What is the ruling on jihad in Afghanistan?
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The questioner : ... and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of mankind, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). On the evening of Wednesday, 27 Rabi' al-Awwal 1408, corresponding to 18/11/1987, we met with our esteemed Shaykh, the renowned scholar, hadith master, and jurist, our great Shaykh Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani (may Allah prolong his life and make his deeds good), to discuss questions on one of the most important topics of the day in the Islamic arena, namely the topic of jihad in Afghanistan. We begin by posing the first question to our esteemed Shaykh:
What is the ruling on jihad in Afghanistan?
The Shaykh : What I believe, and by which I testify to Allah, and by which I have issued a ruling more than once, is that jihad in Afghanistan is an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) upon every able person. What some say, that it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah), is only correct and true if the sufficiency has been achieved; meaning, if those who have attended are in sufficient number and equipment to repel the enemy's assault from the land... We all know that the strength of Russia in number and equipment is not equal to the number of Muslim individuals currently present, whose number is a fraction of the thousands upon thousands that the Russians have. Therefore, we say that it is an individual obligation upon every person who is able to fight there in the path of Allah. Only when the earth becomes too narrow for the mujahideen in number and equipment, then we say that the sufficiency has been achieved, and it becomes a collective obligation, so whoever wishes may go. But at the outset, it is an individual obligation, because no one, especially those who have witnessed the battles there, says that what we have is sufficient. If that were to happen—and I hope it does—then it would be correct to say that going there is voluntary; that is, it is not an individual obligation, but rather a collective obligation.
What is the ruling on jihad in Afghanistan?
The Shaykh : What I believe, and by which I testify to Allah, and by which I have issued a ruling more than once, is that jihad in Afghanistan is an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) upon every able person. What some say, that it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah), is only correct and true if the sufficiency has been achieved; meaning, if those who have attended are in sufficient number and equipment to repel the enemy's assault from the land... We all know that the strength of Russia in number and equipment is not equal to the number of Muslim individuals currently present, whose number is a fraction of the thousands upon thousands that the Russians have. Therefore, we say that it is an individual obligation upon every person who is able to fight there in the path of Allah. Only when the earth becomes too narrow for the mujahideen in number and equipment, then we say that the sufficiency has been achieved, and it becomes a collective obligation, so whoever wishes may go. But at the outset, it is an individual obligation, because no one, especially those who have witnessed the battles there, says that what we have is sufficient. If that were to happen—and I hope it does—then it would be correct to say that going there is voluntary; that is, it is not an individual obligation, but rather a collective obligation.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.