Is the commander first, then jihad, or is jihad first, then the commander?

The Shaykh : So, the condition for jihad is the commander, is that not so? Now, where is this commander, and how is this commander to be? And is it permissible for there to be multiple commanders, or is it one commander? We are now within the bounds of the condition we agreed upon for jihad in the path of Allah, which is the commander. And in your view, it is not required that this commander be a caliph. Where is this commander so that there can be jihad? In other words, is it jihad first, then the commander, or the commander first, then jihad?
The student : Now, the answer to the question.

The Shaykh : And I hope the answer will be clear.
The student : Yes, now, the answer to the question.

The Shaykh : Is the commander first, then jihad, or is jihad first, then the commander?
The student : If there is an individual.

The Shaykh : Do not say, meaning, if there is.
The student : Let me speak.

The Shaykh : No, I will not let you speak; you are wasting our time. I am asking you a question. Do you tell me the question is correct, or do you tell me the question is incorrect? If it is correct, please answer it. If it is incorrect, please correct it. I am telling you: Is jihad before appointing the commander, or is appointing the commander before jihad? You say "if" and "if." There is no room for "if." The issue is very limited. Is prayer before the time enters, or the reverse?
The student : No, after the time enters.

The Shaykh : You tell me "if" and "if," there is no solution. The time is before prayer. Is the time before prayer, or is prayer before the time?
The student : I will answer you.

The Shaykh : Is the commander—I hope the answer will also be clear, we want it clear. Is the commander before jihad, meaning appointing the commander before jihad, or is it jihad then appointing the commander? Please.
The student : Of course, if there is a group going out for jihad, they must have a commander.

The Shaykh : Do not tell me "if." Do not tell me "if." It is not a hypothetical issue.
The student : It is not hypothetical; it is a reality.

The Shaykh : Why are you saying "if"?
The student : There is no "if." There is no "if." The group is going out for jihad, so they must have a commander, of course. But if it is an individual on his own, he is his own commander.

The Shaykh : And you are calling for individual jihad on one's own.
The student : No.

The Shaykh: Then.
The student : And if it is permissible, then, then what?
The student : Is it permissible or not?

The Shaykh : My dear, are you calling for individual jihad or for group jihad?
The student : In congregation.

The Shaykh : Group, individual obligation. We said this is obligatory upon all individuals of the Muslim world, except for the hypocrites and the disbelievers.
The student : Yes.

The Shaykh : These people, before the jihad, a commander is appointed over them.
The student : Yes, that is right.

The Shaykh : Or is it jihad then the commander?
The student : No, no. A commander is appointed over them. This is clear, agreed-upon speech.

The Shaykh : Have you seen how much you have tired us for nothing? I am clarifying the question for you.
The student : I have not tired you.

The Shaykh : Excuse me, excuse me.
The student : I was meaning...

The Shaykh : Excuse me, my dear. There is nothing between us. I am clarifying for you: either appointing the commander before jihad, or jihad before appointing the commander. You keep going back and forth. Even if he fights alone, we are done with that. One person might attack the Jews with a dagger or a knife.
The student : Yes, where is his commander? Where is his commander?

The Shaykh : This is not our research. Our research is on the individual obligation.
The student : Okay, fine.

The Shaykh : Our research is on the individual obligation. Individual obligation means that for this group, it is obligatory to appoint a commander over them. We agreed. Whether the matter was previously doubtful or unknown, we agreed that this group must have a commander. Now, we need to agree on another step, may Allah reward you, which is: Does this commander precede the jihad and come before it... really, because he... the group, he is the one who organizes them, he is the one who directs them. Or is it the group then the commander? How do you understand the issue?
The student : No, the commander first, of course.

The Shaykh : The commander first, okay.
The student : Yes... he calls others to jihad...

The Shaykh : My brother, enough, enough. There is no need for comments. So, the commander is before jihad, correct? Now, is the call to appoint this commander before, or is the call to jihad?
The student : No, both are at the same time. Meaning, both can be at the same time, of course, without a doubt.

The Shaykh : Both are one person.
The student : No, both are at the same time.

The Shaykh : Both are at the same time.
The student: Yes, of course.

The Shaykh : We have broken what we agreed upon.
The student : No, I... meaning, for example, these people.

The Shaykh : I was saying... they say the issue is not about opposition, meaning defiance. I am saying this, and you say no. We agreed. You tell me, on what did we agree? You tell me no. We gave you an example: the time, which is a condition for prayer, is it before prayer or is prayer before it? We said no, the time is obvious. The commander for individual jihad, is he before or is it jihad? We agreed that it is the commander. Okay, we have taken two steps: the commander is a condition, and this commander is before the group. The third step: I call and strive to establish this commander to lead the group, which is his group, to the jihad that Allah has made obligatory upon us. You say both are together. How is that?
The student : Meaning, both are an obligation, an obligation from Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—together.

The Shaykh : The research is on this.
The student : Of course, their realization can be at the same time.

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. The research is that both are an obligation. Is that the research?!
The student : I mean, I intend that there is no...

The Shaykh : ... The research is on this.
The student : From the perspective of the law.

The Shaykh : The research is that this and that are an obligation.
The student : My dear professor, it is not that. We mean that since both are an obligation, they can be realized at the same time.

The Shaykh : You are researching in imagination. Nevertheless, I am concerned with the planning that Muslims must carry out.
The student : No, I mean there is no need.

The Shaykh : ... .
The student : I did not say that.

The Shaykh : I have not finished my speech yet.
The student : Okay, do not say that I am researching in imagination. There is no need for that phrase.

The Shaykh : No, you are researching in imagination.
The student : Okay, why? Why?

The Shaykh : I am telling you why.
The student : Because you do not know in the first place. I in the first place...

The Shaykh : I am telling you why.
The student : Hmm.

The Shaykh : Because the group, the entire group, must have a commander. And you just referred to the hadith: .
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, is the command before this group, these people, or after? Meaning, the one who leads them, these people, must the commander be established or not?
The student : Established, established, without a doubt.

The Shaykh : So, before we agree, we, the group, need to move forward. We need to see who is suitable to be a commander in the first place.
The student: Correct.

The Shaykh : So... the commander is the one who will say, "You go in this direction, and you go in that direction." So I am telling you this is imagination because it is contrary to reality. Who will manage this group? If you imagine a small factory, they must have a manager.
The student : I told you.

The Shaykh : Do not imagine that there are two together: the group of the factory and the manager.
The student : I did not say that.

The Shaykh : No, you did not say that, but you said that the commander of jihad and the jihad can be together. How is that?
The student : Meaning, they agree on the commander and on jihad in the path of Allah at the same time.

The Shaykh : Do they agree on the commander before it, or on the jihad?
The student : They originally, the jihad is what gathered them, so it will remain with them.

The Shaykh : You did not answer me, my brother.
The student : Why did you not answer me? Why?

The Shaykh : I am asking you. Look at what I am saying.
The student : Hmm.

The Shaykh : I am telling you, is the commander first, or is it jihad?
The student : There are people, for example, who read in the Book of Allah and knew that jihad is an obligation, so they gathered on that and appointed one of them over them.

The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah.
The student : My brother, they first gathered to fulfill the obligation of jihad, and when they knew that jihad would not happen without a commander, they appointed one of them. What is wrong with that?

The Shaykh : My dear, the group of jihad existed, but the group of jihad for which we required a commander.
The student : Yes.

The Shaykh : The group existed, but the commander who must be over them to direct them, to lead them.
The student: Of course.

The Shaykh : Will be before commencing the jihad.
The student : Of course, without a doubt.

The Shaykh : Of course, without a doubt.
The student : Ah, of course, without a doubt.