When Iraq invaded Kuwait, many Kuwaitis fled to Saudi Arabia. Is this considered fleeing in jihad or turning one’s back on the day of battle?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, many of the residents of Kuwait fled to Saudi Arabia to escape the battle. So what is the ruling on this fleeing? Is it considered fleeing from the battle, or what?
The Shaykh : This does not entail any consequence, because there was no jihad in the path of Allah. If jihad in the path of Allah had been declared, then fleeing would not be permissible, and in that case it would be one of the major sins. This is fleeing from killing, which is not fleeing from jihad.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh: Is it clear?
The questioner : Is that clear?
The Shaykh: All right.
The Shaykh : This does not entail any consequence, because there was no jihad in the path of Allah. If jihad in the path of Allah had been declared, then fleeing would not be permissible, and in that case it would be one of the major sins. This is fleeing from killing, which is not fleeing from jihad.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh: Is it clear?
The questioner : Is that clear?
The Shaykh: All right.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.