In popular and academic literature, jihad is predominantly assumed to refer exclusively to armed combat, and martyrdom in the Islamic context is understood to be invariably of the military kind. This perspective, derived mainly from legal texts, has led to discussions of jihad and martyrdom as concepts with fixed, universal meanings divorced from the socio-political circumstances in which they have been deployed through the centuries. Asma Afsaruddin studies in a more holistic manner the range of significations that can be ascribed to the term jihad from the earliest period to the present and historically contextualizes the competing discourses that developed over time. Many assumptions about the military jihad and martyrdom in Islam are thereby challenged and deconstructed. A comprehensive interrogation of varied sources reveals early and multiple competing definitions of a word that in combination with the phrase fi sabil Allah translates literally to ""striving in the path of God."" Contemporary radical Islamists have appropriated this language to exhort their cadres to armed political opposition, which they legitimize under the rubric of jihad. Afsaruddin shows that the multivalent connotations of jihad and shahid recovered from the formative period lead us to question the assertions of those who maintain that belligerent and militant interpretations preserve the earliest and only authentic understanding of these two key terms.
Retrieval of these multiple perspectives has important implications for our world today in which the concepts of jihad and martyrdom are still being fiercely debated.
"Introduction Chapter 1: Striving ""for,"" ""in,"" and ""in the path of"" God: Qur'anic Imperatives in the Meccan Period Chapter 2: Fighting in the Path of God: A Religious and Moral Obligation Chapter 3: The Ethics of Fighting, Refraining from Fighting, and Peacemaking Chapter 4: Dying in the Path of God: Exegeses of Martyrdom Chapter 5: Jihad and Martyrdom Compared in Early and Later Hadith Literature Chapter 6: Jihad and Martyrdom in Early and Late Treatises on the Merits of Jihad Chapter 7: The Excellences of Patient Forbearance: Counter-Narratives on Striving in the Path of God Chapter 8: Modern and Contemporary Debates on Jihad and Martyrdom I: Political and Militant Perspectives Chapter 9: Modern and Contemporary Debates on Jihad and Martyrdom II: Privileging History, Context, and Polysemy Conclusion: Analysis of Texts: A Summation"
Asma Afsaruddin is Professor of Islamic Studies and Chairperson of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington. She is the author of The First Muslims: History and Memory (2008) and Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leadership (2002).
Reviews for Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought
Asma Afsaruddin's Striving in the Path of God is the most comprehensive and instructive treatment of jihad to date. A holistic reading of texts dealing with jihad and its correlates--sabr (patience, forbearance) and martyrdom, it traces diverse interpretations of those terms, right through to the present day. This is a must read for anyone seriously interested in Islam and current events. --Tamara Sonn, Author of Islam: A Brief History This book is erudite, comprehensive, authoritative and balanced, based as it is on a meticulous and thorough analysis of the concepts of jihad and martyrdom in key Arabic sources--the Qur'an, hadith, commentaries and books extolling the virtues of jihad. Especially impressive is the book's extensive coverage of all kinds of contemporary fatwas and speeches. This work is an invaluable tool for understanding jihad, past and present. --Professor Carole Hillenbrand, University of Edinburgh Asma Afsaruddin's remarkable book, Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought, constitutes a major contribution... (T)his profoundly impressive and learned book... ought to find a place on the syllabus of any class on war, ethics and intra-scholarly debates in Islam. --Journal of Islamic Studies
- Runner-up for British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize in Middle Eastern Studies 2014.
- Winner of Runner-up in the 2014 British Kuwait Friendship Society book prize.
