters who lived prior to the time of the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, declared that the admissibility of this particular kind of Jehad—which is termed as Qitaal in the Holy Quran's nomenclature—is contingent upon, and conditional with, the existence of a set of specific circumstances and particular conditions. Unfortunately, with the passage of time an erroneous interpretation of Jehad has found its way into the Muslim ummah, according to which Jehad consists of spreading the religion of Islam with sword. T