The Idea of jihād and Its Evolution: Ḥasan al-Bannā and the Society of the Muslim Brothers

This article aims to present the evolution of jihād in Ḥasan al-Bannā’s thought and writings throughout the 1930s, the first decade of the Society of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt. While in the early years of the Society al-Bannā gave jihād a moderate interpretation, the idea assumed a different, more militant one during the latter half of the 1930s. This change corresponded with and reflected a transformation that the Society itself experienced; from a developing socio-religious Society to one that was intertwined with Egyptian politics and won the support of the masses. This analysis revolves around two rasāʾil written by al-Bannā during this formative period of his Society – Daʿwatunā and Risālat al-Jihād .