Physical jihad is the pinnacle of Islam,
and some scholars regarded it as the sixth pillar of Islam
15-04-2008
The Muslims have neglected jihad for a long time, so they deserve the punishment
of Allaah, to be humiliated, belittled and defeated. That humiliation will never
be lifted from them until they come back to their religion as the Prophet (salla
Allahu alayhi wa salam) said: “When you enter into the ‘aynah transaction, hold
the tails of oxen, are content with farming, and give up jihad, Allaah will
cause humiliation to prevail over you, and will not withdraw it until you return
to your commitment to Islam.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2956; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
[Translator’s note: ‘Aynah transaction means to sell a product for a known price
with deferred payment and then buy it back from the purchaser for a lesser
price, so the purchaser will still have to pay the difference in the future]
One of the strangest things to note is that we are living in a time when some of
the Muslims are embarrassed to quote the verses and ahaadeeth on jihad in front
of their kaafir friends. Their faces turn red because they are too shy to
mention the rulings on the jizyah, slavery and killing prisoners of war. They
wish that they could erase these verses and ahaadeeth from the Qur’aan and
Sunnah so that they would not be criticized by this world with its backward
principles despite its claims to be civilized. If they cannot erase them then
they try to misinterpret them and distort their meanings so that they suit the
whims and desires of their masters. I will not say so that they suit their whims
and desires, for they are too weak to have their own whims and desires, and too
ignorant. Rather it is the whims and desires of their masters and teachers among
the missionaries and colonialists, the enemies of Islam.”
‘Umdat al-Tafseer, 1/46.
The result of that is that we hardly hear anything nowadays apart from the
following phrases: world peace … peaceful coexistence … safe borders … a new
world order … the calamities of war…
Those who proclaim the verses and ahaadeeth of jihad nowadays are subject to a
number of accusations. They are called terrorists, extremists, enemies of peace
and bloodthirsty, and are accused of wanting to destroy twentieth century
civilization.
This is the unfortunate reality in which the Muslim ummah is living nowadays.
That is because we have given up supporting our religion and doing the duties
that Allaah has enjoined upon us.
Allaah has commanded us to support His religion and to wage jihad against His
enemies.
There are so many verses that enjoin jihad against the mushrikeen and fighting
them until all submission is for Allaah alone; they clearly state that it is
obligatory and is prescribed and is compulsory. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
“Jihaad (holy fighting in Allaah’s Cause) is ordained for you (Muslims)
though you dislike it, and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for
you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allaah knows but you do not
know” [al-Baqarah 2:216]
Rulings on jihad
The scholars (rahemahum Allah) have mentioned the rulings on jihad and have
stated that jihad is of two types:
1 – Taking the initiative in fighting
This means pursuing the kaafirs in their lands and calling them to Islam and
fighting them if they do not agree to submit to the rule of Islam.
This kind of jihad is fard kifaayah (a communal obligation) upon the Muslims.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism, i.e.
worshipping others besides Allaah), and the religion (worship) will all be for
Allaah Alone [in the whole of the world]. But if they cease (worshipping others
besides Allaah), then certainly, Allaah is All-Seer of what they do” [al-Anfaal
8:39]
“Then when the Sacred Months (the Ist, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the
Islamic calendar) have passed, then kill the Mushrikoon (see V.2:105) wherever
you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in
each and every ambush. But if they repent [by rejecting Shirk (polytheism) and
accept Islamic Monotheism] and perform As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as-Salaah), and give
Zakaah, then leave their way free. Verily, Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful” [al-Tawbah 9:5]
“and fight against the Mushrikoon (polytheists, pagans, idolaters,
disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah) collectively as they fight against you
collectively. But know that Allaah is with those who are Al-Muttaqoon (the
pious” [al-Tawbah 9:36]
“March forth, whether you are light (being healthy, young and wealthy) or
heavy (being ill, old and poor), and strive hard with your wealth and your lives
in the Cause of Allaah. This is better for you, if you but knew”
[al-Tawbah 9:41]
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allaah (salla Allahu alayhi
wa salam) said: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they bear
witness that there is no god but Allaah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allaah, and establish regular prayer, and pay zakaah, If they do that then their
blood and wealth is safe from me, except by the laws of Islam, and their
reckoning will be with Allaah.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 24; Muslim, 29.
Muslim (3533) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi
wa salam) said: “Whoever dies without having fought or thought to himself about
fighting has died following one of the branches of hypocrisy.”
All of these texts – and many others in the Qur’aan and Sunnah – mean that it is
obligatory for the Muslims to wage jihad against the kuffaar and take the
initiative in that. The scholars are unanimously agreed that jihad against the
kuffar, and seeking them in their own lands, and calling them to Islam, and
waging jihad against them if they do not accept Islam or accept paying the
jizyah, is obligatory and has not been abrogated.
Shaykh al-Islam (28/249) said:
Everyone who hears the call of the Messenger of Allaah (salla Allahu alayhi wa
salam) to the religion of Allaah with which he was sent and does not respond to
it must be fought so that there will be no fitnah and so that submission will
all be for Allaah.
Ibn ‘Atiyah said (2/43): There remains scholarly consensus that jihad is a
communal obligation upon the ummah of Muhammad (salla Allahu alayhi wa salam),
and if some of the Muslims undertake this duty the rest are absolved of
responsibility.
2 – Jihad in self-defence.
If the kuffaar attack and occupy a Muslim country, or they prepare to attack the
Muslims, then it is obligatory for the Muslims to fight them so as to ward off
their evil and foil their plots. Jihad in self-defence is fard ‘ayn (an
individual obligation) upon the Muslims, according to scholarly consensus.
Al-Qurtubi (rahemahu Allah) said in his Tafseer (8/15):
When jihad becomes inevitable because the enemy has overrun one of the (Muslim)
regions, then it becomes obligatory for all the people of that region to
mobilize and to go out to fight, whether they are light (being healthy, young
and wealthy) or heavy (being ill, old and poor), each according to his
abilities, with or without the permission of his parents. No one who is able to
go out, warrior or helper, should stay behind. If the people of that country are
unable to fight their enemy, then those in nearby and neighbouring countries
have to go out to fight, in whatever numbers are required to show support, so
that they will know that they have the strength to stand up to them and ward
them off. Similarly everyone who knows of their weakness in the face of their
enemies and knows that he can go and help them must also go out and fight. All
of the Muslims should be united against their enemies. If the people of the area
where the enemy has invaded and occupied fight off the enemy themselves, then
the others are relieved of that duty. If the enemy approaches the Muslim lands
but does not enter, the Muslims must still go out to confront them so that the
religion of Allaah will prevail and in order to protect the Muslim homeland and
humiliate the enemy. There is no scholarly dispute on this point.
Shaykh al-Islam (28/358-359) said:
If the enemy wants to attack the Muslims then resisting becomes obligatory on
all those who are under threat, and those who are not under threat are obliged
to help them, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“but if they seek your help in religion, it is your duty to help them except
against a people with whom you have a treaty of mutual alliance” [al-Anfaal
8:72]
And the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa salam) also commanded us to help other
Muslims. This is obligatory upon each person as much as possible, by fighting
himself or by giving financial support, as was the case at the time of al-Khandaq,
when Allaah did not grant any concession to anyone not to fight. Rather the
Qur’aan condemns those who asked the Prophet for permission [not to fight] on
the grounds that their houses were vulnerable when that was not the case, rather
they just wanted to flee the battle. This fighting is in order to protect the
relihion, and protect lives and honour, and this is absolutely essential.
This is the ruling on physical jihad in Islam, whether that is taking the
initiative to call the kuffaar to enter this religion and subjugate them to the
rule of Islam, or jihad to defend the religion and honour of the Muslims.
May Allaah to bring the Muslims back to their religion.
Submitted by a Mujahid