According to search-discovered classical Islamic scholarship, the concept of 'striving hard against disbelievers and hypocrites' (Jihad al-Kuffar wal-Munafiqin) is a multi-faceted and highly contextual command in the Quran. The interpretation hinges critically on the period of revelation. In the Meccan period, as stated in Surah Al-Furqan (25:52), the command was for a 'great striving' (jihadan kabira) explicitly using the Quran itself as the tool, indicating an intellectual and spiritual struggle of proof and persuasion. Ibn Kathir confirms the view of Ibn Abbas that this is a jihad of argument, not arms. Conversely, the similar verses from the Medinan period, Surah At-Tawbah (9:73) and Surah At-Tahrim (66:9), were revealed when the Muslim community was an established state facing external warfare and internal sedition. Classical commentators like Al-Qurtubi and Al-Tabari explain that here, 'striving' against disbelievers referred to defensive warfare against belligerent armies, while striving against hypocrites involved establishing proof, implementing Islamic law, and being stern in speech to counter their conspiracies. This synthesis reveals that the Quranic directive is not a monolithic call to violence, but an adaptive principle of struggle whose method—ranging from intellectual debate to legal action to physical defense—is determined entirely by the context and nature of the challenge.