thus he allowed him to teach while still in prison. (Some report say) Mansur finally decided to do away with the great Imam and had him poisoned. Abu Hanifah, feeling the effects of the poison, bent down in prayer and died in the month of Rajab. News of the Imam's death reached far-and-wide, and thousands gathered at the prison. The city Qadi washed his body, and kept repeating:"By God, you were the greatest faqih and the most pious man of our time ..."

By the time the bathing was finished, so many people had assembled that the funeral prayer was performed attended by fifty thousand people. The Great Imam died in Baghdad in 150 A.H at the age of seventy. May Allah (swt) be pleased with him.

Friday

The Arabic word"jihad" is a noun. Its singular past tense verb is "jahada" (masculine) or "jahadat" (feminine). The singular active participle of "jihad" is "mujahid" (masculine) or "mujahida"(feminine). The root of the word "jihad" is "juhd" which means "effort." Another related word is "ijtihad"which means "working hard or diligently."

Jihad is simply the process of "exerting the best efforts," involving some form of "struggle" and "resistance," to achieve a particular goal. In other words, jihad is the struggle against, or resistance to, something for the sake of a goal. The meaning of the word is independent of the nature of the invested efforts or the sought goal.

Contrary to common belief, the word "jihad" does not necessarily imply any violent effort, let alone "war" and such instances of extreme violence. It is