"Jabir narrated:
The Messenger of God (God bless him and give him peace) returned from a military campaign. He (God bless him and give him peace) said, ‘You have arrived with a good arrival from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.’
They said, ‘And what is the greater jihad?’
He said, ‘The slave’s battle against his passion.’”
“My teachers and elders have told me many times that the key to a Muhammad-like existence lies in pursuing balance, in harmonizing opposites. The lesser and greater jihads find special harmony in the life of Muhammad’s most complete follower, his cousin and son-in-law, ‘Ali, whose achievements on the battlefield reflect both his courage and his grace. Fighting the fearsome ‘Amr ibn Abd al-Wudd at the Battle of the Trench, ‘Ali is said to have gained the upper hand and prepared to deliver the fatal blow when ‘Amr spit in ‘Ali’s face. ‘Ali then lowered his sword and refrained from killing ‘Amr. ‘Ali would later explain that he had been fighting selflessly in the cause of God, feeling neither a desire for glory nor enmity toward his opponents, but when ‘Amr spit in this face, ‘Ali suddenly became angry, which threatened the purity of his intention. Rather than kill for his own satisfaction, ‘Ali withdrew from combat, at least until he could regulate his emotions and rededicate himself to God. At this moment, ‘Ali simultaneously participates in both the lesser and greater jihads, prioritizing the greater and treating moral self-perfection as a more urgent goal than military victory or even his survival. Before defeating his external enemy with the mere swing of sharpened metal, the Lion of God conquered a more dangerous enemy within.”
