What is your opinion regarding the position of the Saudi state toward the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait?

The questioner : Nasser, may Allah reward you with good. In your answer to the question concerning the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, you stated that this aggression is tyranny and injustice that is not permissible in the Shari'ah. You also stated that the Saudi state was the one from whom it was expected that they would apply the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): . And you said, may Allah reward you with good, that this Saudi state is unable to enforce this Shari'ah ruling upon Iraq due to the relative weakness of its military power. So, when they feared that what befell their neighbor Kuwait would befall them in that state, they sought the aid of some Islamic armies and some disbelieving armies. So the question is: what should the Saudi state have done? And you, may Allah reward you with good, know that the Iraqi army is stronger than the armies of the Arab states combined?

The Shaykh : It was obligatory upon them to apply the Qur'anic text, which is to confront the aggressor in kind, and for the Saudi people to mobilize entirely and confront the aggression in kind, seeking victory from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For it is not a condition in fighting the disbeliever or the rebel—especially since the Shaykhs of Saudi Arabia are unanimous in declaring this ruler in Iraq a disbeliever—that the Muslim army must be equal in number and equipment to the disbelieving army. Rather, they must prepare as much as they are able and then seek victory from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). This was the obligatory thing for them to do. Now, you see that the Saudis announce from time to time that they have attacked with their aircraft and struck the Iraqi army in Kuwait, and perhaps invaded Iraqi territory, and so on. It is said to the Saudis: why was this not done before? Why was your confrontation not done, especially since they feared that the Iraqi army would invade them, and this was after it had already invaded them? It was obligatory upon them to mobilize entirely, to advance with the army they had, and to seek the aid of some Islamic states to repel the aggression of the rebellious Iraqi army, which is undoubtedly a rebel. But they relied on ease and relied on seeking the aid of disbelievers. I wish those disbelievers had been "from the door of the lesser of two evils," as the jurists say in some cases. But the very sad reality is that they sought the aid and assistance of some states that are the most hostile of disbelievers to the Muslims, namely the British and the Americans. This is not permissible in any aspect of knowledge or jurisprudence, despite the disagreement among jurists regarding the permissibility of seeking the aid of disbelievers. However, none of them ever permits seeking the aid of disbelievers absolutely. Rather, they have established a very important condition that the Saudis did not adhere to and did not even come close to adhering to, which is that the Muslim ruler or the Muslim state must be stronger than the disbelievers being sought for aid. This is a condition explicitly stated in all books of jurisprudence, especially Hanbali jurisprudence, upon which the Saudi judiciary relies. In the book al-Mughni and al-Sharh al-Kabir, it is explicitly stated that if a disbeliever or disbelievers are sought for aid, the Muslims must have the upper hand over them. And now, as every person free from bias knows completely, this condition is entirely absent. For if they had sought the aid of only the Americans, without the other disbelieving states, this condition would not be met in such an assistance. For if the Saudis found an excuse for themselves in seeking the aid of disbelieving states and enemies of Islam and Muslims because their army is weaker than the Iraqi army, and they considered that an excuse, how did they fail to realize that these disbelievers are much stronger than Iraq and Saudi Arabia combined, as you see the bitter reality now? But the issue is not that the Saudis feared being attacked by the Iraqis and so sought the aid of disbelievers, for the Shari'ah permits them to do so. No, unfortunately, they did not think about this. I think you all know that all Arab states, and indeed Islamic states—I mean by this emphasis that all Islamic states, whether Arab or non-Arab, but united by Islam—I say, with great regret, that past experiences tell us with certainty that these states were walking in the train of disbelieving states, either Eastern or Western, as you know. And among these Arab states was Iraq itself. But the matter is in the hand of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And so it is from the Sunnah for the Muslim, in his supplication, to say, in response to the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): . He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this hadith when some of his people heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) frequently making the supplication: . So they asked the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) about the reason for the frequent making of this supplication, and he answered with that hadith: .
The Shaykh: So now the first event has occurred, which is the aggression of Iraq against Kuwait. And this is undoubtedly not approved by any Muslim who understands Islam in its Shari'ah texts from the Book and the Sunnah. But the Saudi response was not this response based on Shari'ah rulings; rather, it was based on the school of Abu Nuwas. Do you know his school? He used to say, "And I treated the disease with what was the disease." So he treated the disease with something worse and more harmful, which is seeking the aid of the largest armies of the disbelievers and allowing them to enter his lands, these lands in which Islam has been for fourteen centuries and no disbelieving state has trodden upon them. And this is from the care of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for His religion. And now Saudi Arabia is excusing itself, and those who revolve in its orbit, from the news broadcast about some of the noble Shaykhs, and Allah knows their truth and whether it came from them. Was that actually due to a mistaken ijtihad, or were they coerced? That is between them and Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So the excuse of the Saudis is that they are compelled to seek the aid of disbelievers to repel the aggression of Iraq, if it were to aggress. So then, the obligatory thing was for them to mobilize entirely and to seek the aid of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) against them. Otherwise, we know from early Islamic history that most of the battles that took place between the Muslim army and the disbelieving army were not always with the two forces being equal. The strength of the Muslim army in number and equipment was always much, much, very much less than the number of the disbelieving army. And that was not an excuse, first, for them to flee entirely, and second, for them to seek the aid of a disbelieving state. And so I consider, with great regret, great regret, to say that this excuse is of the kind of an excuse that is worse than a sin.