What is your opinion of the people of the Sunnah in Lebanon and their military situation?

The questioner : Regarding the third question about the situation of our Muslim brothers, the people of the Sunnah, in Lebanon, and the stage of military preparation for self-defense in times of emergency.

The Shaykh : We do not support, under any circumstances, any Islamic group preparing militarily and materially before they prepare spiritually and morally. This is for two reasons: one scientific and the other experiential, if that expression is correct. The scientific reason is that when we look at the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: , we find in this text a meaning that is implied but not as clear as the explicit meaning in its wording, , which means material strength. What is this implied meaning? To whom is the address in the phrase "And prepare against them"? Is it to the Muslims who are truly believers and who uphold everything that Allah and His Messenger have commanded, or to the believers who are like us, Muslims in the end times? Who is the intended audience of this address? It is, of course, the first type of believers. Therefore, we make it obligatory for every group, wherever they are, in any country or any village, to focus first and foremost on spiritual preparation, or let us say, faith-based preparation, which obligates them to do what we mentioned earlier: understanding Islam correctly and applying it practically to the extent possible. We know that among the sayings of some contemporary preachers today is: "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts, and it will be established for you in your land." The intent of their saying "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts" is very clear: achieve true and complete faith in your hearts, and your reward from your Lord will be that He establishes for you what you seek and call for, which is the establishment of Islam in your land. However, we find that many of those who adopt this wisdom do not establish the small state within themselves, in their souls, in their children, in their women, in their daughters, or in their homes. If you enter the home of one of them, you will find it filled with many things that contradict this religion which this wise man commanded to be established in people's hearts. The point is, we do not support individual material preparation for this reason, because the most important thing for individuals is to achieve true faith in themselves and in their hearts. I said the scientific reason, and I said the experiential reason. As for the experiential one, we have not seen any result that benefited any group of Muslims who prepared militarily and materially in light of their lives in societies where they are ruled by other than Islam. We have found nothing from this military preparation but the greatest harm, which is what they were trying to escape from, yet they fell into something even greater. I remind you of the fitnah of the Sacred Mosque (Haram al-Makki). These people prepared to establish a system different from the existing system in that country, and the outcome was worse than what they were living in before. The call to Islam was pushed back for many, many years because of this revolution they carried out. Remember with me the revolution in Egypt, remember with me the revolution in Syria, and remember with me recently the revolution in Algeria. What did the Muslims gain from these revolutions? We do not call them revolutions, but rather military and material preparations. What they gained was nothing but bitter galls, as it is said. Therefore, I say, if this is the case in countries called Islamic states, what do we say about a Christian state that wants nothing but harm for Islam, as we see in the support of Christian governments for the Jews in their occupation of Palestine? Nevertheless, I say that any Muslim group living in a disbeliever state—we see that it is permissible for them to defend themselves and to handle weapons in a way that does not give the state a pretext to eradicate the Muslims in their land. I see that there is no objection, indeed it is obligatory, for them to prepare for self-defense in case they are attacked. As for thinking about carrying out coups and revolutions, this is not legislated in Islamic countries, let alone that it would succeed in Islamic countries, let alone that it would succeed in a Christian state. This is my opinion on the matter, and I arrive at this conclusion from many, many things regarding the first point, which is from the previous verse, . The address is to the believers, so the believers should prepare spiritually before they think about preparing materially. As for defending themselves if they are attacked in their homes, this is clear from the famous hadith in Sahih Muslim and others, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . If a Muslim is attacked in his home, it is permissible, indeed obligatory, for him to defend himself. So in the way of defense, we fully support it. As for looking to the distant future to carry out a revolution against the ruling, especially if it is non-Islamic, a weak Muslim group cannot do this in a land surrounded by disbelievers on all sides. This is my opinion in answering this question.

The questioner : So their preparation

The Shaykh : for self-defense

The questioner : means mere training only, so that, if Allah wills, they are attacked, or so that they are originally prepared in how to use this weapon, and in toughness and patience.

The Shaykh : On the condition that they do not bring it forward before the government attacks them.