Mujāhada
Definition
Mujahada is the sustained effort of striving against the lower self — the nafs — and its habitual pull toward ease, comfort, and sin. Al-Ghazali presents it as the engine of all spiritual development. Repentance initiates the journey, but mujahada is what sustains it hour by hour. He draws on the Quranic promise: 'Those who strive in Our cause, We shall guide them to Our paths.' The striving he describes is not grand heroic acts but the daily, unglamorous work of refusing what the self craves, choosing what the self resists, and maintaining that effort even when the heart feels dry and the reward seems distant. Without mujahada, repentance remains a beautiful intention never translated into transformation.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
2 books in the library
Hear the term in context.
Every book above uses Mujāhada the way the classical scholars meant it. Listen with the full Study Kit in the app.