Explaining the Jihad Model in Surah As-Saff Based on Imam Khamenei’s Interpretative Thought and a Critical Analysis of Orientalist Approaches

The concept of “Jihad” is a central axis of challenge between Islamic thought and Orientalist studies. Surah As-Saff, due to its Medinan nature and focus on mujahid-based order-making, provides a coherent platform for explaining the comprehensive model of Jihad. This research aims to extract the “Jihad model in Surah As-Saff” based on Imam Khamenei’s interpretative thought and to critically engage with Orientalist approaches, utilizing a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative-critical approach. The findings indicate that Jihad in Imam Khamenei’s thought, beyond a mere military act, is a three-dimensional system comprising “ontological foundations (Monotheism and Truthfulness),” “structural components (Organizational discipline),” and “civilizational goals (Perfection of Divine Light and victory of Religion).” In the critical layer, this study, by critiquing four key Orientalist approaches (Contextualism, Physical Reductionism, Legal Dualism, and Belligerent Essentialism), proves that Orientalists such as Nöldeke, Cook, Khadduri, and Lewis, due to their secular presuppositions and methodological reductionism, have been unable to comprehend the organic link between Jihad and “purification,” “faith,” and “revelatory rationality.” The central innovation of the article is the presentation of a “systematic methodological critique” based on civilizational interpretation, which redefines Quranic Jihad not as a tool for power-seeking, but as a “defensive-educational doctrine” for the liberation of humanity and confronting anti-monotheistic seditions.