Surah Al-Taubah 9:73

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ

9:73 The verses 45-59 and 61-69 give an account of hypocrites. The present verse says, “O Prophet! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites”. It is a historical fact that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) never physically fought against the hypocrites of Madînah. This indicates that jihâd does not mean to fight against people physically; otherwise, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) would have done so against the hypocrites. The verse clearly gives different meaning than usually understood, to the word jihâd. Jahadaجھد – the root word, signifies the using of ones utmost power in contending with an object of disapprobation (Tâj). As this verse indicates, there is nothing in the word jâhidaجَاهِدِ to indicate that its outcomes must be achieved by force (Râzî). An exception was the case of hypocrites collaborating and physically fighting with the enemies of Islam at the time of the Battle of the Confederates in Madînah (cf. 33:61).