What is the position of Muslims regarding Iraq's request for their support?

The questioner : In these circumstances, what is the position of the Muslim in various parts of the Islamic lands regarding Iraq's request, for example, to fight these disbelievers and to consider this an Islamic jihad, as we hear, regardless of the truth of what we hear? They merely say it is an Islamic jihad, a mobilization to fight these disbelievers whom many Muslims consider occupiers, not helpers or supporters of Iraq. May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : We have been asked this question repeatedly, and our answer, in brief, is as follows: First, there is no banner calling for jihad in the path of Allah; rather, there is a policy of coercive rule that seeks dominance and subjugation. When Iraq took over Kuwait, it did not do so in the name of jihad; rather, from one day to the next, it began declaring jihad in the path of Allah. This is a political term, and on another level, he also wants to seek the support of the remaining Muslims, most of whom are weak, do not reason, and do not think about the consequences of matters. As soon as many people hear the word "jihad in the path of Allah," they think, "That’s it, we want to do jihad in the path of Allah." Yet, until recently, they were hearing some sheikhs declaring Saddam and his party to be disbelievers, and to this day, we hear praise for Saddam and his state because it stood against Saudi Arabia and against the Americans. We see that it is not permissible for individual Muslims to be deceived by the declaration of jihad, whether from Iraq or from elsewhere, because we say, "Was this not the case before this?" We add to this that it is not only the individual Muslim who, if he truly wants to do jihad, must prepare fully to fight in the path of Allah, but rather, the states are more deserving of this preparation, as they are capable of making material and military preparations to a greater extent than individuals. This undoubtedly requires the mobilization of Muslims and their preparation for jihad in the path of Allah years in advance, not on a moonless night when the call for jihad in the path of Allah is made, and people rise up with their emotions, wanting to do jihad in the path of Allah. If they truly wanted to do jihad in the path of Allah, they would have prepared for it. Therefore, we firmly believe that the present era is an era of trials (fitan) between Muslim states, some against others, and between some of them and some of the disbelieving states. It is not a time for jihad, but a time for trials. In this context, what is mentioned in more than one hadith applies: when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about some of the signs of the Hour, he mentioned that and the hadith continues. In some versions, he (peace be upon him) said: In some versions, he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the Muslims to stay in their homes, and in a clear, eloquent Arabic narration, it says: Therefore, we do not see that a Muslim should join Iraq today, nor those who oppose Iraq, namely the Kuwaitis who are currently resisting there. We do not see that Muslims should join either group, because none of them intend jihad in the path of Allah. However, we say something to clarify a difficulty for some people who do not fully visualize the reality. They say, "If you say, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: then do we let the Americans fight our Iraqi brothers, while we do not fight the Americans alongside the Iraqis?" We say to them, "Our brothers, if the issue were a fight between the Iraqis and the Americans, then in that case, it would be obligatory to help the Iraqis against the Americans, and Iraq would, in my opinion, become a second Afghanistan in terms of the obligation to help it. But this is only if we imagined the fight to be between Iraqis and Americans. However, the reality is not so. The fight will be, in general terms, between Iraq and the Americans and the Muslims with them. So the fight is not only between Iraq and the Americans, but between Iraq on one side, and the Americans and the Muslims with them on the other. This is a general statement. But if we know the policy of the disbelieving states, and that they have no intention of spilling the blood of any of their soldiers as long as they find Muslim soldiers fighting the Iraqi Muslims, then the reality that every Muslim envisions is that the disbelievers will offer Muslims as a sacrificial lamb, from the Saudis, Egyptians, and other Muslim states. Whichever side prevails, the Americans and the disbelievers with them are happy because the Muslims are killing each other. If victory is not achieved by the Americans using the Saudis and Egyptians against the Iraqis, then at that time, the Americans may actually enter the war against Iraq. Only in this scenario can we say that it is obligatory for Muslims to join Iraq. But as long as Iraq will also fight the Muslims alongside the Americans, we say: stay away from both groups and stay in your homes. This is the answer to your question.