Questioned about the Shaykh's statement: "Stay in your home." If fighting breaks out, what should I do? (With whom do I fight?)

The questioner : Our Shaykh, may Allah bless you, you spoke about how a person must stay in his home at this time, and if war occurs, he should not shed his blood in this war. Now, if a war breaks out between Muslims and disbelievers, for example, if America attacked Iraq and war broke out, does that mean we must stay in our homes and not fight, even if the intention is to raise the word of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)?

The Shaykh : With whom do you fight?

The questioner : Yes?

The Shaykh : If you want to fight, with whom do you fight?

The questioner : I am not under the banner of so-and-so or so-and-so?

The Shaykh : I know that, and that is why I am confused by your question. With whom do you fight?

The questioner : With the army...?

The Shaykh : With whom do you fight, my brother, as long as you are not with these people and not with those people?

The questioner : For example, do I fight with Iraq?

The Shaykh : If you are with their people.

The questioner : I fight... not under their banner, but I fight solely to kill the disbelievers, and nothing else?

The Shaykh : Yes, now you are like others, or perhaps I was mistaken and attributed to you what is not in you. It is better for me to say that you represent the opinion of some people today, and this is not your opinion, if Allah wills. There is no power or strength except with Allah. If the Muslims who are eager to fight with Iraq to fight the Americans, the Americans are closer to you here, and they are in Palestine. So why do we not fight the Americans in Palestine? This statement is directed to the one who wants to fight the Americans in the Gulf and to the one who wants to be an aid to him in the Gulf. Why do we not fight the Jews here, who are closer and it is easy to throw them into the sea, as some leaders used to say in the past? I say: If the determination were directed from a Muslim Arab state to fight the Jews, this fighting would be purely Muslim fighting against a disbeliever state. But the reality now is not so. Therefore, this is a point we must be aware of to know the danger of joining one faction or another. My brother, when you want to fight the Americans, do not imagine that you will first fight the Americans purely. Do you understand the word "purely"? Rather, you will fight the Americans plus Arab Muslim states. So here we must be careful, especially when we want to fight the Americans. But the picture is more complex and more dangerous than this first perception. There is a second perception: when you want to fight the Americans, the Americans in reality—and I think this is a matter no person with sound thinking would dispute—the Americans do not spare a single drop of American blood as long as they can spill the blood of Muslims among themselves. In other words, the Americans will present the Muslim armies to fight the Iraqi Muslim army, and they will be late, watching, perhaps organizing, perhaps planning, but not watching in the common sense. However, in any case, they will not sacrifice the blood of the American or British army except at the last moment, perhaps, or they will turn their backs, because this is their nature when they feel they are being defeated. But at the beginning of the battle, it will be between Muslims and Muslims. Therefore, it is not permissible for us to imagine that we will fight the Americans. This is a very sensitive point, and it confirms for us that we should say, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: We said this to the Kuwaitis who joined the Kuwaiti resistance; you must have heard of it. We said, "You will not be able to repel Iraq, and the Arab states will not be able to repel it except by seeking the help of the Americans and the British, and so on. So preserve your blood for the day that is required and desired." This is what I said.