THE SEVENTH CHAPTER

On the knowledge of the esoteric meaning of Jihad

Know—may God grant you success in attaining His pleasure—that Jihad is one of the five obligatory duties. It is a mandate upon every Muslim whose limbs and faculties are sound. Its legal definition indicates two meanings: first, the Muslim’s combat against the people of disbelief in God alongside the army of the Muslims; and second, a person’s struggle against their own self in opposing whims, and maintaining the performance of what God Almighty has commanded, obligated, and what His truthful Messenger—may his glory be exalted—has established as Sunnah regarding the performance of acts of obedience and the avoidance of sins and forbidden matters. These are outward rulings. However, esoteric worship [concerning Jihad] comes in seven aspects:

The first aspect: The struggle of the seeker of the knowledge of Truth against his own self to reject familiar comforts, abandon desires, and purify the soul from corrupt beliefs and false imaginations; his diligence in serving the believers;