A very great misconception prevails with regard to the duty of jihād in Islām, by assuming that the jihād is supposed to be synonymous with war; and even the greatest research scholars in Europe have not taken the pains to consult any dictionary of the Arabic language, or to refer to the Holy Qur’ān, to find out the true meaning of the word. So widespread is the misunderstanding that a scholar of the fame of A.J. Wensinck, when preparing his concordance of Ḥadīth, A Handbook of Early Muḥammadan Tradition, gives not a single reference under the word jihād, referring the reader to the word war, as if the two were synonymous terms. The Enyclopaedia of Islam goes even further, beginning the article on Djihād thus: “The spread of Islām by arms is a religious duty upon Muslims in general”; as if jihād meant not only war but war undertaken for the propagation of Islām. Klein in The Religion of Islām makes a similar statement: “Jihād — The fighting against unbelievers with the object of either winning them over to Islām, or subduing and exterminating them in case they refuse to become Muslims, and the causing of Islām to spread and triumph over all religions is considered a sacred duty of the Muslim nation.” If any of these learned scholars had taken the trouble to consult an ordinary dictionary of the Arabic language, he could never have made such a glaring misstatement. The word jihād is derived from jahd or juhd meaning ability, exertion or power, and jihād and mujāhida mean the exerting of one’s power in repelling the enemy (R.). The same authority then goes on to say: “Jihād is of three kinds; viz., the carrying on of a struggle: 1. against a visible enemy, 2. against the devil, and 3. against self (nafs). According to another authority, jihād means fighting with unbelievers and that is an intensive form (mubālaghah), and exerting one’s self to the extent of one’s ability and power whether it is by word (qaul) or deed (fi‘l) (N.). A third authority gives the following significance: “Jihād, inf. n. of jāhada, properly signifies the using or exerting of one’s utmost power,