The following is extracted from a new publication whose details shall follow in due course.......please read it and re -read it.......
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Jihad
Jihad is exhausting the effort in fighting for the sake of Allah either directly, or by way of financial assistance, or by giving opinion or bolstering the number of troops and the like. Hence, fighting to make the word of Allah reign supreme is Jihad. As for the Jihad by way of opinion for the sake of Allah, the opinion has to be directly related to fighting for the sake of Allah; otherwise, it would not be considered Jihad according to Shari’ah, even if it involved hardship and even if it yielded an advantage in making the word of Allah supreme, because Jihad is specific to fighting and anything directly linked to fighting. If giving opinion, advice, writing and delivering a speech were directly related to fighting, such as delivering a sermon to the armed forces to motivate them, or writing an article that exhorts fighting the enemies, it would be considered Jihad. Other than that, it would not. Hence, fighting the renegades who rebel against the Khalifah of the Muslims or undertaking political struggle, or earning a living or struggling against one’s own desires i.e. “Jihad ul Nafs”, or standing up to the tyrant Muslims’ rulers and accounting them, all this is not considered Jihad in Shari’ah terminology, even if it is called Jihad in the linguistic sense and even if it yielded great rewards and significant benefits for the Muslims. The issue is not one of hardship or advantage, but of the Shari’ah meaning in which the term has been mentioned; the Shari’ah meaning of jihad is fighting and anything related to it in terms of opinion, speech, essay stratagem and the like.
Jihad is an obligation according to the text of the Qur’an and the Hadith. Allah (swt) says: T.M.Q “And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere.” [8-39]
Allah (swt) also says: T.M.Q “Fight those who believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” [9-29]. He (swt) also says: T.M.Q “Fighting has been prescribed for you.” [2-216]. Allah (swt) says: T.M.Q. “Unless you go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty” [9-39] “O you who believe, fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you.” [9-123]
Anas (ra) said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Perform Jihad against the polytheists with your wealth, your hands and your tongues.”
Anas also reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: A raid for the sake of Allah or an expedition is better than life and anything in it.” He also reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “I have been ordered to fight people until they profess that there is no god but Allah.” Imam Ahmed and Abu Dawood reported on the authority of Anas that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Jihad has been ongoing since Allah sent me and will continue until the last generation of my Ummah fight al-Dajjal; it is not to be nullified by the tyranny of the despot or the fairness of the just ruler.” The Messenger of Allah (saw) also said on the authority of Zayd Ibnu Khaled: “Whoever equips a raider for the sake of Allah, it is as if he performed the raid himself; and he who looks benevolently after a raider’s family, it is as if he performed the raid himself.”
Ataa Ibnu Yazid al-Laythi reported that Abu Saeed al-Khudri (ra) said: “…They asked: O Messenger of Allah! Who are the best people? Upon this the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “A believer who performs Jihad for the sake of Allah with his body and his wealth.” He (saw) also said: “Whoever dies not having contemplated raiding, he would die on a path of hypocrisy.” Abu Awfa reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Let it be known that paradise is under the shades of swords.” Abu Hurayra (ra) reported: “A man from among the companions of the Messenger of Allah (saw) passed by a glen that had a spring, so he liked it and said: I wish I could keep away from all people and settle here, but I will not do so until I seek permission from the Messenger of Allah (saw). So he mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah; upon this he (saw) said: Do not do it, because to be engaged in fighting for the sake of Allah is better than praying at home for seventy years.”
The Obligation of Jihad
Jihad is initially a duty of sufficiency; it becomes an individual duty upon the Muslims who are attacked by the enemy and a duty of sufficiency upon the others. The obligation does not fall until the enemy is repelled and the land of Islam is purified of his squalor. The meaning of Jihad being a duty of sufficiency (Fardh Kifaya) is that we initiate the fighting of the enemy even if he did not attack us. If the Muslims failed to initiate the fighting at any given time they would all be sinful. For instance, if the Muslims in Egypt initiated the fighting, in their quality as part of the Islamic State, the Muslims in Indonesia would be absolved of blame, because the fighting of the belligerent Kuffar by the Muslims would effectively be undertaken, thus the duty of Jihad would be fulfilled.
However, if fighting broke out between the Muslims and the Kuffar, but the sufficiency was not fulfilled by the Muslims of Egypt alone, the obligation remains in force upon the Muslims of India and Indonesia; the obligation would fall upon the nearest to them until the sufficiency is fulfilled. If the sufficiency was not fulfilled until all the Muslims were involved, Jihad becomes obligatory upon every single Muslim until the enemy is defeated. Jihad remains a duty of sufficiency upon the Muslims generally, except for those called up by the Khalifah. Jihad becomes obligatory upon everyone called up by the Khalifah because Allah (swt) says: “O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, you cling heavily to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter.”; and because the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “If you are asked to go forth then do so.” The Kifaya in Jihad within the Islamic State means that a sufficient number of Muslims must undertake the task of fighting; they could either be conscripts i.e. regular soldiers as was the case in the times of Omar, or volunteers who have voluntarily prepared themselves for Jihad as was the case in the days of Abu Bakr.
The initiation of Jihad does not mean that we straightaway fight the enemies; we must rather call them to Islam. The Muslims are forbidden from fighting those the Islamic Da’wah is yet to reach. It is imperative to call the Kuffar to Islam and if they reject, the Jizya will be imposed on them and if they refuse to comply, we will fight them. Muslim reported on the authority of Suleiman Ibnu Burayda on that of his father who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (saw) appointed anyone as leader of an army or detachment he would especially exhort him to fear Allah and to be good to the Muslims who were with him. He would say: Fight; do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; and do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. Then invite them to migrate from their lands to the land of the Muhajireen (immigrants) and inform them that, if they do so, they shall have all the privileges and obligations of the Muhajireen. If they refuse to migrate, tell them that they will have the status of Bedouin Muslims and will be subjected to the commands of Allah like other Muslims, but they will not get any share from the spoils of war or alms except when they actually perform Jihad with the Muslims. If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them.” Ibnu Abbas reported: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) never fought any folk before inviting them.” Farwah Ibnu Musayk reported: “I said: “O Messenger of Allah, shall I fight with my consenting folk those who reject?” He said: “Yes.” Then after I left, he called me back and said: “Do not fight them until you call them to Islam.”
Jihad is a collective Duty
The reality of Jihad is that it is part of the duties related to the Islamic Ummah as a whole. It is not a rule related to individuals, as in the case of an individual defending himself against an assailant. Assaulting a person or a property unlawfully must be repelled, regardless of whether the assaulter is Muslim or Kafir. There is no argument over the right to defend oneself against an assault on his person, property or honour. However, this matter is looked into on a personal level, not on the level of the Ummah; whereas Jihad is related to the Islamic Ummah as a whole, because it is a collective duty.
How to Perform Jihad
Allah (swt) has decreed a number of rules demonstrating the manner of performing Jihad and has not left it to people’s own opinion. This manner, which is reflected in the actions and the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (saw), is the one we are commanded to follow and it is that manner that explains how we should perform Jihad. The Messenger of Allah (saw) - in his quality of the Emir of the Muslims – used to dispatch the expeditions of Jihad and appoint for every expedition an Emir and he used to also assume the leadership of the Army himself and perform Jihad. He (saw) said: “The Imam is but a shield behind which one fights and protect himself.” He (saw) also said: “Jihad is obligatory upon you with every Emir, be it righteous or dissolute.” The actions and the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (saw) demonstrate that the Muslims must appoint an Emir from amongst them and it is this Emir who organises the matter of Jihad. The reality of Jihad is that Allah (swt) has decreed it upon the Muslims as whole while they had an Emir; thus Jihad is a collective duty and with the Emir. This means that it is imperative for the Ummah to appoint an Emir. What is meant by Emir in this context is the general Emir who has the competency of running people’s affairs. If he did not have this competency, he would not be the Emir to whom the Shari’ah rule applies. Hence, Jihad is a collective duty and not an individual one; it has to be performed with a group because it is a collective duty.
Another condition of Jihad is that the ruler must be Muslim, be it righteous or dissolute (Fajir); the term Fajir does not include the Kafir because the Kafir cannot be Emir over the Muslim and the Muslim is not obliged to obey him. Allah (swt) says: “And never will Allah grant to the unbelievers a way over the believers.” [4-141].
Another condition of Jihad is that we fight the Kuffar in their quality as Kuffar, because for the fighting to be deemed as Jihad, it must be for the purpose of making the word of Allah supreme, carrying His Da’awah and in execution of His commands. Allah (swt) says: “Fight those who believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” [9-29] He (swt) also says: “O ye who believe! Fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Him.” [9-123] – “So fight against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.” [4–76] – “fight the chiefs of Unfaith.” [9-12] – “And fight the Pagans all together as they fight you all together.” [9-36].
Hence, the Sabab (cause) of Jihad is that those we fight are Kuffar who rejected the Da’awah to Islam. So we fight them until they embrace Islam and become part of the Islamic household, or pay the Jizya and submit to the authority of Islam, and their household becomes also part of the Islamic household.
Another condition for Jihad is that the fighting must not carry a plot to strike the Muslims and inflict harm on them; in other words, the fighting must not be a means to Haram, because the means to Haram is prohibited.
Another condition for the duty of Jihad and in order to avoid defeat is that the force of the Muslims should be at least half of the enemy’s when initiating the fighting. Allah (swt) says: “For the present, Allah has lightened your (task), for He knows that there is a weak spot in you: But (even so), if there are a hundred of you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred, and if a thousand, they will vanquish two thousand, with the leave of Allah, for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.” [8-66] Hence, Allah (swt) has not allowed the Muslims when initiating the fight to contemplate defeat even if the enemy’s force were double their own. This is the Shari’ah rule pertaining to performing the duty of Jihad in terms of initiating the fight against the Kuffar and carrying the Da’awah to them.
These are the conditions that must be generated in order to achieve the Jihad that Shari’ah has ordered and in the manner that it has commanded; without these conditions, Jihad is not obligatory upon the Muslims. The obligation then would be to achieve these conditions by working towards generating them, because the Shari’ah principle that applies to this reality stipulates that “whatever is necessary to accomplish a Wajib (duty) is in itself a duty.”
Fighting according to the aforementioned manner and conditions cannot be achieved through organisations and fighting groups, or through individual fighting, even though the fighting yields a personal reward if the intention is for the sake of Allah, and it does not remove the obligation to work towards what fulfils the task within the Shari’ah manner that Allah (swt) has demonstrated.
Jihad Is Ongoing Until the Day of Judgement
The Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw) in which he said: “Jihad is ongoing since Allah sent me until the last generation of my Ummah fight the Dajjal; it is not annulled by the tyranny of the despot or the fairness of the just.”, means the obligation is permanent, i.e. the Jihad against the polytheists is an obligation that continues until the Day of Judgement and is not dependent on the Imam being either tyrant or fair. Hence, Jihad cannot be voided and cannot be relinquished under the pretext of the tyranny or the justness of the rulers. His (saw) saying “the tyranny of the despot or the fairness of the just” is in reference to the Iman. Hence, the terms tyrant and fair act as adjectives to an omitted noun that refers to the Emir or Imam. The duty of Jihad is not dependent on the fairness or the tyranny of the rulers and performing it is not restricted to their fairness. This is the understanding of the scholars from among the generation of Tabi’een and those who came after them; we do not know of any difference of opinion about this topic. The Hadith does not in any way mean that Jihad is devoid of rules or conditions or that is can be performed in any way. It rather has a set of fixed rules and conditions derived from the Shari’ah evidences. It is a duty just like any other and it must be performed according to the evidence and according to its manner. There is no difference between Jihad and the other Shari’ah rules such as Zakat, Salat, the Hudud (penal codes) and the like, all of which have their Shari’ah conditions and causes, which must be observed.
Jihad and the reality of the Muslims Today
Here a question arises: Since Jihad has a set of conditions that must be observed and fulfilled and since one of the conditions is that Jihad in the absence of an Emir is not compulsory, while we witness the reality of the Muslims today that they do not have a Muslim Emir ruling over them; the question is: What should the Muslims do in case their lands are attacked by an aggressor, as is the case today in Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Chechnya and other Muslims’ lands? Would the Muslims let their lands be violated and their blood be shed?
The answer to this is that the Shari’ah rule related to the Muslims who live in these lands stipulates that they are obliged to repel the enemy in case he attacks their lands and everyone must go forth to fight him and expel him from their lands. If the Kifaya (sufficiency) to repel the enemy is not achieved, the obligation to repel shifts to the Muslims living nearest to these lands and so on, until sufficiency is achieved. If sufficiency is achieved and the Muslims succeed in repelling the enemy from their lands, the rest of the Muslims would be absolved of blame. However, if the enemy succeeded in defeating the Muslims and in dominating and occupying their lands, the obligation of repelling the enemy shifts to the Muslims nearest to them, because the people of the attacked would be under coercion and subjugated, unable to repel the enemy; thus, it is obligatory upon the Muslims to work towards recapturing these lands from the Kuffar irrespective of the sacrifices they may have to make.
However, the recapture of these lands is achieved through the restoration of the Islamic State that will prepare the armies and mobilise the Muslims to liberate the occupied lands. The liberation of the occupied lands is not through the forming of groups that undertake some military actions against the occupying forces. Although this type of fighting is permitted, it does not however achieve the objective of liberating the occupied lands. This is so because the issue is not merely to fight, but to fight for an objective, namely to liberate the lands from the occupation and the dominion of the Kuffar. If the Muslims contended themselves with the fighting undertaken by those groups, they would be letting their brethren down and squandering the faculties of everyone; this may also lead to consolidating the occupying forces in the Muslims’ lands instead of vanquishing them.
As for the fact that this type of fighting does not achieve the objective, this is clear from the fact that confronting the occupying states to repel them and to liberate the occupied lands requires a state; in other words it requires a state that will undertake the equipping, training and arming of the armed forces and directing these forces to fight the forces of the occupying state, and organising the military operations that lead to weakening the enemy and expelling him from our lands. Despite of what has arisen in the Muslims lands in terms of liberation movements, be it to fight the old colonialism or the neo-colonialism, these groups never managed to liberate a land occupied by the Kuffar by relying solely on their own resources and capabilities; some of them have rather consolidated the occupation of the Muslims’ lands by the Kufr states. Huge efforts were exhausted in order to undertake this endeavour instead of steering the energies of the Ummah towards establishing the entity that shoulders the responsibility of liberating the occupied Muslims’ lands, thus, it would be a nation fighting another nation, state fighting a state and an army fighting an army, as opposed to individuals and groups facing huge armies, or as opposed to what is referred to nowadays as resistance. In addition to the multiplicity of its groups and the weakness of its armament and training, its survival and continuity requires in most cases the backing of other forces, be it from foreign states or from the existing regimes which are affiliated to Kufr states, in order to maintain continuity and influence. Foreign backing is one of the means used to buy the loyalty of these groups or to exploit them or exert pressure on them. This means the acts of resistance are subject to the volition of the powers that sponsor the liberation movements. This leads to the ruin of not only the Muslims but of their lands as well.
On the other hand, no one told the Muslims to keep silent over the occupation of their lands and over the shedding of their blood by their enemies while they remain idle. However, what is the way to salvation? The point at issue is to rally around Islam and to protect it. Defending Islam necessitates defending the lands where Islam is existent. When the Muslim defends and protects the lands, he does so because they are Muslims’ lands, irrespective of whether they were an Islamic household or a Kufr household. Hence, wherever Islam is existent in any land, it is deemed a land for every Muslim. Islam calls for the defence of the Muslims’ lands because they are the lands of Islam and it deems every stretch of the Islamic lands as a frontline of Islam – if the enemy were to transgress it, Jihad becomes obligatory upon every Muslim. This is a concept that forms part of the Islamic Da’wah and is not an instinctive concept. These lands of Islam have been torn apart by the colonial Kafir and the authority of Islam has been removed. The Kafir established his own system over these lands and placed his own watchdogs from among the traitors and agents when the international situation forced him to withdraw his own armies. Therefore, whoever addresses the Ummah with the obligation of Jihad, he must explain the method by which the Ummah engages in Jihad, and not address the Ummah with this collective duty while she is torn to shreds. Hence, the Muslims should nowadays distinguish between what is permissible to do and what effectively fulfils the obligation and yields the desired result, in terms of vanquishing the enemy, expelling him from the occupied Muslims’ lands and salvaging the lands from his claws. The Muslims should also distinguish between what achieves for them the might and the strength and achieves the desired deterrent from the preparation for Jihad: “Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of Allah and your enemies.” , and what is a reaction to being invaded by the enemy and having their properties and their honour violated; in the case of the latter it would be easy for the plots and plans of the enemy to be passed with the Muslims realising it. Consequently, the Muslims should tread the only path that Islam has legislated to achieve unity and resist Kufr, namely establishing the Khilafah and undertaking the duty of Jihad. Nothing could unite the Muslims except the banner of Islam, and no one can gather the groupings of the Muslims except the Khalifah of the Muslims; nothing can protect Islam and defend the sanctity of the Muslims except the Jihad to make the word of Allah supreme. Hence, it is imperative to work towards establishing the Khilafah by destroying the existent entities in the lands of Islam and appointing a Khalifah to restore the authority of Islam and to hoist the banner of Islam and lead the Muslims to the battlefields of Jihad, fighting the Kuffar and the hypocrites to make the word of the Kuffar the lowest and the word of Allah the highest. The point at issue is not just a land usurped by the enemy; it is rather a war whose soldiers are the collaborating rulers and whose officers are the Western states as a whole, led by America. The one and only path to engage in this war would be by redressing the situation through the establishment of the Khilafah then by declaring Jihad for the sake of Allah to make His word supreme. This is the one and only path.
Our enemy, the Western Kafir occupies our lands, some politically, some militarily and some by displacing the Muslim people and placing his own people, providing them with all the means to act as an arsenal and a bridgehead for him. So how can such a force be fought through organisations and individuals? It is impossible to expel these enemies – as is the case in Palestine – except through armies that are organised, trained and equipped with what deters the enemy of Allah. This can only be achieved from outside the location that falls under the occupation of the enemy, from lands that are not militarily occupied, even if they were under the political dominion of the enemy. The method to achieve this is to engage in a relentless political struggle with the rulers, because they are the agents of the Kafir West in addition to ruling by other than what Allah has revealed. This political struggle should be coupled with the intellectual struggle against the thoughts of Kufr such as nationalism and capitalism and against those who carry such thoughts from among the aberrant and those who seek to deceive the masses. The method to achieve this is to carry the Islamic Da’wah and to work towards resuming the Islamic way of life. Hence, the situations must be changed by removing the rulers and then engage in a fierce war of liberation.
When the armies of the major powers descended in our lands as is the case today in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was the Muslims’ rulers who assisted them willingly and out of choice in occupying our lands, to prevent us from getting ourselves rid of their dominion. The issue today is not simply the issue of “Israel” or Palestine, nor is it the issue of a foreign influence controlling our lands, but rather the issue of the major powers’ armies occupying our lands in a “legitimate” manner through the United Nations; the Muslims have only one path, namely to reject this occupation and resists these plans before they are implemented. There is no other way to achieve this but by seizing the reins of power from those who wish to drive us towards the abyss. The hope still has its omens and the chance is not lost yet; averting the calamity is still possible. It lies in the removal of the rulers and seizing the leadership of the lands from the collaborators, then declaring the rejection of occupation and the presence of Israel as well as all the other plots; this would be part of the implementation of the suspended Islam once the Islamic State is established.
This is Islam and this is the clarity of vision, not the fabricated fatwas of the regimes’ scholars that conform to the general mood that had been generated and spread by the rulers, and for which some of the groups calling sincerely for Jihad had fallen; such fatwas do not salvage the lands and do not fulfil the obligation of Jihad, but often leads the Ummah towards executing the plans of the enemy represented today by the head of Kufr, America, and contributing to her unilateral dominion, thus bringing ruin and devastation rather than salvation and liberation. It is baffling to witness this pattern of events recurring ever since the Khilafah was destroyed up until today and yet the Muslims fail to learn the lesson and realise the unfruitfulness of this individualist approach and do not turn towards the collective sacrifice reflected in an Ummah that has her state, her authority and her will.
The Falsehood of Defensive Jihad
The enemies of Islam are attempting to generate among the Muslims that Jihad is a defensive war and not offensive and that initiating war against the enemies contradicts the meaning of Jihad in Islam. They justify their allegation by referring to Allah’s (swt) saying: “But if the enemy incline towards peace, do also incline towards peace.” [8-61] and also His saying: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors.” [2.190]
They also refer to Allah’s (swt) saying: “To those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they are wronged; and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid.” [22-39].
They argue that these verses denote defensive fighting and that the verse of initiating war does not abrogate the verses denoting that Jihad is for defensive situations.
The whole of this allegation is refuted from three aspects:
First: The evidences of Jihad are general and unrestricted; they encompass defensive war and initiation of war against the enemy; they also encompass limited war, unlimited war, and preventive war and so on. These evidences include all types of fighting against the enemy because they are general and unrestricted. To specify them or restrict them to being in reference to defensive war requires a text to either specify or restrict them; and there are no texts as such either from the Book or from the Sunnah; hence they remain general in their evidential aspect and they include all types of wars and all types of fighting against the enemy. Let us review the verses of Jihad in Surat al-Tawbah because this Surah is the last of what was revealed on fighting, thus ruling out any claim of specification or restriction or abrogation. Allah (swt) says: “Fight those who believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” [9-29]
Allah (swt) also says: “And fight the polytheists altogether as they fight you altogether and know that Allah is with the pious.” [9- 36]
Allah (swt) also says: “O Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell, an evil refuge indeed.” [9-73]
Allah (swt) also says: “Allah has indeed purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur'an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah. Then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme.” [9-111]
Allah (swt) also says: “O you who believe, fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Him. [9-123]
The order to fight has come in these five verses in a general and unrestricted manner: “fight those who do not believe in Allah…”, “fight the polytheists all together…” and so on. The denotation of the order is included and from the five verses, the generality and unrestrictive denotation can be clearly deduced; hence, they are proof that Jihad is fighting the Kuffar, be it initiating the fight, or defending the Muslims or the lands of Islam. They include defensive war, offensive war and all types of war, without any specification or restriction due to the non-existence of any specification of the general rule or any restriction of the unrestricted rule.
As for the verses: ““But if the enemy incline towards peace, do also incline towards peace” , “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors”, “To those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they are wronged; and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid” and other similar verses, these cannot indicate specification of the verses in Surat al-Tawbah, nor can they restrict them, because they had all been revealed before Surat al-Tawbah; it is well known that the former does not specify nor does it restrict the latter. This is so because specification amounts to an abrogation of a section from the general rule, since it moves the rule away from its generality by nullifying it in some part and placing another rule instead. Hence, since specification of a rule amounts to abrogation, and since abrogation stipulates that the abrogating rule must come later than the abrogated, these verses cannot specify the verses of Jihad because they had been revealed earlier. The verses in Surat al-Tawbah were the last of what was revealed on Jihad, thus specification cannot be established. Likewise, the same applies to restriction. The restricting text must come after or accompany the unrestricted in order to act as a restriction for it or for the referral of the unrestricted text to a restricting rule to be sound. In this context, the aforementioned verses and their like had been revealed before the verse of Surat al-Tawbah, thus they are invalid in terms of restriction and the unrestricted text cannot be attributed to a restricting rule because the unrestricted was revealed later. Therefore, these verses can neither specify nor restrict the rules of Jihad and consequently, their use as a proof that Jihad is a defensive war becomes redundant and non-applicable. The general rule maintains its evidential aspect due to the absence of any text that may specify it and the unrestricted rule maintains also its evidential aspect due to the absence of any text may either restrict it or make reference to it possible. Therefore, Jihad is fighting the enemies in an unrestricted manner and in a general manner: it includes offensive, defensive, preventive, limited, unlimited and all types of wars...
The following is extracted from a new publication whose details shall follow in due course.......please read it and re -read it.......
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Jihad
Jihad is exhausting the effort in fighting for the sake of Allah either directly, or by way of financial assistance, or by giving opinion or bolstering the number of troops and the like. Hence, fighting to make the word of Allah reign supreme is Jihad. As for the Jihad by way of opinion for the sake of Allah, the opinion has to be directly related to fighting for the sake of Allah; otherwise, it would not be considered Jihad according to Shari’ah, even if it involved hardship and even if it yielded an advantage in making the word of Allah supreme, because Jihad is specific to fighting and anything directly linked to fighting. If giving opinion, advice, writing and delivering a speech were directly related to fighting, such as delivering a sermon to the armed forces to motivate them, or writing an article that exhorts fighting the enemies, it would be considered Jihad. Other than that, it would not. Hence, fighting the renegades who rebel against the Khalifah of the Muslims or undertaking political struggle, or earning a living or struggling against one’s own desires i.e. “Jihad ul Nafs”, or standing up to the tyrant Muslims’ rulers and accounting them, all this is not considered Jihad in Shari’ah terminology, even if it is called Jihad in the linguistic sense and even if it yielded great rewards and significant benefits for the Muslims. The issue is not one of hardship or advantage, but of the Shari’ah meaning in which the term has been mentioned; the Shari’ah meaning of jihad is fighting and anything related to it in terms of opinion, speech, essay stratagem and the like.
Jihad is an obligation according to the text of the Qur’an and the Hadith. Allah (swt) says: T.M.Q “And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere.” [8-39]
Allah (swt) also says: T.M.Q “Fight those who believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” [9-29]. He (swt) also says: T.M.Q “Fighting has been prescribed for you.” [2-216]. Allah (swt) says: T.M.Q. “Unless you go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty” [9-39] “O you who believe, fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you.” [9-123]
Anas (ra) said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Perform Jihad against the polytheists with your wealth, your hands and your tongues.”
Anas also reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: A raid for the sake of Allah or an expedition is better than life and anything in it.” He also reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “I have been ordered to fight people until they profess that there is no god but Allah.” Imam Ahmed and Abu Dawood reported on the authority of Anas that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Jihad has been ongoing since Allah sent me and will continue until the last generation of my Ummah fight al-Dajjal; it is not to be nullified by the tyranny of the despot or the fairness of the just ruler.” The Messenger of Allah (saw) also said on the authority of Zayd Ibnu Khaled: “Whoever equips a raider for the sake of Allah, it is as if he performed the raid himself; and he who looks benevolently after a raider’s family, it is as if he performed the raid himself.”
Ataa Ibnu Yazid al-Laythi reported that Abu Saeed al-Khudri (ra) said: “…They asked: O Messenger of Allah! Who are the best people? Upon this the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “A believer who performs Jihad for the sake of Allah with his body and his wealth.” He (saw) also said: “Whoever dies not having contemplated raiding, he would die on a path of hypocrisy.” Abu Awfa reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Let it be known that paradise is under the shades of swords.” Abu Hurayra (ra) reported: “A man from among the companions of the Messenger of Allah (saw) passed by a glen that had a spring, so he liked it and said: I wish I could keep away from all people and settle here, but I will not do so until I seek permission from the Messenger of Allah (saw). So he mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah; upon this he (saw) said: Do not do it, because to be engaged in fighting for the sake of Allah is better than praying at home for seventy years.”
The Obligation of Jihad
Jihad is initially a duty of sufficiency; it becomes an individual duty upon the Muslims who are attacked by the enemy and a duty of sufficiency upon the others. The obligation does not fall until the enemy is repelled and the land of Islam is purified of his squalor. The meaning of Jihad being a duty of sufficiency (Fardh Kifaya) is that we initiate the fighting of the enemy even if he did not attack us. If the Muslims failed to initiate the fighting at any given time they would all be sinful. For instance, if the Muslims in Egypt initiated the fighting, in their quality as part of the Islamic State, the Muslims in Indonesia would be absolved of blame, because the fighting of the belligerent Kuffar by the Muslims would effectively be undertaken, thus the duty of Jihad would be fulfilled.
However, if fighting broke out between the Muslims and the Kuffar, but the sufficiency was not fulfilled by the Muslims of Egypt alone, the obligation remains in force upon the Muslims of India and Indonesia; the obligation would fall upon the nearest to them until the sufficiency is fulfilled. If the sufficiency was not fulfilled until all the Muslims were involved, Jihad becomes obligatory upon every single Muslim until the enemy is defeated. Jihad remains a duty of sufficiency upon the Muslims generally, except for those called up by the Khalifah. Jihad becomes obligatory upon everyone called up by the Khalifah because Allah (swt) says: “O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, you cling heavily to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter.”; and because the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “If you are asked to go forth then do so.” The Kifaya in Jihad within the Islamic State means that a sufficient number of Muslims must undertake the task of fighting; they could either be conscripts i.e. regular soldiers as was the case in the times of Omar, or volunteers who have voluntarily prepared themselves for Jihad as was the case in the days of Abu Bakr.
The initiation of Jihad does not mean that we straightaway fight the enemies; we must rather call them to Islam. The Muslims are forbidden from fighting those the Islamic Da’wah is yet to reach. It is imperative to call the Kuffar to Islam and if they reject, the Jizya will be imposed on them and if they refuse to comply, we will fight them. Muslim reported on the authority of Suleiman Ibnu Burayda on that of his father who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (saw) appointed anyone as leader of an army or detachment he would especially exhort him to fear Allah and to be good to the Muslims who were with him. He would say: Fight; do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; and do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. Then invite them to migrate from their lands to the land of the Muhajireen (immigrants) and inform them that, if they do so, they shall have all the privileges and obligations of the Muhajireen. If they refuse to migrate, tell them that they will have the status of Bedouin Muslims and will be subjected to the commands of Allah like other Muslims, but they will not get any share from the spoils of war or alms except when they actually perform Jihad with the Muslims. If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them.” Ibnu Abbas reported: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) never fought any folk before inviting them.” Farwah Ibnu Musayk reported: “I said: “O Messenger of Allah, shall I fight with my consenting folk those who reject?” He said: “Yes.” Then after I left, he called me back and said: “Do not fight them until you call them to Islam.”
Jihad is a collective Duty
The reality of Jihad is that it is part of the duties related to the Islamic Ummah as a whole. It is not a rule related to individuals, as in the case of an individual defending himself against an assailant. Assaulting a person or a property unlawfully must be repelled, regardless of whether the assaulter is Muslim or Kafir. There is no argument over the right to defend oneself against an assault on his person, property or honour. However, this matter is looked into on a personal level, not on the level of the Ummah; whereas Jihad is related to the Islamic Ummah as a whole, because it is a collective duty.
How to Perform Jihad
Allah (swt) has decreed a number of rules demonstrating the manner of performing Jihad and has not left it to people’s own opinion. This manner, which is reflected in the actions and the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (saw), is the one we are commanded to follow and it is that manner that explains how we should perform Jihad. The Messenger of Allah (saw) - in his quality of the Emir of the Muslims – used to dispatch the expeditions of Jihad and appoint for every expedition an Emir and he used to also assume the leadership of the Army himself and perform Jihad. He (saw) said: “The Imam is but a shield behind which one fights and protect himself.” He (saw) also said: “Jihad is obligatory upon you with every Emir, be it righteous or dissolute.” The actions and the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (saw) demonstrate that the Muslims must appoint an Emir from amongst them and it is this Emir who organises the matter of Jihad. The reality of Jihad is that Allah (swt) has decreed it upon the Muslims as whole while they had an Emir; thus Jihad is a collective duty and with the Emir. This means that it is imperative for the Ummah to appoint an Emir. What is meant by Emir in this context is the general Emir who has the competency of running people’s affairs. If he did not have this competency, he would not be the Emir to whom the Shari’ah rule applies. Hence, Jihad is a collective duty and not an individual one; it has to be performed with a group because it is a collective duty.
Another condition of Jihad is that the ruler must be Muslim, be it righteous or dissolute (Fajir); the term Fajir does not include the Kafir because the Kafir cannot be Emir over the Muslim and the Muslim is not obliged to obey him. Allah (swt) says: “And never will Allah grant to the unbelievers a way over the believers.” [4-141].
Another condition of Jihad is that we fight the Kuffar in their quality as Kuffar, because for the fighting to be deemed as Jihad, it must be for the purpose of making the word of Allah supreme, carrying His Da’awah and in execution of His commands. Allah (swt) says: “Fight those who believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” [9-29] He (swt) also says: “O ye who believe! Fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Him.” [9-123] – “So fight against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.” [4–76] – “fight the chiefs of Unfaith.” [9-12] – “And fight the Pagans all together as they fight you all together.” [9-36].
Hence, the Sabab (cause) of Jihad is that those we fight are Kuffar who rejected the Da’awah to Islam. So we fight them until they embrace Islam and become part of the Islamic household, or pay the Jizya and submit to the authority of Islam, and their household becomes also part of the Islamic household.
Another condition for Jihad is that the fighting must not carry a plot to strike the Muslims and inflict harm on them; in other words, the fighting must not be a means to Haram, because the means to Haram is prohibited.
Another condition for the duty of Jihad and in order to avoid defeat is that the force of the Muslims should be at least half of the enemy’s when initiating the fighting. Allah (swt) says: “For the present, Allah has lightened your (task), for He knows that there is a weak spot in you: But (even so), if there are a hundred of you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred, and if a thousand, they will vanquish two thousand, with the leave of Allah, for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.” [8-66] Hence, Allah (swt) has not allowed the Muslims when initiating the fight to contemplate defeat even if the enemy’s force were double their own. This is the Shari’ah rule pertaining to performing the duty of Jihad in terms of initiating the fight against the Kuffar and carrying the Da’awah to them.
These are the conditions that must be generated in order to achieve the Jihad that Shari’ah has ordered and in the manner that it has commanded; without these conditions, Jihad is not obligatory upon the Muslims. The obligation then would be to achieve these conditions by working towards generating them, because the Shari’ah principle that applies to this reality stipulates that “whatever is necessary to accomplish a Wajib (duty) is in itself a duty.”
Fighting according to the aforementioned manner and conditions cannot be achieved through organisations and fighting groups, or through individual fighting, even though the fighting yields a personal reward if the intention is for the sake of Allah, and it does not remove the obligation to work towards what fulfils the task within the Shari’ah manner that Allah (swt) has demonstrated.
Jihad Is Ongoing Until the Day of Judgement
The Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw) in which he said: “Jihad is ongoing since Allah sent me until the last generation of my Ummah fight the Dajjal; it is not annulled by the tyranny of the despot or the fairness of the just.”, means the obligation is permanent, i.e. the Jihad against the polytheists is an obligation that continues until the Day of Judgement and is not dependent on the Imam being either tyrant or fair. Hence, Jihad cannot be voided and cannot be relinquished under the pretext of the tyranny or the justness of the rulers. His (saw) saying “the tyranny of the despot or the fairness of the just” is in reference to the Iman. Hence, the terms tyrant and fair act as adjectives to an omitted noun that refers to the Emir or Imam. The duty of Jihad is not dependent on the fairness or the tyranny of the rulers and performing it is not restricted to their fairness. This is the understanding of the scholars from among the generation of Tabi’een and those who came after them; we do not know of any difference of opinion about this topic. The Hadith does not in any way mean that Jihad is devoid of rules or conditions or that is can be performed in any way. It rather has a set of fixed rules and conditions derived from the Shari’ah evidences. It is a duty just like any other and it must be performed according to the evidence and according to its manner. There is no difference between Jihad and the other Shari’ah rules such as Zakat, Salat, the Hudud (penal codes) and the like, all of which have their Shari’ah conditions and causes, which must be observed.
Jihad and the reality of the Muslims Today
Here a question arises: Since Jihad has a set of conditions that must be observed and fulfilled and since one of the conditions is that Jihad in the absence of an Emir is not compulsory, while we witness the reality of the Muslims today that they do not have a Muslim Emir ruling over them; the question is: What should the Muslims do in case their lands are attacked by an aggressor, as is the case today in Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Chechnya and other Muslims’ lands? Would the Muslims let their lands be violated and their blood be shed?
The answer to this is that the Shari’ah rule related to the Muslims who live in these lands stipulates that they are obliged to repel the enemy in case he attacks their lands and everyone must go forth to fight him and expel him from their lands. If the Kifaya (sufficiency) to repel the enemy is not achieved, the obligation to repel shifts to the Muslims living nearest to these lands and so on, until sufficiency is achieved. If sufficiency is achieved and the Muslims succeed in repelling the enemy from their lands, the rest of the Muslims would be absolved of blame. However, if the enemy succeeded in defeating the Muslims and in dominating and occupying their lands, the obligation of repelling the enemy shifts to the Muslims nearest to them, because the people of the attacked would be under coercion and subjugated, unable to repel the enemy; thus, it is obligatory upon the Muslims to work towards recapturing these lands from the Kuffar irrespective of the sacrifices they may have to make.
However, the recapture of these lands is achieved through the restoration of the Islamic State that will prepare the armies and mobilise the Muslims to liberate the occupied lands. The liberation of the occupied lands is not through the forming of groups that undertake some military actions against the occupying forces. Although this type of fighting is permitted, it does not however achieve the objective of liberating the occupied lands. This is so because the issue is not merely to fight, but to fight for an objective, namely to liberate the lands from the occupation and the dominion of the Kuffar. If the Muslims contended themselves with the fighting undertaken by those groups, they would be letting their brethren down and squandering the faculties of everyone; this may also lead to consolidating the occupying forces in the Muslims’ lands instead of vanquishing them.
As for the fact that this type of fighting does not achieve the objective, this is clear from the fact that confronting the occupying states to repel them and to liberate the occupied lands requires a state; in other words it requires a state that will undertake the equipping, training and arming of the armed forces and directing these forces to fight the forces of the occupying state, and organising the military operations that lead to weakening the enemy and expelling him from our lands. Despite of what has arisen in the Muslims lands in terms of liberation movements, be it to fight the old colonialism or the neo-colonialism, these groups never managed to liberate a land occupied by the Kuffar by relying solely on their own resources and capabilities; some of them have rather consolidated the occupation of the Muslims’ lands by the Kufr states. Huge efforts were exhausted in order to undertake this endeavour instead of steering the energies of the Ummah towards establishing the entity that shoulders the responsibility of liberating the occupied Muslims’ lands, thus, it would be a nation fighting another nation, state fighting a state and an army fighting an army, as opposed to individuals and groups facing huge armies, or as opposed to what is referred to nowadays as resistance. In addition to the multiplicity of its groups and the weakness of its armament and training, its survival and continuity requires in most cases the backing of other forces, be it from foreign states or from the existing regimes which are affiliated to Kufr states, in order to maintain continuity and influence. Foreign backing is one of the means used to buy the loyalty of these groups or to exploit them or exert pressure on them. This means the acts of resistance are subject to the volition of the powers that sponsor the liberation movements. This leads to the ruin of not only the Muslims but of their lands as well.
On the other hand, no one told the Muslims to keep silent over the occupation of their lands and over the shedding of their blood by their enemies while they remain idle. However, what is the way to salvation? The point at issue is to rally around Islam and to protect it. Defending Islam necessitates defending the lands where Islam is existent. When the Muslim defends and protects the lands, he does so because they are Muslims’ lands, irrespective of whether they were an Islamic household or a Kufr household. Hence, wherever Islam is existent in any land, it is deemed a land for every Muslim. Islam calls for the defence of the Muslims’ lands because they are the lands of Islam and it deems every stretch of the Islamic lands as a frontline of Islam – if the enemy were to transgress it, Jihad becomes obligatory upon every Muslim. This is a concept that forms part of the Islamic Da’wah and is not an instinctive concept. These lands of Islam have been torn apart by the colonial Kafir and the authority of Islam has been removed. The Kafir established his own system over these lands and placed his own watchdogs from among the traitors and agents when the international situation forced him to withdraw his own armies. Therefore, whoever addresses the Ummah with the obligation of Jihad, he must explain the method by which the Ummah engages in Jihad, and not address the Ummah with this collective duty while she is torn to shreds. Hence, the Muslims should nowadays distinguish between what is permissible to do and what effectively fulfils the obligation and yields the desired result, in terms of vanquishing the enemy, expelling him from the occupied Muslims’ lands and salvaging the lands from his claws. The Muslims should also distinguish between what achieves for them the might and the strength and achieves the desired deterrent from the preparation for Jihad: “Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of Allah and your enemies.” , and what is a reaction to being invaded by the enemy and having their properties and their honour violated; in the case of the latter it would be easy for the plots and plans of the enemy to be passed with the Muslims realising it. Consequently, the Muslims should tread the only path that Islam has legislated to achieve unity and resist Kufr, namely establishing the Khilafah and undertaking the duty of Jihad. Nothing could unite the Muslims except the banner of Islam, and no one can gather the groupings of the Muslims except the Khalifah of the Muslims; nothing can protect Islam and defend the sanctity of the Muslims except the Jihad to make the word of Allah supreme. Hence, it is imperative to work towards establishing the Khilafah by destroying the existent entities in the lands of Islam and appointing a Khalifah to restore the authority of Islam and to hoist the banner of Islam and lead the Muslims to the battlefields of Jihad, fighting the Kuffar and the hypocrites to make the word of the Kuffar the lowest and the word of Allah the highest. The point at issue is not just a land usurped by the enemy; it is rather a war whose soldiers are the collaborating rulers and whose officers are the Western states as a whole, led by America. The one and only path to engage in this war would be by redressing the situation through the establishment of the Khilafah then by declaring Jihad for the sake of Allah to make His word supreme. This is the one and only path.
Our enemy, the Western Kafir occupies our lands, some politically, some militarily and some by displacing the Muslim people and placing his own people, providing them with all the means to act as an arsenal and a bridgehead for him. So how can such a force be fought through organisations and individuals? It is impossible to expel these enemies – as is the case in Palestine – except through armies that are organised, trained and equipped with what deters the enemy of Allah. This can only be achieved from outside the location that falls under the occupation of the enemy, from lands that are not militarily occupied, even if they were under the political dominion of the enemy. The method to achieve this is to engage in a relentless political struggle with the rulers, because they are the agents of the Kafir West in addition to ruling by other than what Allah has revealed. This political struggle should be coupled with the intellectual struggle against the thoughts of Kufr such as nationalism and capitalism and against those who carry such thoughts from among the aberrant and those who seek to deceive the masses. The method to achieve this is to carry the Islamic Da’wah and to work towards resuming the Islamic way of life. Hence, the situations must be changed by removing the rulers and then engage in a fierce war of liberation.
When the armies of the major powers descended in our lands as is the case today in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was the Muslims’ rulers who assisted them willingly and out of choice in occupying our lands, to prevent us from getting ourselves rid of their dominion. The issue today is not simply the issue of “Israel” or Palestine, nor is it the issue of a foreign influence controlling our lands, but rather the issue of the major powers’ armies occupying our lands in a “legitimate” manner through the United Nations; the Muslims have only one path, namely to reject this occupation and resists these plans before they are implemented. There is no other way to achieve this but by seizing the reins of power from those who wish to drive us towards the abyss. The hope still has its omens and the chance is not lost yet; averting the calamity is still possible. It lies in the removal of the rulers and seizing the leadership of the lands from the collaborators, then declaring the rejection of occupation and the presence of Israel as well as all the other plots; this would be part of the implementation of the suspended Islam once the Islamic State is established.
This is Islam and this is the clarity of vision, not the fabricated fatwas of the regimes’ scholars that conform to the general mood that had been generated and spread by the rulers, and for which some of the groups calling sincerely for Jihad had fallen; such fatwas do not salvage the lands and do not fulfil the obligation of Jihad, but often leads the Ummah towards executing the plans of the enemy represented today by the head of Kufr, America, and contributing to her unilateral dominion, thus bringing ruin and devastation rather than salvation and liberation. It is baffling to witness this pattern of events recurring ever since the Khilafah was destroyed up until today and yet the Muslims fail to learn the lesson and realise the unfruitfulness of this individualist approach and do not turn towards the collective sacrifice reflected in an Ummah that has her state, her authority and her will.
The Falsehood of Defensive Jihad
The enemies of Islam are attempting to generate among the Muslims that Jihad is a defensive war and not offensive and that initiating war against the enemies contradicts the meaning of Jihad in Islam. They justify their allegation by referring to Allah’s (swt) saying: “But if the enemy incline towards peace, do also incline towards peace.” [8-61] and also His saying: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors.” [2.190]
They also refer to Allah’s (swt) saying: “To those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they are wronged; and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid.” [22-39].
They argue that these verses denote defensive fighting and that the verse of initiating war does not abrogate the verses denoting that Jihad is for defensive situations.
The whole of this allegation is refuted from three aspects:
First: The evidences of Jihad are general and unrestricted; they encompass defensive war and initiation of war against the enemy; they also encompass limited war, unlimited war, and preventive war and so on. These evidences include all types of fighting against the enemy because they are general and unrestricted. To specify them or restrict them to being in reference to defensive war requires a text to either specify or restrict them; and there are no texts as such either from the Book or from the Sunnah; hence they remain general in their evidential aspect and they include all types of wars and all types of fighting against the enemy. Let us review the verses of Jihad in Surat al-Tawbah because this Surah is the last of what was revealed on fighting, thus ruling out any claim of specification or restriction or abrogation. Allah (swt) says: “Fight those who believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” [9-29]
Allah (swt) also says: “And fight the polytheists altogether as they fight you altogether and know that Allah is with the pious.” [9- 36]
Allah (swt) also says: “O Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell, an evil refuge indeed.” [9-73]
Allah (swt) also says: “Allah has indeed purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur'an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah. Then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme.” [9-111]
Allah (swt) also says: “O you who believe, fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Him. [9-123]
The order to fight has come in these five verses in a general and unrestricted manner: “fight those who do not believe in Allah…”, “fight the polytheists all together…” and so on. The denotation of the order is included and from the five verses, the generality and unrestrictive denotation can be clearly deduced; hence, they are proof that Jihad is fighting the Kuffar, be it initiating the fight, or defending the Muslims or the lands of Islam. They include defensive war, offensive war and all types of war, without any specification or restriction due to the non-existence of any specification of the general rule or any restriction of the unrestricted rule.
As for the verses: ““But if the enemy incline towards peace, do also incline towards peace” , “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors”, “To those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they are wronged; and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid” and other similar verses, these cannot indicate specification of the verses in Surat al-Tawbah, nor can they restrict them, because they had all been revealed before Surat al-Tawbah; it is well known that the former does not specify nor does it restrict the latter. This is so because specification amounts to an abrogation of a section from the general rule, since it moves the rule away from its generality by nullifying it in some part and placing another rule instead. Hence, since specification of a rule amounts to abrogation, and since abrogation stipulates that the abrogating rule must come later than the abrogated, these verses cannot specify the verses of Jihad because they had been revealed earlier. The verses in Surat al-Tawbah were the last of what was revealed on Jihad, thus specification cannot be established. Likewise, the same applies to restriction. The restricting text must come after or accompany the unrestricted in order to act as a restriction for it or for the referral of the unrestricted text to a restricting rule to be sound. In this context, the aforementioned verses and their like had been revealed before the verse of Surat al-Tawbah, thus they are invalid in terms of restriction and the unrestricted text cannot be attributed to a restricting rule because the unrestricted was revealed later. Therefore, these verses can neither specify nor restrict the rules of Jihad and consequently, their use as a proof that Jihad is a defensive war becomes redundant and non-applicable. The general rule maintains its evidential aspect due to the absence of any text that may specify it and the unrestricted rule maintains also its evidential aspect due to the absence of any text may either restrict it or make reference to it possible. Therefore, Jihad is fighting the enemies in an unrestricted manner and in a general manner: it includes offensive, defensive, preventive, limited, unlimited and all types of wars...
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