Is jihad in Afghanistan an individual obligation? And is it valid for some to condition its obligation on the presence of a group there with a correct creed to fight alongside, otherwise it would not be an individual obligation?

The questioner : The jihad in Afghanistan, if there is a group of people with a pure creed, people with a Salafi belief, would the jihad in Afghanistan be an individual obligation?

The Shaykh : It is an individual obligation, whether they are there or not. It is clear.

The questioner : Is that clear?

The Shaykh: Okay

The questioner : Some of the shaykhs say that as long as there is no group with a correct belief, they do not see the jihad under their banner at all, because they are not people of creed...

The Shaykh : I am amazed by such talk. This talk, my brother, is said regarding the jihad that is a collective obligation, meaning the jihad intended for spreading the call; but this jihad is a defense of the lands of the Muslims, and the atheist enemy has invaded them. Here, it is not permissible for us to look at ideas and opinions; rather, we look at it generally: are they Muslims or disbelievers? These fanatical, innovating Afghans, and so on—say about them the worst you know. Did they step out of the circle of Islam? The answer is no. Is their land the land of polytheist disbelievers or an Islamic land? It is an Islamic land. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all Muslims to take the initiative to expel this disbeliever who has occupied their land. But people stood up in a state called an Islamic state in name only, and they formed a group and raised the banner of jihad, yet they are not Sunni Muslims. What do they want us to do? They raised the banner of jihad, but we do not fight with these people because they are deviating from the Shari'ah, and they may bring us calamities and misfortunes, as happened with the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria recently, and as happened with the group of Hijrah and Takfir in Egypt, and the like. We say that this is like the group of al-Fatah, who did not raise the banner of Islam, but their spokesperson said, "We will make the ruling there secular if they establish a state." As for the land of Gaza, where the path for Muslims to leave from every direction and side is open, it is not befitting for us to look at this with such a narrow view at all. Nevertheless, I have a personal opinion that if these people do not go, like those you mentioned who have the correct creed, if they go there, they are in two jihads, so their reward is greater: jihad against the disbeliever who invades the lands of the Muslims, and jihad against these Muslims who have strayed from the Sunnah of the Master of the Messengers. This will have a greater and more magnificent reward, without a doubt. And we ask Allah to guide us all. Give them the news, O Abu Layla.