The Ḥadīth of “Jihād al-Akbar” – Detailed Analysis of Authenticity and Chains
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 208
Is there any authentic ḥadīth in which fighting (qitāl) is called jihād al-aṣghar (the lesser jihād) and striving against one’s desires is called jihād al-akbar (the greater jihād)? Please clarify.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The famous narration “You have returned from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād” (qadimtum khayra maqdamin wa qadimtum min al-jihād al-aṣghar ilā al-jihād al-akbar) has been examined by the scholars of ḥadīth, and its authenticity is as follows:
Text of narration:
Yaḥyā ibn al-ʿAlā said:
“Ḥaddathanā Layth, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, from Jābir, who said: The Prophet ﷺ returned from one of his expeditions and said to them…”
(Tārīkh Baghdād, 13/523–524, No. 3745; also in Ibn al-Jawzī’s Dhamm al-Hawā, p. 38)
Narrators’ status:
Conclusion on first chain:
This narration is bāṭil (false) and unacceptable due to the presence of a fabricator and a weak narrator.
Note:
In Tārīkh Baghdād, the name is misprinted as Yaḥyā ibn Abī al-ʿAlā, but the correct is Yaḥyā ibn al-ʿAlā, as in Ibn al-Jawzī’s Dhamm al-Hawā.
Narration of al-Bayhaqī:
ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdān → Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd → Tamām → ʿĪsā ibn Ibrāhīm → Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿlā → Layth → ʿAṭāʾ → Jābir:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “You have returned with the best return, from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād.”
They asked: “What is the greater jihād?” He replied: “The striving of the servant against his own desires.”
(Kitāb al-Zuhd al-Kabīr, p. 165, Ḥadīth 373)
Comment of al-Bayhaqī:
“Wa hādhā isnād fīhi ḍaʿf” — “This chain has weakness.”
Additional References:
Narrators’ status:
Conclusion on second chain:
This narration is ḍaʿīf (weak) because of Layth ibn Abī Sulaym’s weakness and tadlīs, along with other minor weaknesses in the chain.
The narration about “returning from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād” is weak in all its chains.
Therefore, it cannot be used as evidence in comparison to the Qur’ān and authentic aḥādīth.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 208
Question:
Is there any authentic ḥadīth in which fighting (qitāl) is called jihād al-aṣghar (the lesser jihād) and striving against one’s desires is called jihād al-akbar (the greater jihād)? Please clarify.
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The famous narration “You have returned from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād” (qadimtum khayra maqdamin wa qadimtum min al-jihād al-aṣghar ilā al-jihād al-akbar) has been examined by the scholars of ḥadīth, and its authenticity is as follows:
First Chain Examination
Text of narration:
Yaḥyā ibn al-ʿAlā said:
“Ḥaddathanā Layth, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, from Jābir, who said: The Prophet ﷺ returned from one of his expeditions and said to them…”
(Tārīkh Baghdād, 13/523–524, No. 3745; also in Ibn al-Jawzī’s Dhamm al-Hawā, p. 38)
Narrators’ status:
- Yaḥyā ibn al-ʿAlā – Severely criticized.
- Al-Nasāʾī: matrūk al-ḥadīth (abandoned in ḥadīth) – (al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkīn, No. 627)
- Ibn Ḥajar: rūmiya bil-waḍʿ (accused of fabricating aḥādīth) – (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb, 4/97, No. 7618)
- Layth ibn Abī Sulaym – Weak and mudallis.
- Ibn Ḥajar: ṣadūq ikhtalaṭa akhīran wa lam yatamayyaz ḥadīthuhu faturika (truthful, but suffered confusion in old age, and his narrations became indistinguishable) – (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb, No. 5685)
Conclusion on first chain:
This narration is bāṭil (false) and unacceptable due to the presence of a fabricator and a weak narrator.
Note:
In Tārīkh Baghdād, the name is misprinted as Yaḥyā ibn Abī al-ʿAlā, but the correct is Yaḥyā ibn al-ʿAlā, as in Ibn al-Jawzī’s Dhamm al-Hawā.
Second Chain Examination
Narration of al-Bayhaqī:
ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdān → Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd → Tamām → ʿĪsā ibn Ibrāhīm → Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿlā → Layth → ʿAṭāʾ → Jābir:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “You have returned with the best return, from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād.”
They asked: “What is the greater jihād?” He replied: “The striving of the servant against his own desires.”
(Kitāb al-Zuhd al-Kabīr, p. 165, Ḥadīth 373)
Comment of al-Bayhaqī:
“Wa hādhā isnād fīhi ḍaʿf” — “This chain has weakness.”
Additional References:
- Abū Bakr al-Shāfiʿī narrated it in al-Fawāʾid al-Muntaqā (1/83, Ḥadīth 13) from ʿĪsā ibn Ibrāhīm al-Barr.
Narrators’ status:
- Tamām and ʿĪsā ibn Ibrāhīm – Subject to some criticism, but their weakness is not extreme.
- Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿlā al-Kūfī al-Taymī – Narrates from Layth ibn Abī Sulaym (already established as weak).
Conclusion on second chain:
This narration is ḍaʿīf (weak) because of Layth ibn Abī Sulaym’s weakness and tadlīs, along with other minor weaknesses in the chain.
Final Ruling:
The narration about “returning from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād” is weak in all its chains.
Therefore, it cannot be used as evidence in comparison to the Qur’ān and authentic aḥādīth.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
