The difference between the era of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and our present era.

The Shaykh : Please, my brother.

The questioner : My Shaykh, first I say: do these people who speak about the scholars and claim that the scholars do not have jurisprudence regarding reality actually associate with these scholars to know that these scholars have no knowledge of the jurisprudence of reality? Also, some of these people, my Shaykh, have a doubt they use as evidence for the claim that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) used to strive in the cause of Allah, going out and fighting, and so on. Perhaps this point was absent from the questions, and perhaps some people, when they hear these answers and then this doubt comes to them—that Shaykh al-Islam used to strive in the cause of Allah—they do not accept these answers. So may Allah reward you, I mean.

The Shaykh : My brother, this doubt, as they say, its narration is sufficient to refute it. The situation in the time of Ibn Taymiyyah is not like our situation today; rather, there are many, many differences. First of all, jihad in the cause of Allah was an Islamic belief, in the two types of jihad I mentioned earlier: the collective obligation and the individual obligation. Today, the name "jihad" is enough for people to deny it to those who call for it. How vast is the difference between that situation and the situation we live in today. Second, and this is also important, Ibn Taymiyyah used to strive in the cause of Allah not despite the highest Muslim ruler, but rather that was part of the system of that ruler and confirmed his ruling, on the basis of which he was appointed as a ruler over the Muslims. The situation today is completely different from that situation. If there were a Muslim state that truly permitted a group of Muslims to strive in the cause of Allah, you would find examples of Ibn Taymiyyah in this era. But the situation now differs entirely, as I mentioned earlier, from what it was in the time of Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). It is enough for you to know that when Ibn Taymiyyah used to strive in the cause of Allah, the people were with him and the state was with him. Today, first, you do not find the people themselves ready for jihad in the cause of Allah, except for a few individuals among them who have not been occupied by the world to the neglect of the Hereafter, while the masses of Muslims today are occupied with what was indicated in the hadith: Second, the rulers today, if this group were found, even if it were small, they would stand in its way, and this is the reality. Therefore, this doubt you mentioned, in truth, has no value if we consider the difference, whether from the perspective of the Muslim society at that time and the Muslim society today, and the difference between the ruler in that era who supported that jihad and the rulers today, the best of whom stand in the way of those who strive in the cause of Allah.

The questioner : But, my Shaykh, what I recall is that in the biography of this story, the story of Ibn Taymiyyah's jihad, it is mentioned that the ruler and the people came to ask Ibn Taymiyyah to try to prepare for jihad and fighting.

The Shaykh : To prepare?

The questioner : For jihad and fighting, to fight the enemies.

The Shaykh : Yes, this is a doubt, and there is no support for it.

The questioner : No, I am recalling, no, this means support for your words, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh : That is it, that is it. And praise be to Allah, and glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise. I testify that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.