xxviii JIHAD

various kinds of worship, inspite of His praising those who maintain the mosques in His statement: "The mosques of Allah shall be maintained only by those who believe in Allah and the last day, offer prayers perfectly, give obligatory charity and fear none but Allah. It is they who are expected to receive true guidance. (9:18).

So it is they (above said people) who are [called by Allah] as "the maintainers of the mosques" And inspite of all this, still the people who do Jihad are far superior in grade than them (maintainers of the mosques) before Allah.

And Allah said "Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) except those who are disabled (by injury, or are blind, or are lame, etc.) and those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah. He has preferred in grade those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and lives to those who sit (at home). Unto each Allah has promised good, but Allah has preferred those who strive hard and fight above those who sit (at home) by a huge reward (4:95).

Degrees of (higher) Grades from Him, Forgiveness and Mercy.

And Allah is ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (4:96).

So He (the Almighty) denied the equality between the believers who sit (at home) and join not in Jihad and the Mujahidin (those who fight in Allah's cause) Then He mentioned the superiority of the Mujahidin over those (believers) who sit (at home) by a grade and then later on mentioned their (Mujahidin) superiority over them (believers who sit at home) by degrees of grades.

Ibn Zaid (a religious scholar) said: These degrees of grades with which Allah preferred the Mujahidin over those (believers) who sit (at home) are seven and these Allah mentioned in His statement: "That is because they suffer neither thirst, nor fatigue, nor hunger in the cause of Allah, nor step they any step to raise the anger of disbelievers or inflict any injury (killing, robbing or taking captive, etc.) upon an enemy, but is written to their credit as a good deed. Surely Allah loses not the reward of the doers of good (9:120).

So these are five Then Allah said: Nor do they spend any thing (in Allah's cause) small or great nor cross a valley, but it is written to their credit. (9:121).

And sufficient is this excellence (for a Mujahid which he will receive) honour and high degrees of grade along with other things which Allah has made clear in the Qur'an: about the description of the reward of Mujahidin, their magnificent state, moving of feelings and sentiments, the demanding of sacrifice in the cause of inviting others to Islam, to put strength and courage in the souls and to