The Shaykh continues his advice to his brother Abu 'Abd al-'Aziz, the leader of the Muslim mujahideen in Bosnia.

The questioner : But these brothers, specifically the imams of the mosques who graduated from countries where they understand the Arabic language.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes.

The questioner : And they know you well, even if some of them, as you say, are still new to the call and the rectification of the creed, meaning they long to hear your words.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : And if Allah wills, they will adhere to them.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : And, if Allah wills, they will commit to it.

The Shaykh : In any case, my advice to Muslims in general, and specifically to our Bosnian brothers who are being attacked by the Serbs, is first that they pay attention to their understanding of Islam, which is the religion that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) chose for the community, whether it is the community of the call or the community of the response. It is the Islam that Allah revealed to the heart of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). However, this Islam, which the Qur'an brought and stated explicitly in the words of the Exalted: , has, as the ages and eras have passed, had things mixed into it that were not part of Islam. It is a spiritual remedy for all the diseases that afflict hearts and societies in every time and place; it is the divine medical prescription for treating these heart diseases. But, as I mentioned earlier, things have entered into this divine prescription that are not part of it, just as if a skilled doctor prescribes a physical medicine for a patient and adds to it something that is not part of it, it will not yield the fruits it is supposed to yield for the patient who applies it, because something that is not part of it—indeed, its exact opposite—has entered it. This is an example I bring closer to our brothers who are hearing my words, as I am in Jordan, in Amman, in a land where many, many jihad efforts were made by the early Arab Muslims until Islam was able to take hold of this land. We live in it today, enjoying its spiritual blessings first and its material blessings second. These Muslim mujahideen from whom we received these lands, and in whose blessings we live as I mentioned earlier, used to treat the diseases of their hearts and the flaws in their morals with this pure Islam. But today, Islam is not as it was when Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: . This Islam today has many, many concepts, and I am not in a position to explain that now because time does not permit; I am merely reminding, and the reminder benefits the believers. So my advice to our brothers in the entire Muslim world in general, and to our Bosnian brothers in particular, is that their greatest concern, especially since the enemy surrounds them on all sides, should be to strive earnestly to understand this Islam that our Lord chose for us as a religion. This is to be done by connecting with the people of the call to the truth, which is nothing but a call that relies explicitly and practically on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). I say the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), because what happened to Islam in general has happened to it: things that are not part of it have entered it. In what is thought to be part of the Sunnah, there are weak and fabricated hadiths. Therefore, I say that they should expose themselves to and pay attention to understanding Islam as it is pure from its two pure sources: the Book of Allah and the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). In addition to this, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His Messenger commanded, they should understand the Book and the Sunnah according to the methodology of our righteous predecessors, as they were, as indicated to us by the words of our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He): . So our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), in this noble verse, does not limit Himself to threatening those who oppose and are stubborn toward the Messenger, but He adds to that, saying: "and follow a path other than the path of the believers." By this, He means the first companions to whom the Qur'an was revealed upon the heart of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and who transmitted it to them fresh and green, and who understood it from him (peace be upon him) with a sound understanding. Therefore, whoever opposes these people opposes their path, and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has threatened him that He will make him taste the Fire of Hell, and evil is the destination. Therefore, we advise all Muslims, as we mentioned earlier, that their effort should always be directed toward understanding Islam with this correct concept: the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of the Messenger, and the methodology of the righteous predecessors. This confirms the meaning we mentioned. Their understanding of the previous verse is confirmed by the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in the hadith in which it says: . This is my first advice to all Muslims and specifically to our Bosnian brothers. My second advice, and perhaps the last due to the brevity of time, is that they make their fighting against their enemies not a fight of enemies against each other, but a fight of Muslims against their enemies; that is, they should make it a jihad in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). It is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari from the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, if one of us fights with bravery, is he in the path of Allah?" He said: . A second man said: "If one of us fights out of tribalism, is he in the path of Allah?" A third man said something else: "Is he in the path of Allah?" In all of this, the Messenger (peace be upon him) answered with his words: . They said: "Then who is the one who fights in the path of Allah?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It is true that our Bosnian brothers were attacked in their own homes by their polytheist Serb enemies, so it is obligatory for them to defend their home, just as it is obligatory for them to defend their wealth, their selves, and their honor. But their defense must not be like the defense of disbelievers who are attacked by disbelievers; that is, when disbelievers defend their land, their selves, their honor, and their wealth, they do not seek thereby the Face of Allah. But the Muslim, if he defends his wealth, his honor, or his land, he does so only so that the word of Allah is the highest, so that he lives in his country safe and strong, so that he establishes the rule of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) on earth. It is not for the defense of the land, because the defense of the land is a natural, instinctive thing in all souls, like the desire for life and the fear or flight from being killed. And from this, I mention on this occasion a hadith that is common among people but has no basis, though it is attributed to the Sunnah. That hadith says: "Love of the homeland is part of faith." Love of the homeland has no relation to faith at all. Rather, love of the homeland, if a Muslim loves it, is because he is able to establish the rituals of his religion in it; for that reason, he loves it. But if he is not able to establish this in his land, the most beloved to him is that land that is not his land and not his homeland, as long as he is able to establish the rulings of his religion in that land. "Love of the homeland is part of faith"—all disbelievers defend their homelands; are they believers? The answer is no. Love of the homeland is an instinctive thing, like the love of life. Therefore, my last advice is that they make their fighting against their enemies a jihad in the path of Allah. And they know, and were reminded earlier, what is the condition of jihad in the path of Allah? That the word of Allah is the highest. And the result of that is that if Allah (Mighty and Majestic) grants them victory over their enemy—if He grants them victory over their enemy, if He grants them victory over their enemy—and they drive them out of their Muslim lands, they must, as thanks to Allah, and even though it is originally obligatory, establish the rule of Allah in their land, ruling by what Allah has revealed. Otherwise, they will not benefit anything from driving out the Crusader disbeliever from their land if they want, God forbid, to continue ruling by the Crusader laws. This is a reminder. If Allah wills, and we hope to hear from you soon that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has granted you victory over your enemy. But I return to remind you of the condition of this victory: that you realize the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): . And our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) will only grant you victory over him by your application of the rulings of His religion, otherwise . Welcome.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, our esteemed Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.

The questioner : On this blessed day.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : From the fifth day of the month of December, 1992. This is all I wanted to mention, so that when the fatwas before and after this reach there, we know what is the beginning and what is the end. And this is the blessed night of Monday, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you and reward you with good. I would also like you to date it in Arabic using the Islamic calendar, and if they do not understand it, I have mentioned what they do understand.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : So, mention with it what they should understand.

The questioner : As far as I know, it is the twelfth day of Jumada al-Akhirah.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : In the year 1413.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. Yes.

The questioner : We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to make your knowledge continuous, and we ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to accept from us the jihad.

The Shaykh : O Allah, amen.

The questioner : Whether it is a jihad of calling or a defensive jihad.

The Shaykh : If Allah wills.

The questioner : Or if it is in the future, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh : If Allah wills.

The questioner : Jihad in the sense of the word.

The Shaykh : In the sense of conveying the call.

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh : And that it covers the entire earth, if Allah wills.

The questioner : So that we have actually realized the saying of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He:

The Shaykh : If Allah wills, and consequently, the promise of Allah to the believers becomes valid: Yes.

The questioner : So may Allah reward Abu Malik Muhammad Shuqara with good for his kind reception of me.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward him with good.

The questioner : And he brought me here, here, so may Allah reward him with good. We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to record good deeds for everyone.

The Shaykh : O Allah, amen.
The questioner:

The Shaykh : May Allah accept it from you, if Allah wills.

The questioner : Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

The Shaykh : Welcome, and upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
Abu Malik: A small word, I do not want it, but in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, I say: May Allah reward us for our Shaykh Abu Abd al-Rahman for these blessed hours we spent with him, and for what he gave us of his abundant knowledge, and we hope that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, will continue His blessing upon him so that there is benefit and good for the Muslims in all corners of the earth. And may Allah reward us with good for our brother Abu Abd al-Aziz as well, who was the cause of this long, blessed session, in which we heard what we heard of the knowledge of our Shaykh, which he has accustomed us to in his good, blessed days. And praise be to Allah, by whose blessing good deeds are completed. And if I have a word to say, I say that what we heard reminds us of much, much of the obligations placed upon the Muslims, and especially those among them who are people of knowledge. Here I mention, and I hope our brothers in all the lands of the world, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular, will hear that this speech they are hearing from the Imam of the people of the Sunnah in this time is precious and noble, and it is not easy for them to obtain it from anyone else. And I hope they do not turn to any other speech, because we hear in these days many fatwas that pass through the tongues of people of knowledge, or those who claim to be people of knowledge, which are not based on a legal proof, nor a jurisprudential text, nor a text from the general principles of the foundations, or derived from the authentic proofs from the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and from the verses of the Book of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. Therefore, I say: Cling to these precious words with your teeth, hold fast to them, and believe with certainty that what is said to you in such occasions, or in these words, is the good which, if Allah wills, if you hold fast to it, you will benefit greatly and avoid the stumbles into which many ignorant Muslims or young people who do not benefit from knowledge except what they hear of noise or clamor, or as the proverb says, or the proverb states: "I hear the noise but I do not see the flour." This is one point. As for the second, in response to the words of our Shaykh, may Allah reward him with good, where he gives the final advice, saying: I advise them to make their jihad or their fighting a jihad in the path of Allah, and we ask Allah to grant them swift victory. Then he followed up by saying: And that gratitude should be apparent, even though this is obligatory in its essence, which is that they establish the rule of Allah. I say that it is obligatory for them now to hasten to establish the rule of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, in these lands, and that they know that among the causes of victory which Allah hastens for them, and there is no doubt in this, is one of the most important, indeed there is no cause other than it, which is establishing the rule of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, due to His saying: And many Muslims make excuses, saying, if Allah wills, and these are sweetened promises we hear from many of those who have been afflicted with authority in the life of the Muslims, and especially in this time. Perhaps you sometimes hear slips of the tongue from them, saying that if we achieve victory, or expel the enemies from our land, or manage to drive out our opponents, or similar expressions, we will establish the rule of Allah and apply the true Shari'ah. The truth is that the Shari'ah does not need this long waiting and delay in its application. Rather, it is obligatory for the one whom Allah has enabled to rule and to be responsible and a shepherd for the community in any part of the lands of the Muslims to hasten to apply the Shari'ah of Allah and establish His rule on earth. Otherwise, he is bearing a great sin, because he delays, even for one hour, while he is able to apply the rule of Allah. If he delays, he is certainly falling into the sin of that hour in which he delayed and did not hasten to apply the rule of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, on earth. The principle is that he should do this and perform it in the best manner, and let him hear the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.
Abu Malik: And sufficient for us in that is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): So the Imam of the community, or the one responsible whom Allah has enabled to hold the reins of rule and manage the affairs of the people and oversee their matters and care for their interests, it is obligatory for him to hasten to that. Our advice to our brothers there in Bosnia and Herzegovina is that they should not hesitate in this matter, but that the matter should be done with caution and patience, and without stirring up fitnah, and that it should be done by consulting the sincere, noble people of knowledge who can avoid the stumbles into which many Muslims in the regions of the earth have fallen, and in which those people tried, and with our belief, or at least our assumption, that they wanted to do good for themselves and for their community or for their peoples, but they were not granted success for many reasons, which there is no need to discuss. But we say to our brothers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially Dr. Ali Izet, that this is a precious opportunity, and you must seize it. Even if you establish the rule of Allah on earth for one hour, you will be absolved of your duty. And if Allah, Mighty and Majestic, wills, and I hope Allah will prolong his life so that he sees the fruits of the jihad realized and established, he will not be absolved of his duty if he is not intending to establish the rule of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Rather, the sin will attach to him if he is able to apply the rule of Allah and falls short by an hour of the day. Therefore, I hope you will convey this message and let him know that the Muslims in all corners of the earth are looking forward to that day when the banner of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) is raised over the land of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And on that day, as Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:

The Shaykh : And perhaps that will be soon, and may your mouth not be broken.

The questioner : Excuse me, my Shaykh, no harm. Finally, my honorable Shaykh, can we escape from authority? By Allah, I do not wish it for anyone. By Allah, it is a trial, my Shaykh, by Allah.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is so

The questioner : As our brother mentioned, by Allah, I see some evil that I cannot turn back among my brothers, and by Allah, I am confused and confused, my Shaykh. By Allah, these our Bosnian brothers love us and have raised us above their heads, considering us to be angels.

The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.

The questioner : By Allah, they compete in greeting us and kissing us.

The Shaykh : I know the non-Arabs have a good opinion of the Arabs, something very strange, but they are poor souls who think that the Arabs in these days are the first Arabs. I said to our brothers once on this occasion, when I was in Albania and I was young, I used to see the mu'tawwif.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Or the round ones who come from Makkah or al-Madinah in order to obtain a number of people who respect and honor them, in successive waves, and he is more ignorant than Abu Jahl, simply because he is Arab. And in the non-Arab language, they do not say "Arab"; they say "Harb," because the eye does not rise with them, so they say "Harb." And then, instead of saying "Muslim," they say "Harb," meaning every Arab is a Muslim. They do not know that there are Christian Arabs and Jewish Arabs and so on. In truth, this Islamic emotion, if the Muslim Arabs truly utilized it, by Allah, they would be victorious over the non-Arabs before the Arabs themselves. The Arabs, with respect for the Arab race, have in them some deviation or arrogance regarding lineage or something similar. But those people know that they are non-Arabs and that the Arabs are preferred because the Qur'an is in the Arabic language and their Prophet is Arab, and so on. And therefore, it is no surprise that you find this respect and this honor. But I am telling you now: do not resign from the leadership, but utilize this trust. Utilize it, and not every utilization is forbidden. Of course, the forbidden thing in the Shari'ah is material exploitation for personal benefit, and you, if Allah wills, are far from that. Utilize it in teaching them the da'wah.

The questioner : But, our esteemed Shaykh, some of the brothers utilize this love and bring in some things I do not approve of, such as entering their homes and joking with them, and perhaps there are sisters, older daughters, or they desire to marry them, knowing that the period is not long enough for us to trust whether she is religious.

The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.

The questioner : But we found an example of that: one of the brothers married behind my back because I had forbidden marriage except for one in whom I saw that he truly came for a lawful Islamic marriage.

The Shaykh : Meaning, you were not sure of the suitor?

The questioner : No, not of the suitor and not of the woman being proposed to. So I told him, when I learned that he had married in one night—he proposed to her, contracted the marriage, and entered with her—just to put me in an awkward position. I told him, "Go, because you did not come for jihad, so go... take care of yourself." So some of the brothers considered that I had expelled him or that I had contradicted the lawful, because he brought something lawful, and I know well, and people know, about this brother. Such a case, and she was not, unfortunately, religious, but she agreed to wear the hijab in front of him or in front of us, and she would sometimes come to prayer. And unfortunately, without mentioning his name, the reality...

The Shaykh : The person, meaning.

The questioner : The person himself.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : But I saw her myself, and my brothers saw her, when this brother left to travel, intending to return to her later, and there she was wearing the hijab and strutting in red and white. Our brothers regretted how this happened. I told them, "Because he violated my order, because I knew well that these Bosnian brothers, yes, have much good in them, but they are new to Islam."

The Shaykh : They have not yet been raised on Islam.

The questioner : So, is my preventing this brother from marrying, or preventing the brothers from marrying, even for a short period, and I told them, "Whoever wants to marry, let him come to me, and I will verify the person himself and the girl he wants to propose to,"...

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : So that the problem does not repeat, as happened in Afghanistan and Peshawar, where some young men and Arab brothers married, and at the end of their term, they left her and fled, and did not even divorce her. Some of them divorced her while she was on her way to the airport, and other incidents we have heard of many times. And they take it, I do not know from where? But they say that...The Shaykh : Ibn Baz or...The Shaykh : Ibn Uthaymeen issued a fatwa that it is permissible to marry with the intention of divorce. So I do not know the truth of this report, or if there is an anomaly, Allah knows best about that. So I fall into great difficulty, and therefore I asked you: is it permissible for me to leave and announce to them that I am not their leader, so let them do what they wish and find a leader, because there are many problems, to the point that I heard from some of the brothers that I have done wrong in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or caused a bad reputation for jihad, or things like that.

The Shaykh : With this work, and nothing else?

The questioner : No, because of this work or something else, Allah knows best. The point is that I have wronged jihad and wronged the work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Abu Malik: If it is like this, meaning these brothers who are participating in jihad, if this is the case, then it is understood.

The Shaykh : That is it.
Abu Malik: ...

The Shaykh : This is my intention.

The questioner : Is it permissible for me to prevent the brothers from marrying?

The Shaykh : Listen, I have...

The questioner : As a leader...