Yeah I knew someone born pre-2000s whose legal first name was literally “Jihad.” Similar to Isis (as in the Egyptian mother goddess), it’s a name that has since gained some negative connotations. But iirc the way this guy described it is that it means “fighting the good fight” so-to-speak and could refer to literal physical fighting but could also refer to like, researching the cure for cancer. It’s any great undertaking that is perceived to benefit the world in some way, and they wouldn’t even be the first to apply that line of thinking to violently zealous evangelism.
Yeah I knew someone born pre-2000s whose legal first name was literally “Jihad.” Similar to Isis (as in the Egyptian mother goddess), it’s a name that has since gained some negative connotations. But iirc the way this guy described it is that it means “fighting the good fight” so-to-speak and could refer to literal physical fighting but could also refer to like, researching the cure for cancer. It’s any great undertaking that is perceived to benefit the world in some way, and they wouldn’t even be the first to apply that line of thinking to violently zealous evangelism.
The word means “struggle.” I’ve read arguments that the “higher jihad” is internal - more about the struggle to live a good and spiritual life.