The word “jihad” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak in 2010. Today the opening carries none, and neither does the rest of the article, references included.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-02. “jihad” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included.
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The opening as it read in 2010
It is often used to refer to civil war , disagreement and division within Islam and specifically alludes to a time involving trials of faith, similar to the Tribulation in Christian eschatology . The term originally referred to the refining of metal to remove dross but became common in apocalyptic writings and is often used to refer to the First Islamic civil war , in 656–661 AD, a prolonged struggle for the caliphate after the 656 assassination of the caliph Uthman ibn Affan . The Second Fitna, or Second Islamic civil war , is usually identified as the 683–685 AD conflict among the Umayyads for control of the caliphate. The third one refers to the taifas in the end of the Caliph of Córdoba 's rule. Variant Qur'anic translations demonstrate some of the confusion this term has engendered: :(8:39) "So fight them until there is no more disbelief ( fitnah ) and all submit to the religion of Allah alone" (from translation of Muhammad Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan) :(8:39) "And fight with them until there is no more persecution ( fitnah ) and religion should be only for Allah" (from translation of Sher Ali, Shakir, Pickthall, Arberry) The meaning of the term is illustrated in the apocalyptic literature by people under extreme moral and psychological stress to compromise an element of their faith in return for worldly gain, and sometimes in return for their lives. They are made to choose, often not knowing exactly what is good and what is evil . According to Orientalist Gilles Kepel , "fitna is sometimes translated as sedition , that is to say the fact that the Muslim community is fragmented is because it has lost its sense of proportion and of reality - of maslaha (public interest); to its detriment this has delivered it to the demons of extremism. Jihad returning like a boomerang weakens the community from within. The fitna has been the ulemas ' obsessive fear for as long as Islam has existed." (8:39) "And fight with them until there is no more sedition ( fitnah ) and religion should be only for Allah" (from translation of Palmer) Western scholars believe that this internal fear of fitna in Islamic countries, is the key factor against an introduction and easy maintenance of free pluralistic democratically elected rule. Because many contemporary Islamic scholars believe that free pluralistic democracy resembles the evil of fitna. Something which is contrary to the united spirit of the kaliphate and the ummah . Arab-English Lexicon , Lane, E.: a burning of fire, a melting of (metals) in order to distinguish the bad from the good, a means wherby the condition of aman is evinced in respect of good or evil, punishment, chastisement, conflict among people, faction and sedition, discord, dissension, difference of opinions, a misleading, causing to err, seduction, temptation. Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic . Guerre au coeur de l’islam » , September 7, 2004 interview in El Watan newspaper (concerning his book, Fitna. War Inside Islam , translated in 5 languages).1
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The opening as it stood in 2005
Fitna is an Arabic word for civil war , disagreement, division within Islam . The word also includes the idea of drawing someone away from God . It is often believed that having men and women in congregation together or having women as imams can be a cause of fitna and thus is used as a reason for its disallowance.
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Fitna (or fitnah , pl. fitan ; : "temptation, trial; sedition, civil strife" ) is an Arabic word with extensive connotations of trial, affliction, or distress.A word freighted with important historical implications, it is also widely used in modern Arabic.As with any word in Arabic, one should distinguish between the meanings of fitna as used in Classical Arabic and the meanings of fitna as used in Modern Standard Arabic and various colloquial dialects.Furthermore, because of the conceptual importance of fitna in the Qur'an , its use in that work will be considered separately, though in addition to, the word's general lexical meaning in Classical Arabic .
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The opening as it stood in 2020
Fitna (or fitnah , pl. fitan ; : "temptation, trial; sedition, civil strife, conflict" ) is an Arabic word with extensive connotations of trial, affliction, or distress. A word with important historical implications, it is also widely used in modern Arabic. One might distinguish between the meanings of fitna as used in Classical Arabic and the meanings of fitna as used in Modern Standard Arabic and various colloquial dialects. Due to the conceptual importance of fitna in the Qur'an , its use in that work may need to be considered separately from, though in addition to, the word's general lexical meaning in Classical Arabic .Aside from its use in the Qur'an, fitna is used as term for the four heavy civil wars within the Islamic Caliphate from the 7th to the 9th century AD.
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The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Arabic word for strife and conflict For other uses, see Fitna . Fitna (or fitnah , pl. fitan ; : "temptation, trial; sedition, civil strife, conflict" ) is an Arabic word with extensive connotations of trial, affliction, or distress. Although it is a word with important historical implications, it is also widely used in modern Arabic without the underlying historical connotations. One might distinguish between the meanings of fitna as used in Classical Arabic and the meanings of fitna as used in Modern Standard Arabic and various colloquial dialects. Due to the conceptual importance of fitna in the Qur'an , its use in that work may need to be considered separately from, though in addition to, the word's general lexical meaning in Classical Arabic. Aside from its use in the Qur'an, fitna is used as term for the four heavy civil wars within the Islamic Caliphate from the 7th to the 9th century AD.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1171331079.
The opening as it stood in 2025 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Arabic word for strife and conflict For other uses, see Fitna . Fitna (or fitnah , pl. fitan ; Arabic : فتنة , فتن : "temptation, trial; sedition, civil strife, conflict" ) is an Arabic term that denotes concepts such as temptation , trial, sedition , civil strife, and conflict.The term encompasses a broad range of connotations , including trial, affliction, and distress.While it holds significant historical importance, the word is also widely used in modern Arabic, often without reference to its historical connotations.A distinction can be observed between the meanings of fitna as used in Classical Arabic and its meanings as used in Modern Standard Arabic and various colloquial dialects .Given the conceptual significance of fitna in the Qur’an , its Qur’anic usage warrants separate consideration from, though in addition to, its broader lexical meaning in Classical Arabic.In Islamic historiography , fitna specifically refers to civil wars within a Muslim polity, notably the five civil wars of the Islamic Caliphate between the 7th and 9th centuries CE starting with the First Fitna .
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Today
“jihad” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included. Read the current article and compare.
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