Is jihad obligatory in our time?
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Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: Is jihad obligatory in our time? And what is the response to the argument made with the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)Sunan Abi Dawud 3462Sahih (Al-Albani)?
Answer:
If the Muslims have the strength to be able to perform jihad and to wage war in the path of Allah, then it is obligatory upon the one in authority. This is within the authority of the one in authority: to form armies for war and to lead the armies himself, or to appoint commanders over them, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. However, if the Muslims are unable to fight the disbelievers, they postpone jihad until they are able to fight and perform jihad. But in this case, their fighting is in the category of defense. If someone wants their lands or invades their lands, they fight him in defense of their sanctities. And if they have strength, they fight a war of pursuit, not just a defensive war. A war of pursuit to spread Islam. This is done under a banner established by the one in authority of the Muslims, which he takes charge of himself, or he appoints someone to act on his behalf. This is a well-known matter in the books of jihad and the books of creed, because jihad is conducted with the rulers and with the imams. They are the ones who take charge of the affairs of jihad, under a single banner. There should not be multiple banners and groups, as has been experienced, because this leads to disagreement between the groups and conflict between the groups, and they do not achieve anything. It is necessary to unify the leadership; the leadership of jihad must be unified under a single banner, under the supervision of the one in authority of the Muslims.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: Is jihad obligatory in our time? And what is the response to the argument made with the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: I heard the Messenger of Allah, (ﷺ) say: When you enter into the inah transaction, hold the tails of oxen, are pleased with agriculture, and give up conducting jihad (struggle in the way of Allah). Allah will make disgrace prevail over you, and will not withdraw it until you return to your original religion.
إذا تبايعتم بالعينة، وأخذتم بأذناب البقر، وتركتم الجهاد، سلط الله عليكم ذلا لا يرفعه حتى ترجعوا إلى دينكمAnswer:
If the Muslims have the strength to be able to perform jihad and to wage war in the path of Allah, then it is obligatory upon the one in authority. This is within the authority of the one in authority: to form armies for war and to lead the armies himself, or to appoint commanders over them, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. However, if the Muslims are unable to fight the disbelievers, they postpone jihad until they are able to fight and perform jihad. But in this case, their fighting is in the category of defense. If someone wants their lands or invades their lands, they fight him in defense of their sanctities. And if they have strength, they fight a war of pursuit, not just a defensive war. A war of pursuit to spread Islam. This is done under a banner established by the one in authority of the Muslims, which he takes charge of himself, or he appoints someone to act on his behalf. This is a well-known matter in the books of jihad and the books of creed, because jihad is conducted with the rulers and with the imams. They are the ones who take charge of the affairs of jihad, under a single banner. There should not be multiple banners and groups, as has been experienced, because this leads to disagreement between the groups and conflict between the groups, and they do not achieve anything. It is necessary to unify the leadership; the leadership of jihad must be unified under a single banner, under the supervision of the one in authority of the Muslims.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل يجب الجهاد في وقتنا؟ لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.