Jihad al-Akbar, The Greatest Jihad: Combat with the Self

Description

Jihad al-Akbar (Great Jihad, Struggle against self) is the collection of lectures of Imam Khomeini (r) when he in exile in Najaf, Iraq during 1964-1978. It’s a masterpiece on self-purification especially for the students of religious seminaries. Imam (r) as an expert of Islamic mysticism or ‘Irfan, deals extensively on the topic of purifying one’s soul before seeking knowledge. According to Imam (r) any knowledge, even religious knowledge acquired without self-purification and self-discipline will ultimately lead a person away from God and towards dark and tortuous road of misguidance laid out by Satan (devil) and motivated by the self-love and seeking the world. Foreword 7 Preface 11 Introduction 13 Recommendations for the Seminaries of Religious Learning 23 The Importance of the Refinement and Purification of the Soul 27 Warnings to the Seminaries 35 Divine Blessings 41 Points regarding the Intimate Devotions 43 The Veils of Man 51 Knowledge and Faith 53 The First Step in Refinement 57 Another Warning 65 Selected Quotations 69 The Intimate Devotions of the Month of Sha‘ban 73