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.
How the scholars use Mujāhada.
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"children, Midian, Zamran, Saraj, Yaqshan, Nashaq, and a sixth who was not named. Then he married Hajun, the daughter of Amin, who bore him five children, Kayshan, Suraj, Amim, Lutan, and Nafs. This was mentioned by Abu'l-Qasim al-Suhayli in his book Al-Ta'rif wal-I'lam. And Allah knows best. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions."
— Ibn Kathir, The Story of Ibrahim
Appears in
2 books in the library
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