[Chapter: Courage Has Religious Merit Only Because It Serves Jihad in the Cause of Allah]

(Chapter)

Among the matters that should be known is that courage is deemed a virtue in religion only because it serves jihad in the cause of Allah. Otherwise, if its possessor does not employ it in aid of jihad in the cause of Allah, it will either prove ruinous to him—if he uses it in obedience to Satan—or be of no benefit to him—if he employs it in matters that do not draw him nearer to Allah Most High.

Thus, the courage of Alī, al-Zubayr, Khālid, Abū Dujāna, al-Barā ibn Mālik, Abū Talha, and other courageous Companions became one of their virtues only because they employed it in aid of jihad in the cause of Allah. By doing so, they became deserving of the praise Allah bestowed upon those who wage jihad.

This being so, it is well known that some forms of jihad consist of physical combat(1), while others are conducted through proof, clear exposition, and preaching.

Allah Most High says:

“Had We willed, We could have sent a warner to every town. So do not obey the disbelievers, but strive mightily against them with it.”

[Sūrat al-Furqān: 51, 52]

Allah—Glorified and Exalted—thus commanded him to wage a mighty jihad against the disbelievers by means of the Quran(2). This surah is Makkan and was revealed in Mecca before the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—emigrated and before he was commanded to fight. (* He had not yet been given permission to do so; this jihad(3) was conducted through knowledge, through the heart, and through clear exposition and preaching—not through fighting. *)(4) As for fighting, it requires planning and sound judgment,