The Ruling on Jihad: Individual Obligation and Collective Obligation

Question : The questioner asks: Is jihad in Afghanistan an individual obligation or a collective obligation?

Answer : All jihad is a collective obligation, and it does not become an individual obligation except in specific cases, and this matter is not one of them. However, jihad requires the ability to perform it, just as other obligatory acts require the ability to perform them. It also requires the removal of obstacles. Not all obligatory acts are obligatory in an absolute sense, for Allah the Exalted says: and He says: . But the reality is that jihad in Afghanistan may be with the body, such that a man goes there and fights, or it may be with wealth. Jihad with wealth is the counterpart of jihad with the self. For this reason, Allah Blessed and Exalted is He always pairs jihad with wealth with jihad with the self; it is its counterpart and its companion in the Book of Allah. For this reason, we encourage our Muslim brothers who do not go with their own persons to participate with the mujahideen there by jihad with their wealth, and to spend money for these mujahideen in the cause of Allah, whether that is by way of voluntary charity or by way of giving zakah. For spending zakah for jihad in the cause of Allah is one of the categories that Allah the Exalted mentioned in the Qur'an.