In God’s Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire
by robert g. hoyland
oxford, 320 pages, $29.95
Amedieval Islamic tradition recounts that the Prophet Muhammad once told his companions after they returned from a battle: “You have come from the Lesser Jihad to the Greater Jihad—the striving of a servant [of God] against his desires.” The idea of a “Greater Jihad” which involves a spiritual struggle against one’s carnal desires is widespread in contemporary discussions of Islam. Scholars of Islam often make the point that jhd, the Arabic root of jihad, is related generally to “struggle” and not specifically to warfare.
Some argue that the tradition of the “Greater Jihad” shows that Islam at its origins was a peaceful movement. Karen Armstrong, in her book Muhammad, quotes the tradition of the “Greater Jihad” and insists that fighting was “only a minor part of the whole jihad or struggle.” Armstrong and others often argue that any connection between Islam and violence is only the work of later, medieval Muslims who corrupted its message and of Westerners who caricature Islam.
The problem with this argument is that the tradition of a “Greater Jihad” appears to be a late fabrication. It is not found in the early tradition. Indeed, of the six valid early collections of traditions (or hadith) recognized by Sunni Islam, none includes a single mention of a “Greater Jihad,” although they treat jihad as holy war at length.
