Truth About Ahmadiyyat — Page 89
89 and designs, and is called the great Jihad (Jihad Kabeer). Three, the Jihad that it waged against the enemy of freedom of conscience; this is called the lesser Jihad (Jihad Asghar). The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has described the striving against self as Jihad Akbar. It is mentioned in the hadees that returning from an expedition (Tabuk), the Holy Prophet said: We are returning from the Jihad Asghar (fighting) to Jihad Akbar (struggle against self). (Kashaf) He also said: The mujahid who is exalted above other mujahids is the one who strives against his own self. The life of the Holy Prophet was divided into two parts, his life in Mecca and his life in Medina. During the Meccan period, he and his Companions were subjected to every kind of persecution, but they were not permitted to undertake Jihad by the sword. Aft er the migration to Medina, God Almighty granted permission to the Muslims to oppose the aggression of their enemies by the sword. Now it is clear that every moment of the Holy Prophet’s life was devoted to Jihad. It would be wrong to say that he did not c arry out Jihad in the Meccan period and carried it out only during the Medina period. The truth is that every moment of his life and of the lives of his Companions was devoted to some type of Jihad. Jihad was carried on in the Meccan period, though there was no fighting and no killing of the enemy. In the Medina period, Jihad was continued in the same