Back to search

Is what is meant by "And those who strive in Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways" the call to Allah or jihad?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Hajar mentioned that the types of jihad include striving against the self, Satan, transgressors, and disbelievers. Striving against the self includes seeking knowledge, acting upon it, teaching it, and being patient in that. Striving against Satan is by repelling doubts and desires. As for striving against disbelievers, it is with the hand, wealth, tongue, and heart. Striving against transgressors is with the hand, then the tongue, then the heart. Jihad may also be used to refer to Da'wah (inviting to Islam), as in the verse: "So do not obey the disbelievers, but strive against them with it in a great striving" (Quran 25:52). And it may refer to fighting, as in the verse: "O Prophet, strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh upon them" (Quran 9:73). Scholars have interpreted the verse: "And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways" (Quran 29:69) with multiple meanings that do not contradict each other. These include striving against disbelievers, seeking Allah's pleasure, worship, acting upon knowledge, supporting the religion, enjoining good and forbidding evil, striving against the self, seeking knowledge, and establishing the Sunnah. Everything in which a servant is sincere to Allah and fights so that the word of Allah may be the highest, whether it is in fighting disbelievers, rebels, highway robbers, or in establishing enjoining good and forbidding evil, falls within the merit of jihad.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy