The Meaning of Jihād

The word jihād itself means struggle; it comes from the word juhd, which is effort, exerting effort — so the linguistic meaning of the word is to exert effort, or to struggle. This word then later carried a specific Islamic meaning. There are words in the Arabic language that had a linguistic meaning, but Islam then gave a new meaning to those words: the word ṣalāh in Arabic, for example, originally means supplication, but it carried a new meaning, and that is prayer. So now, when someone says ṣalāh, "let us go and make ṣalāh," no one asks whether the literal meaning of the word is meant, or the linguistic meaning, or the Islamic meaning — the word is now a terminology in Islam. The same with jihād fī sabīlillāh: it carried a new meaning, and that is to fight the enemies of Allah (swt) who object to His religion. This is the definition given by the four madhāhib — that it is to fight in the path of Allah (swt) — and this is what it means if the word is mentioned unqualified.