In the West, the word “jihad”—literally, striving or struggle—has become synonymous with wars like the Major’s. But jihad al-nafs, the struggle of the individual against his lesser self, means a person’s effort to quell negative impulses and to lead a pious life. The twin meanings of “jihad” are threaded through a story the Sheikh liked to tell. A group of mujahidin on their way to battle stayed overnight at the lodge of some Islamic mystics, or Sufis. In the morning, one young Sufi disciple, awed by the warriors’ steeds and swords, went to his sheikh and told him that he was joining the
...more
