Re-thinking Jihad: A Semantic Analysis of the Qur'anic Vocabulary

This article questions the popular equation between "jihad" and "warfare," and concludes that the term jihad in the Qur'an does not exclusively relate to warfare or physical fighting, but instead provides a wider and more inclusive sense of meaning. This broader sense is not only based on its literal roots and lexical meaning(s), but is also supported within Qur'anic passages mentioning jihad and its related terms. An important methodological impetus in this endeavor is the semantic analyses of Qur'anic vocabulary developed by Toshihiko Izutsu in the 1960s.