What is the ruling on jihad in Palestine and emigration from it? (Discussion)

The student : Shaykh, there is something being attributed to you these days, and we do not know if it is true. We asked about a tape on the subject, but they did not give it to us... It is said that you issue a fatwa that Palestine is not jihad... and so on.

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed. I said, as I mentioned earlier, regarding the Intifada, this is not jihad. Be patient. This is the answer to what came in your question, and the answer was not completed. I mentioned earlier, reminding you that you are asking about something that has already been answered, so I remind you that we do not consider the Intifada to be jihad in the path of Allah. How is it? What is the jihad? The more we delay, the more we lose our youth and our blood, and perhaps our honor. The governments that hold power and weapons are watching us in the Intifada. This is not jihad. This is first, regarding what you mentioned. Second, regarding leaving, we do not say "leaving" (khuruj); we say "emigration" (hijrah). Every Muslim who is oppressed in a country ruled by a disbeliever, and who does not have freedom in it, even over his own blood, such that he is exposed, from one moment to the next, to having his blood shed for a direct or indirect reason, must emigrate. There is a tape there on this statement, and we said in that tape that emigration from Palestine to another country where the Muslim feels safe for himself, his creed, his religion, and his honor—emigration from this country is not less than the emigration of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) from Makkah to al-Madinah. Is there any doubt about this?

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh : So I say, whoever emigrates from Palestine with this intention has a precedent in the Messenger of Allah, and it is a good deed, and he is implementing some of the texts from the Book and the Sunnah that encourage Muslims to emigrate. And earlier, when the discussion of jihad took place, we said that jihad continues, just as emigration continues, until the Day of Resurrection. Now look, this is the example, and the reason for this is the lack of purification (tasfiyah). There is no purification now. We distinguish between jihad and emigration, and we are preoccupied with all our efforts, all our strength, and all our power with what? Jihad. And we are unable to perform jihad. We are now in this session agreed that jihad is an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) because of what has befallen the Muslims, especially our neighbors here in Palestine, but we are unable to do anything. Jihad and emigration continue until the Day of Resurrection. Look now at the state of the Muslims today regarding purification. Jihad, jihad, jihad, and then stay in your place. No jihad. Why? Because we are unable to do it. So what is the position of the Muslims regarding emigration? It has become a forgotten matter. If it is raised, it is considered like leaving Islam. For example, when I mentioned the Muslims there who truly want to respond to the values of the Shari'ah, the Muslim must emigrate, not just leave and abandon the country as a tasty morsel for the Jews. He must emigrate with himself and his children to an Islamic country. And although I know that Islamic countries today are not as they were before, but on the principle of "I am merciful to you, some evil is less than some," why do the Muslims today, especially and generally, distinguish between jihad, caring for it in thought but unable to do it in practice, and distinguish on the other hand between jihad and emigration, so that they do not preoccupied with emigration at all in thought, even though it is easy for them in practice? This relates to purification. Where is this purification?
The student : Shaykh, is emigration from Palestine difficult?

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. This is the answer.
The student : No, because the issue is...

The Shaykh : Be patient. May Allah guide you. This is the answer. Listen, my brother. May Allah guide you. It is as if someone were told, "Do not eat carrion; carrion is forbidden," and he says, "I am going to die." We would say to him, "Necessities permit the prohibited." This is a solution for general prohibited things in Islam. But when I say, "Pray standing," does it occur to you that I am directing this same address to someone who is unable?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : Unfortunately, this is your state now. Where does this come from, my brother? It comes from a haste of thought without the person using his brain. That the speech I am hearing should at least raise a question in you: perhaps this speech does not include those who are unable? Although this questioning is wrong, but as I said earlier, "I am merciful to you, some evil is less than some." Question in yourself: perhaps this speech includes those who are unable? Glory be to Allah! , but the one who is able is the one upon whom all the rulings of the Shari'ah are established . So now, if we say that it is obligatory to emigrate from the countries occupied by disbelievers to Islamic countries that are not occupied by disbelievers, and the Muslim is able to preserve his Islam to a much greater extent than he is in the countries where Muslims are ruled by disbelievers, now I say, my brother, there is no need for such a question, because all the rulings of the Shari'ah are connected to each other. He (the Exalted) said: . There is no need to ask, "But I cannot pray standing." My brother, the answer will come to you: and so on.
The Shaykh : So now, my discussion—pay attention—my discussion now was not about purification, no, it was about education, but about purification. The Islamic callers today, the word "emigration" has been erased from their minds, and "jihad" has taken its place, doubled, even though they are unable to do it in practice. Glory be to Allah, even though jihad and emigration are paired with each other in the books of jurisprudence and the books of creed. Jihad and emigration continue until the Day of Resurrection. So if someone like me now reminds the oppressed Muslims in Palestine that you must follow the example of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who emigrated from Makkah, which is better than Bayt al-Maqdis, let alone Palestine in general, to emigrate from it. Oh, zealots! Allah ordered the Palestinians to hand over the land to the Jews. This is the interpretation (ta'wil). I was told recently, on Friday, that some committed youth said, "We return to the committed youth. By Allah, this speech that the Shaykh said, they would be happy to have his blood." Is there really a reason? Because there is no awareness. We say there is purification, there is purification, but it is a relative purification in some matters. And Abu Saleh earlier felt in his heart, and I did not say this earlier that the issue does not allow for expansion in purification. Therefore, he limited his speech to what? To creed. Creed includes many aspects. Many of those who claim to be Salafis deny mass-transmitted (mutawatir) hadiths. It is not creed, it has no relation to creed in the sense of the Divine Essence, the Attributes, the Names, and so on, but it has a relation to what concerns the knowledge of the Unseen. Many people deny the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) in the last times, the emergence of a person with very strange characteristics, who is the Dajjal, or the people of Ya'juj and Ma'juj. All of these are from the creeds, and they are denied by many who say, "We are Salafis, we believe in the Book and the Sunnah." Therefore, the circle of purification is not limited to what concerns creed, and especially the Divine Essence. It includes everything that came in the Book and the Sunnah authentically. The field of purification in the science of hadith today, my brothers, we said earlier to Abu Saleh, how many Muslims are in Algeria? Twenty-five. How many scholars at least? They need a thousand scholars. I say now, how many is the Islamic world counted in? A billion, a thousand million. Well, how many scholars are there in hadith? How many scholars are there in tafsir? How many scholars are there in fiqh? They should be in this world so that they can perform the duty of purification and education. No one thinks about this question, even though it is a very serious matter.
For this reason, we say—and I return to say this—we do not advocate leaving Palestine, because "leaving" is broader than "hijrah." Do you understand? I think this is clear in the language of the scholars: every hijrah is a leaving, but not every leaving is a hijrah. So I do not say "leave," but I say "hijrah." And I know for certain that if there were a person who responded to this jurisprudence derived from the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, the essence of which, as we said, is that jihad and hijrah remain valid until the Day of Resurrection—who would respond to the word of the Shaykh, which he has uniquely stated today, just as he was unique in stating at that time that the Saudis seeking the aid of the enemies of the Muslims, the Americans, is not permissible in Shari'ah? And naturally, fatwas were issued against this fatwa. No one responded to Al-Albani; rather, they responded to those who cooperated with the Americans and the Jews together. And now, who will respond? Perhaps one, two, three, or five people will respond, and the Palestinians will remain in their land. Why? Because their minds are not purified from foreign ideas in Islam. They know jihad, jihad, but they do not know hijrah. Why? Because the people of knowledge, especially them, do not dwell on the second word alongside the first word. Jihad and hijrah remain valid until the Day of Resurrection. Jihad is not possible, but hijrah is possible. The possible is abandoned in thought and action, while the impossible is practiced in thought and abandoned in action.