I read that some people have made the existence of a caliph a condition for the establishment of Islamic jihad; what is the evidence for this?

The questioner : I read that some people have made the existence of a caliph a condition for the establishment of Islamic jihad; what is the evidence for this?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that Islamic jihad cannot be established except under an Islamic banner, and only a caliph can gather all the Muslims under a single banner. It is known through the unanimous practice of all Muslims that it is not permissible for there to be two caliphs among the Muslims. This inherited knowledge is supported by an authentic hadith narrated by Imam Muslim in his *Sahih* from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in which he said: . Therefore, it is not permissible for there to be two or more caliphs in the Muslim society; rather, there must be a single caliph who gathers all the Muslims under one banner. However, this may be subject to a specific exception. This exception is not based on a specific legal proof, but rather on recourse to the general Islamic principles, such as: "Necessities permit the prohibited." For example, in the current reality in the lands of the Afghans, there is no caliph, neither in Afghanistan nor outside of it; rather, unfortunately, there are multiple Islamic states or small states. If some Islamic lands are attacked—as happened previously in Palestine, and now in Afghanistan—then it is necessary at that time for the attacked people in their own homeland—and here they are the Afghans—to appoint a leader under whose banner they fight. It is not permissible for there to be multiple commanders, because that would be a cause of disagreement among them. There is no doubt that the consequence of such disagreement is weakness, enabling the enemy to overcome them. This is explicitly stated in some well-known verses in the Noble Qur'an and Prophetic hadiths that prohibit discord, because its effects are failure, weakness, and defeat.
This is what comes to my mind as an answer to this question.