Mujâdala (disputation) consists in silencing another, rendering them incapable, and by opposing their words, diminishing their worth, and claiming that their speech is faulty and ignorant. The evidence for this is that the admonition for the sake of the Truth appears ugly to the one being disputed with from another perspective. In this case, one should state the error so that it becomes clear that he himself is virtuous and his companion is at fault. Even if he remains silent, he is only saved by refraining from everything except that which does not lead to sin. (Ihyâ', III, 145)
mujâhada/mujâhadât (the fortress of the body; mujâhadât of the murīd)
Abū Yazīd (al-Bistāmī) said: There are ten things that are the fortress of the body: guarding the eyes, turning the tongue with dhikr (remembrance of God), self-reckoning of the nafs (the lower self), acting upon knowledge, preserving adab (proper conduct), distancing the body from the occupations of the dunyā (the world), withdrawing from people and practicing seclusion, mujâhada with the nafs, abundant worship, and following the Sunnah.
I heard from Ustadh Abū ʿAlī al-Daqqāq: Allah adorns the outward of the one who adorns himself with mujâhada, and adorns his inward with mushāhada (spiritual witnessing). (Qushayrī, 52)
The essence of mujâhada is that the sālik (spiritual traveler) opposes his caprice (hawā). To realize this, he restrains his nafs from what it is accustomed to, from desires and pleasures; he directs most of his time contrary to his caprice. When he plunges into desires, he reins in his nafs with the bridle of taqwā (God-consciousness) and fear of Allah. When his nafs becomes sorrowful, and when it falls short in performing acts of obedience and what it must follow, he drives it to obedience with the whip of khawf (fear), opposition to caprice, and preventing pleasures. (Gunya, II, 184)
Mujâhadât is to prevent the nafs from what it is accustomed to, to direct it contrary to its caprice, to restrain it from desires, to subject it to hardship, to make it taste bitterness, to engage in abundant wird (regular devotions), (command and mujâhada/mujâhadât)
to feel remorse for acting contrary to prohibitions, to seize it with fasting and supererogatory prayers, and to make it abandon bad habits. For this, the sālik tries to exchange sleep for sleeplessness, satiety for hunger, and comfort for hardship. (Ādāb, 27)
The one who truly strives against his nafs with gayret (zeal) is the possessor of mujâhada and muḥāsaba (self-reckoning).
Mujâhada is to direct the nafs and body to hardship and, in every circumstance, to oppose caprice. (Istilāḥ, 534)
Mujâhada is as follows: When the murīd (aspirant, disciple) performs self-reckoning of the nafs and sees that his nafs has committed a sin, he should punish it. If he sees that his nafs has been lazy in any virtue or wird, he should discipline it by increasing the wirds. Indeed, Ibn ʿUmar, when he missed a congregation, spent the whole night in worship making up for it. If his nafs does not obey him in performing the wirds, he struggles with it and compels it as much as possible. (Qudāma, 403)
Some authors have assigned mujâhadât to bodily activities and riyāḍāt to the feelings (emotions) of the nafs. In my view, all of these are related to the affairs of the nafs. Praise be to Allah, we have pointed out all of these in such a way that the intended meaning is achieved in every ḥāl (spiritual state), and we have said:
Know that the maqāms (spiritual stations) of the ʿārif (gnostic) who traverses the presence of the Truth (God) consist of stations that must be passed through one by one. When he ascends from one maqām to another, he turns to the next maqām, completes it so as to encompass its stages, and passes through its phases. Islam, iman (faith), and ihsan (spiritual excellence) are three modes, each characterized by different degrees of virtue. Having surpassed the register of those modes, having memorized their pages well, and having passed through all their forms, he stands with their attributes, so that the beginning is connected to the end, the head to the tail. Unity does not prevent him from separation, nor does creation prevent him from the Truth. The door of absolute mushāhada (spiritual witnessing) is not closed to him. His station is the maqām al-maḥmūd (the Praised Station). His essence is the mirror in which the manifestation of existence occurs. If we were to enumerate the stations and their degrees and the sālik's journey through the stages, the book would be filled with pages of content and terminology covering the horizon. (Rawḍa, 475)
Even if you do not see a sign of victory (fatḥ), never abandon mujâhada. On the contrary, persist in mujâhada. For after mujâhada, fatḥ (opening, victory) is a state that necessarily comes along with deeds and is something that the souls must attain. However, there is a fixed time for the fatḥ. Never harbor suspicion about your Lord. For if you are sincere (ikhlāṣ), your deeds will certainly bear fruit. Remove all suspicion about your Lord from your nafs and avoid being among the people of suspicion. (Anwār, I, 129)
The highest mujâhada of the murīd is not to desire the honor and fame that arise as a result of his obedience, that is, at the end of his mujâhada. (Anwār, I, 162)
Mujâhada is to strip oneself of comfort and to abandon seeking dispensation. (Jāmiʿ, 54)
Mujâhada is divided into three. The first is the mujâhada of the common people. This is the mujâdala (disputation) with one who openly displays his kufr (disbelief). The second is the mujâhada of the elite. This is the mujâdala with a disbeliever who conceals his kufr. The third is the mujâhada of the elite of the elite. This is the mujâhada with the nafs. (Jāmiʿ, 60)
The literal meaning of mujâhada is to wage war. In the sharia, mujâhada means to fight the enemies of Allah. According to the people of reality, mujâhada is to constantly struggle with the nafs that commands evil and to direct it to the religiously required commands that are burdensome to it. Some have explained mujâhada as opposing the nafs, others as restraining the nafs from what it is accustomed to.
Mujâhada is divided into two: The first is the mujâhada of the common people, which is to succeed in performing deeds. The second is the mujâhada of the elite, which is to rectify the spiritual states. For, compared to changing bad character, enduring hunger and sleeplessness is both easier and simpler. To strive in the way of Allah is one of the greatest means of reaching Allah. (Jāmiʿ, 176)