We ask the Shaykh for advice for the mujahideen in Afghanistan who have formed a government that includes two Shi'ah members?
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The questioner : Shaykh, do you have a word for the Afghan mujahideen, who have now formed a provisional government?
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The questioner : And we have heard that in this government there are two Shi'ah ministers.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : One of them is titled Ayatollah Asafi, which means a high religious rank. Do you have a word of advice for them on this matter?
The Shaykh : We had not heard of this name before.
The questioner : He is not, of course, a follower of Khomeini, but he may be...
The Shaykh : Are there Shi'ah in Afghanistan?
The questioner : There are about seven percent.
The Shaykh : Seven percent.
The questioner : Seven percent are Shi'ah, and about two million Sunnis are currently in Iranian territory, among the Sunni migrants.
The Shaykh : By Allah, in any case, we see that the issue is more complex than this picture. When we read and hear, and still do, that there are many parties among the people of the Sunnah themselves, and this partisanship is a weakness in this nation or in this people. For example, among them are some Sufi leaders, and rigid, imitative madhhab followers, and among them are Muslim Brotherhood partisans, and among them, and among them. And now we are surprised by this news that one of the members of the new government...
The questioner : Two members.
The Shaykh : ... from the Shi'ah. So I believe that the matter does not bode well when the government is not based on members who are first sincere to Islam and second united in creed and madhhab, because disagreement and conflict are companions of failure, as is the text of the Noble Qur'an. If the matter does not stop at the limits we mentioned earlier, of Sufis and fanatical Hanafis and the like, and blind partisanship, but rather two members from the Shi'ah are added to it, then this does not bode well. But at the same time, I say that a witness sees what the absent one does not see. It may be that those in charge of the Afghan jihad are compelled to choose a member from a madhhab other than their Sunni one, from the Shi'ah, to avert a fitnah that might arise later if they did not do so. I say this with caution and precaution, for the people of Makkah know its valleys best, and the owner of the house knows best what is in it. If the motive for this choice is what I referred to earlier, then it would proceed according to a principle of the Shari'ah, which is averting the greater harm by the lesser. But if it is a matter of accommodation and compromise, then there lies the evil. I hope it is the former and not the latter. My advice in any case to this group engaged in jihad is to unite on the correct Islam derived from the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and not to dispute so that they fail and their spirit is broken. This is all I have... Yes, please, what are you waiting for? Please.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The questioner : And we have heard that in this government there are two Shi'ah ministers.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : One of them is titled Ayatollah Asafi, which means a high religious rank. Do you have a word of advice for them on this matter?
The Shaykh : We had not heard of this name before.
The questioner : He is not, of course, a follower of Khomeini, but he may be...
The Shaykh : Are there Shi'ah in Afghanistan?
The questioner : There are about seven percent.
The Shaykh : Seven percent.
The questioner : Seven percent are Shi'ah, and about two million Sunnis are currently in Iranian territory, among the Sunni migrants.
The Shaykh : By Allah, in any case, we see that the issue is more complex than this picture. When we read and hear, and still do, that there are many parties among the people of the Sunnah themselves, and this partisanship is a weakness in this nation or in this people. For example, among them are some Sufi leaders, and rigid, imitative madhhab followers, and among them are Muslim Brotherhood partisans, and among them, and among them. And now we are surprised by this news that one of the members of the new government...
The questioner : Two members.
The Shaykh : ... from the Shi'ah. So I believe that the matter does not bode well when the government is not based on members who are first sincere to Islam and second united in creed and madhhab, because disagreement and conflict are companions of failure, as is the text of the Noble Qur'an. If the matter does not stop at the limits we mentioned earlier, of Sufis and fanatical Hanafis and the like, and blind partisanship, but rather two members from the Shi'ah are added to it, then this does not bode well. But at the same time, I say that a witness sees what the absent one does not see. It may be that those in charge of the Afghan jihad are compelled to choose a member from a madhhab other than their Sunni one, from the Shi'ah, to avert a fitnah that might arise later if they did not do so. I say this with caution and precaution, for the people of Makkah know its valleys best, and the owner of the house knows best what is in it. If the motive for this choice is what I referred to earlier, then it would proceed according to a principle of the Shari'ah, which is averting the greater harm by the lesser. But if it is a matter of accommodation and compromise, then there lies the evil. I hope it is the former and not the latter. My advice in any case to this group engaged in jihad is to unite on the correct Islam derived from the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and not to dispute so that they fail and their spirit is broken. This is all I have... Yes, please, what are you waiting for? Please.