Although the term jihad (literally, a “struggle” or “striving”) conveys a myriad of meanings in Islamic religious culture, in Islamic law it typically signifies an armed struggle against outsiders, primarily non-Muslims. It is this understanding of jihad that concerns us here. But before examining the Islamic legal dimensions of jihad, we shall first consider how the primary sources of Islamic thought – the Qur'an and early Muslim accounts of the actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers – portray war and peace.