by Dr. İdris Tüzün
In Islam, the physical, military, and strategic warfare against oppressors, occupiers, and disbelieving enemies is called al-jihād al-aṣghar (the lesser jihad). This designation of “lesser” absolutely does not mean that this struggle is unimportant or to be taken lightly. On the contrary, it emphasizes that external warfare is limited in its impact, duration, and scope compared to the internal war a person wages against their own soul (al-jihād al-akbar, the greater jihad). This is because the quality and nature of the external jihad is entirely dependent on the success of the internal one. If the soldiers of an army are captive to carnal diseases such as fear, love of the world, comfort-seeking, and the desire for fame, it becomes impossible for that army to achieve lasting victory on the battlefield. Therefore, true social resistance and success can only be achieved by those who struggle with their own egos and have established spiritual discipline.
A hadith supporting what we have said states: “Other nations will soon call upon one another against you, just as diners call one another to share a bowl of food.” Someone asked: “Will we be few in number on that day?” He replied: “No, you will be many on that day, but you will be like the scum and debris carried by a flood. And Allah will remove fear of you from the hearts of your enemies and cast weakness into your hearts.” Someone asked: “O Messenger of Allah, what is that weakness?” He said: “Love of the world and aversion to death.”¹
This hadith is among the miracles of our Prophet, because the event he foretold has indeed come to pass. The same conditions were witnessed during the Crusaders’ occupation of Jerusalem in history, and they are witnessed again today.
One of the greatest paradoxes frequently observed in today’s Muslim world comes to life in the question: “How can someone who cannot wake up for the dawn prayer wage jihad against the enemies of Islam, against the disbelievers, especially against the Zionists and the Freemasons?” This claim of an individual who nurtures great ideals against global forces of evil contains a deep contradiction grounded in the following three fundamental spiritual and sociological truths:
· Test of Discipline and Loyalty: The dawn prayer is the first test of the day for a Muslim and the most difficult act of worship upon the ego. A person who cannot resist the warmth of the bed and the sweetness of sleep to stand up is, in reality, devoid of the willpower even to lift the thin blanket over themselves. To think that a constitution incapable of lifting its own blanket could move the global forces of evil and Masonic structures that manipulate the world at their fingertips is pure delusion.
· Impossibility of Strategic Victory Without Spiritual Strength: Zionism and similar structures exploit the world not only through material and economic power, but through superior organizational capability, rigid discipline, and devotion behind them. The struggle against them requires knowledge, advanced technology, economic independence, and above all, unshakable spiritual discipline. A community that cannot even maintain this discipline in prayer—which is Allah’s most definitive command—can only produce a “reactionary fury” that flares up like a straw fire against organized evil forces; it cannot transform into a “transformative and deterrent active power.”
· Condition for Divine Help (Nusrah): According to Islamic belief, absolute victory is not achieved solely through logistical and military superiority, but through Allah’s help. And divine help only reaches those servants who remain loyal to His commands and boundaries. An individual or nation that begins the day without performing the dawn prayer, in a state of weakness and defeat, has, from the very first hour of the day, forfeited the ground upon which they might deserve divine help.
The First Front to Liberate the World
In summary, these truths proclaim to us a painful yet healing reality: Those who claim to reform the world must start by reforming themselves. To feel righteous anger against global injustices, the tyranny of Zionism, and the forces of evil that surround the world, and to desire to struggle against them, is undoubtedly a faithful and honourable stance. However, it must never be forgotten that the first and most difficult front of this great struggle is our bedroom, and our first enemy is our own laziness.
The person who, when the dawn call to prayer is made, breaks the shackles of their ego, interrupts their sleep, and walks to the prayer mat, has indeed entered the path to winning the greater jihad. Only then does every strategic step taken by such a qualified individual, every advanced technology they produce, and every conscious boycott they carry out gain the quality of a resounding “jihad” against the external enemy. It is impossible for those who are slaves to their own egos and desires to liberate the world.
¹ Abū Dāwūd (No. 4297).
