Unfortunately, Islam is often portrayed negatively across various news and media outlets. Whether it’s the tragic bombings of Al-Aqsa and the death of countless Palestinians, the senseless killings of Hazara Shia school girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the largest current humanitarian crisis of the world in Yemen, the ban on hijabs in France and Quebec, the ban on halal meat in France, and countless other violations against Islam and its followers, Islam is under constant attack.
It is said that the Holy Prophet (SAW) once said about the Month of Ramadan: “The month of Allah has arrived, try to free yourself. Indeed, your souls are encumbered by your deeds, so free it with repentance, and your backs are heavy from bearing the burden of your sins. You know that sins are a heavy burden. This burden is not carried by anyone except the owner of the burden himself. Your back has become bent from this costly burden. Lighten this burden”.
When the warriors returned from the battlefield, the Prophet (SAW) said to them, “Greetings to those who have returned from the minor jihad”, or in other words, the minor struggle. They looked at each other in amazement as they had faced the onslaught of swords and arrows and could not comprehend how this was the minor struggle. If this was the minor struggle, what could possibly be the major struggle, or the greater Jihad?
