Does the Shaykh retract his fatwa regarding jihad in Afghanistan?

The questioner : Well, regarding the situation in Afghanistan, O Shaykh, you said that the ruling on jihad in Afghanistan is one of obligation.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is right.

The questioner : Well, this issue, we will answer it now, and his group is calling for Islam.

The Shaykh : And his group is...

The questioner : And his group, I mean his party, now we are answering about the ruler of Afghanistan.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, right.

The questioner : That he claims Islam and declares it day and night.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : And he imposed some punishments on those who abandon prayer and others.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct.

The questioner : So, do you now, in this matter, does the fatwa change for this specific issue?

The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah.

The questioner : Well, how is it, when he is like the others?

The Shaykh : But you, may Allah bless you, you close your eye and open it, and you believe that this is what they call... we are answering... when did he start declaring his Islam? When did you hear about this? Ten years ago? When did you hear that he declared his Islam and started praying? Did you hear anything of this before?

The questioner : Of course, Islam obligates what came before it. He returned to Islam...

The Shaykh : You did not answer me.

The questioner : No, from before, no, of course.

The Shaykh : Well, why did you take him as an example now, now after he declared Islamic jihad against them and shed innocent blood, which is something we do not need to repeat the numbers of, because they are unknown and may be more, after all this, do you believe that he declared his Islam, truly, meaning from his heart? If it is truly from his heart, he should come and submit his case and say, "I have repented to Allah and returned from what I did, and judge by what Allah has revealed." If you know of Ma'iz al-Ghamidi, because Shaytan overcame him and he committed unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman, and no one knew about it, but he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, "Purify me," and you know the story, perhaps to its end, and despite the Messenger's (peace and blessings be upon him) turning away from him to the right and left, until the end, except that he established upon me this limit of Allah, until he stoned him (peace and blessings be upon him). This did not shed blood, but he committed a forbidden act, and despite that, due to his sincerity, he submitted himself to the Shari'ah. This is the one who did all these deeds, yet he still clings to his ruling as a disbeliever. You are being deceived, and I hope you are not being deceived, because it would be the bitterest of the two, meaning the bitterness is that you took him as an example, and he is an example that does not match reality. You are not being deceived that it is true that he declared his Islam, this is only so that he can betray this group, these people. And you still know, and everyone knows, that he has backed Russia and backed America, and Russia is still supplying him with deadly, destructive weapons, and so on. How can I give you this example and you say, "You still believe that jihad in Afghanistan is obligatory"? I say, yes, it is obligatory, because this man, first, allowed the disbelievers to occupy the lands of the Muslims, and they were actually occupying them, so jihad arose on the basis of expelling these disbelievers, and consequently expelling their followers, unless they repent to their Lord. So now, when we want to accept the repentance of these people, we must be awake and not sleeping. Just because they say, after doing all these deeds, "I am a Muslim and I pray," and so on, and he is still in the same misguidance he was in before, nothing has changed. So, may Allah bless you, do not take such an example as a model for striking the scientific and Shari'ah rules that have absolutely no disagreement in them. You have established yourself on a rule, and I am an honest advisor to you. Either you say, and may that be far from you, you say, "Everyone who disobeys Allah is a disbeliever."

The questioner : No, may that be far from Allah.

The Shaykh : And this is the opinion of the Khawarij. Did you hear what I said?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : I said, may that be far from you, that you say. Did you hear me?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes. And either you say that a Muslim is not declared a disbeliever no matter what sins and transgressions he commits, unless he considers one of them permissible in his heart. At that time, you speak the truth, and we are with you in that. And the third and final option is that we cannot discover what is in the hearts of people. And the story of that Companion who struck the disbeliever when he said, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah," under the blow of the sword, did not believe him, so he killed him. And when the good news came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he told him This story is known to all of us. So, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) We cannot cut open the hearts of the disobedient, whether they are the ruled or the rulers. And I sincerely hope you do not distinguish between the ruled and the ruler. The one who eats riba from his tender age until he dies, there is no difference between the ruler who rules the Muslims from when he took power until he dies, or until he is overthrown. There is no difference between the two. What makes us distinguish between two rulings that are identical in the Shari'ah? We have not revealed his heart, without a doubt. This is a sinner. Meaning, the one who died as a moneylender, will I pray over him or not? I will pray over him. Why? He died as a moneylender, we did not cut open his heart. This ruler who rules by other than what Allah has revealed, we did not cut open his heart. If the first or the latter, the moneylender, says a word that we condemn him for, the problem is over. If he says, like the example I gave you earlier, "No haram, no halal, times have changed, we can no longer hold onto Islam on its foundation," this is a ruling by himself against himself. But merely looking at the action, either we become the first man to declare a Muslim a disbeliever for a sin, and we join the Khawarij, or we wait and do not declare a Muslim a disbeliever for a sin unless he expresses what is in his heart with his tongue. At that time, he is condemned for what appeared from his tongue. Are you not with us in this?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And praise be to Allah, I think it is Maghrib now.

The questioner : May Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : And may Allah bless you, if Allah wills.