Jihad is often assumed to refer to armed combat and Muslim martyrdom is understood to be invariably of the military kind. By canvassing a more diverse range of texts - Qur'an, tafsir, hadith, edifying and hortatory literature -- this book recuperates a more nuanced and multifaceted understanding of both jihad and martyrdom through time.

Introduction ; Chapter 1: Striving "for," "in," and "in the path of" God: Qur'anic Imperatives in the Meccan Period ; Chapter 2: Fighting in the Path of God: A Religious and Moral Obligation ; Chapter 3: The Ethics of Fighting, Refraining from Fighting, and Peacemaking ; Chapter 4: Dying in the Path of God: Exegeses of Martyrdom ; Chapter 5: Jihad and Martyrdom Compared in Early and Later Hadith Literature ; Chapter 6: Jihad and Martyrdom in Early and Late Treatises on the Merits of Jihad ; Chapter 7: The Excellences of Patient Forbearance: Counter-Narratives on Striving in the Path of God ; Chapter 8: Modern and Contemporary Debates on Jihad and Martyrdom I: Political and Militant Perspectives ; Chapter 9: Modern and Contemporary Debates on Jihad and Martyrdom II: Privileging History, Context, and Polysemy ; Conclusion: Analysis of Texts: A Summation

"Asma Afsaruddin's Striving in the Path of God is a major accomplishment in the study of non-legal jihad literature Afsaruddin is able to write about an astonishing range of material over centuries with subtlety and erudition, taking great care to contextualize historically semantic shifts in the terms she studies .This book's scope makes it an ideal introduction to the literature for graduate students or advanced undergraduates."--Journal of Religion and Violence "Asma Afsaruddin's Striving in the Path of God is a signal contribution to the burgeoning literature on jihad. While jihad is the central concept explored in this book, Afsaruddin links it with two other concepts integrally related to the Islamic ideal of righteous 'striving' or 'struggling': martyrdom (shahada) and patient forbearance (sabr). The result is a much more contextualized and nuanced treatment of the idea of jihad in Islam and a much more holistic understanding of what 'striving in the path of God' requires than is presented in the vast majority of studies."--Journal of the American Oriental Society "Afsaruddin's book is a valuable and brilliant contribution to current scholarship on this topic for she places the misunderstood notions of jihad and shahada in a far more suitable theoretical and historical context."--Journal Storia del pensiero politico "Afsaruddin's book makes a significant contribution to works of Islamic ethics on war and peace... It is a helpful text on tafsir and hadith literature, and the contextual analysis of the Qur'an more generally. Most importantly, however, the book invites sustained reflection on scholarship as a learned practice of inquiry and reflection."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This text makes a significant contribution to increasing our understanding of how the meanings of theological ideas evolve over time and space. It is rich in primary source material, systematic in its presentation, sharp in its analysis, and persuasive in counter-balancing the purely martial theorizations of jihad."--American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences "Asma Afsaruddin's Striving in the Path of God is the most comprehensive and instructive treatment of jihad to date. A holistic reading of texts dealing with jihad and its correlates--sabr (patience, forbearance) and martyrdom, it traces diverse interpretations of those terms, right through to the present day. This is a must read for anyone seriously interested in Islam and current events."--Tamara Sonn, Author of Islam: A Brief History "This book is erudite, comprehensive, authoritative and balanced, based as it is on a meticulous and thorough analysis of the concepts of jihad and martyrdom in key Arabic sources--the Qur'an, hadith, commentaries and books extolling the virtues of jihad. Especially impressive is the book's extensive coverage of all kinds of contemporary fatwas and speeches. This work is an invaluable tool for understanding jihad, past and present."--Professor Carole Hillenbrand, University of Edinburgh "Asma Afsaruddin's remarkable book, Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought, constitutes a major contribution... (T)his profoundly impressive and learned book... ought to find a place on the syllabus of any class on war, ethics and intra-scholarly debates in Islam." --Journal of Islamic Studies "This book will challenge the field to reconsider much of its assumptions about the very nature of jihad and martyrdom... We are very lucky to have it. It will be indispensable in any discussion on the relation of piety to violence in Islam and will be very useful for discussions on this question beyond the circles of specialists in the study of Islam." --Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft "Asma Afsaruddin's Striving in the Path of God is a major accomplishment in the study of non-legal jihad literature... Afsaruddin is able to write about an astonishing range of material over centuries with subtlety and erudition, taking great care to contextualize historically semantic shifts in the terms she studies... Such careful treatment of this material will, hopefully, push scholarly discourse on jihad and martyrdom beyond such concerns as just war theory, opening up new trajectories..." --Journal of Religion and Violence

Asma Afsaruddin is Professor of Islamic Studies and Chairperson of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington. She is the author of The First Muslims: History and Memory (2008) and Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leadership (2002).