A Word on the Afghan Jihad
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The questioner : Shaykh, do you have a word for the Afghan mujahideen? They have now formed a provisional government, and we have heard that in this government there are two Shi'ite ministers, one of whom is titled Ayatollah Asafi, which is a high religious rank. Do you have a word or advice for them in this regard?
The Shaykh : We had not heard of this name before.
The questioner : He is, of course, not a follower of Khomeini...
The Shaykh : Is there anything else besides this?
The questioner : There are approximately seven percent Shi'ites and about two million Sunni migrants in the Iranian territories currently.
The Shaykh : By Allah, in any case, we see that this issue... this situation, as we have been hearing and reading, is that there are many parties among the people of the Sunnah themselves, and this party-formation is part of... among them are some heads from the Sufis and from the rigid, imitative madhhab followers, and among them are party members from the Muslim Brotherhood, and among them, and among them, and now we are surprised by this news that one of the members of the new government, yes,
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : is from the Shi'ites. So I believe that the matter does not bode well when the government is not composed of 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, such as Sufism, fanatical Hanafism, and the like, and blind party politics, but rather two members from the Shi'ites are added to it, then this does not bode well. But at the same time, I say that the witness sees what the absentee does not see. It may be that those in charge of the Afghan jihad are compelled to choose a member from a non-Sunni madhhab, from the Shi'ites, to avert a fitnah that might arise later if they do so. I say this with caution and reserve, because the people of Makkah know its valleys best, and the owner of the house knows what is in it best. If the motive for this choice is what I indicated earlier, then that would be in accordance with a principle of the Shari'ah, which is averting the greater harm by the lesser harm. But if that is from the perspective of accommodation and compromise, then there lies the evil. I hope it is the former and not the latter. So my advice, in any case, to this group established for jihad is that they unite on the basis of the correct Islam derived from the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and that they do not dispute, lest they fail and their spirit be scattered.
The Shaykh : We had not heard of this name before.
The questioner : He is, of course, not a follower of Khomeini...
The Shaykh : Is there anything else besides this?
The questioner : There are approximately seven percent Shi'ites and about two million Sunni migrants in the Iranian territories currently.
The Shaykh : By Allah, in any case, we see that this issue... this situation, as we have been hearing and reading, is that there are many parties among the people of the Sunnah themselves, and this party-formation is part of... among them are some heads from the Sufis and from the rigid, imitative madhhab followers, and among them are party members from the Muslim Brotherhood, and among them, and among them, and now we are surprised by this news that one of the members of the new government, yes,
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : is from the Shi'ites. So I believe that the matter does not bode well when the government is not composed of 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, such as Sufism, fanatical Hanafism, and the like, and blind party politics, but rather two members from the Shi'ites are added to it, then this does not bode well. But at the same time, I say that the witness sees what the absentee does not see. It may be that those in charge of the Afghan jihad are compelled to choose a member from a non-Sunni madhhab, from the Shi'ites, to avert a fitnah that might arise later if they do so. I say this with caution and reserve, because the people of Makkah know its valleys best, and the owner of the house knows what is in it best. If the motive for this choice is what I indicated earlier, then that would be in accordance with a principle of the Shari'ah, which is averting the greater harm by the lesser harm. But if that is from the perspective of accommodation and compromise, then there lies the evil. I hope it is the former and not the latter. So my advice, in any case, to this group established for jihad is that they unite on the basis of the correct Islam derived from the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and that they do not dispute, lest they fail and their spirit be scattered.