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27.9%ANMag Issue 27 Personal Maintenance
The Struggle from Within
By Lina Alotri, Staff Writer
Sacramento, California – Many people misinterpret words, but the most misinterpreted word of the 21st century would most likely be Jihad. The word Jihad comes from the Arabic word jahada, which means to struggle, make effort, or to strive. If you ask anyone what Jihad means they would probably say it meant holy war. That is incorrect, because war is not holy. How can we expect people from the west to understand the real meaning of Jihad, if we, the Arabic speakers, are misinterpreting it?
Terrorism and Jihad are not the same on the contrary, they are two absolutely distinctive things, and hold completely different meanings. The definition of terrorism is: the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce especially for political purposes. Jihad is in fact the spiritual and divine struggle from within. It is the discipline to resist one’s own desires and lusts. It is a battle within yourself to resist that which is wrong and to choose that which is right.
Extremists have been distorting the connotation of Jihad, and in the name of Islam have been committing dreadful atrocities. I do not see where killing innocent people can automatically become holy, and send you directly to heaven. We all know that Islam means peace. But how can people believe that when they are seeing extremists counteracting the most essential principle? If someone has physically attacked you or abused you, by all means, a person has a right to defend themselves.
A person is not only judged on their beliefs, but on their actions .What extremists really want is a one way ticket to heaven. But they don’t really know what they are in for. They think by committing radical acts they can get an easy way out. Well the easy way out is not always the smartest way. Taking the difficult route may be tough to endure, but it is the proper way. By cleansing one’s heart and mind, and purifying one’s intention, that is the only true and genuine path to heaven.
Many Muslim Extremists are getting so caught up in trying to fight and convert others while in the midst forgetting about themselves. Muslims not only have a duty to represent Islam in a positive manner, but we also have to take care of ourselves as well. One might think this is selfish, but it is truly not. How can a person help someone else if he/she has not yet helped themselves?
The greatest Jihad is the accomplishment of a student to become educated, and the educated to endorse knowledge and teachings. That is why it has been said, that one of the best professions a person can subsist is a teacher.
“The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr." – Prophet Mohamed (PBUH)
All religions lead to the same path, but there are many trails. “Truth is One, though the sages know it as many”. The Rig Veda (Book I, Hymn CLXIV, Verse 46)
By doing worthy and virtuous deeds, anyone can surely achieve salvation. It shouldn’t matter whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or Druze, as long as you live a righteous life. Hopefully everyone can achieve peacefulness and serenity; and by the will and choice of God, we will all be submitted to heaven.
Every nation and every religion goes through alternating periods of good and evil. But that doesn’t give the right for other people to stereotype Muslims, and put the word terrorism in context with every sentence that mentions Islam.
Just as I mentioned that every nation and religion goes through alternating periods of good and evil; the west has definitely forgotten a few of its mistakes.
"The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do." - Samuel P. Huntington
The slavery of Africans in the United Sates, the Jim Crow Laws, the genocide and seizure of land from the Native Americans, the ethnic cleansing of the Muslims in Bosnia, the use of nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the invasion of Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the caricature drawings in Denmark, the Japanese in concentration camps, AIDS experiments in Africa, Tuskegee Syphilis experiment, bombing in Dresden, Timothy McVeigh and Oklahoma, the H bomb, Guantanamo Bay, and Abu Ghuraib are only few examples of such violence.
Some very important aspects that people are forgetting are: tolerance, acceptance, and forgiveness. When these qualities are in practice it can become possible for all mankind to coexist. Without these traits it can even be difficult to live peacefully among the members of our own household, let alone others from different religious backgrounds and nationalities. Better understanding of each other can help us live in a healthy and peaceful society. But before we begin to try to understand others, we must first begin to understand ourselves.
The struggle within is an everlasting resistance
From within lie the answers to all questions
The reflection shows the truth
From thoughts and feelings beyond lie all external effects
Endeavoring to know all that is true and to have the courage to heave all that is not
Every single memory
Wandering mind floating against the current of current thoughts
Losing my mind but unprepared to lose all that is within
Overcoming fears while facing everything that is real
I have become my own worst enemy
Hazardous to my own morals
Tangled hands tied up
Tying my hands once more at the forbidden velvet touch
Toil, hustle, and thrive
Mind, body, soul
Advancing with insistent effort
Contending with opposition
Struggle in the midst of thy soul
Insensitive battle nearly undefeated
Caught in the midst of my own shadow
Shadows of us reveal everything which is concealed
The unconscious forces take over all that is conscious
We are all accountable for our intentions
With heart and soul decisions are decided
In one breath I take the first step to the path of righteousness