Is the statement of one who says: "Other than the sciences of the Shari'ah, nothing benefits the Muslims today; rather, what is beneficial is the science of the Shari'ah, such as correcting the creed and jihad"—is his statement correct?

The questioner : ... going to these countries in Europe, to go to learn the science of hadith or fiqh, so they say this knowledge does not benefit us, and they need to return to the knowledge of the Hereafter, if that is the correct expression, or to jihad now. So what is your opinion on that?

The Shaykh : Excuse me, if I have heard correctly, the speech is very serious, and I want to verify it, so repeat to me what they say?

The questioner : Some say that Muslims today do not need the science of physics or chemistry, but rather need to learn our religion properly, the science of fiqh and the science of hadith, and to return to jihad, for there is no honor except through jihad. So they say, sometimes we commit many sins in these lands, such as looking [at what is forbidden] and free mixing, and these matters. We must return, or rather, it is not that we must, but it is better that we leave those lands, the lands of the West, and go to Afghanistan to fight there, or go to an Islamic Sharia college to learn the religion and the Shari'ah there?

The Shaykh : This speech contains truth and contains untruth. As for the truth, there is no doubt that it is obligatory for Muslims to learn their religion. However, not every science is an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) for every person. Rather, it is obligatory for every individual among the Muslims to correct their creed, meaning that they learn what corrects their creed and what corrects their worship. As for seeking the knowledge of the Shari'ah, it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah); if some people fulfill it, it is lifted from the rest. Likewise, all other sciences, which are not purely religious, are also collective obligations; it is obligatory for some Muslims to undertake them, such as the knowledge you called physics and chemistry and the like. But the truth, and I say the truth, is that the majority of Muslims today only care about these worldly sciences that do not benefit them except in material gains, but at the same time, they do not bring them closer to Allah as is the case with the religious sciences. So if we deny something, we deny this intense inclination and this great turning away: the intense inclination toward modern sciences and the dangerous deviation from the religious sciences. As for every group undertaking this religious science and that non-religious science, if that is the correct expression, which is purely worldly knowledge, if groups of people undertake this and that, it is a collective obligation; if some fulfill it, it is lifted from the rest. But excess and deficiency are the subject of denial in my speech here. There remains something from what you related that I must draw attention to: there are enthusiastic young men today, scattered in many Islamic lands, who care about jihad. And this jihad is, without doubt, an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) today in places like Afghanistan, and it should be so if the opportunity arises in many other lands, such as Palestine and others. But raising the voice now in calling for jihad, while we have not yet been able to gather a group of Muslims who understand Islam correctly, in all its branches and principles, and who train themselves on that, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did at the beginning of his noble mission. As for us, we are far, far away from this knowledge and this training. So we see that raising voices in many lands about jihad, while they know that they do not have the means of jihad to which Allah the Exalted and Majestic pointed in His saying: So this material preparation must precede the psychological preparation, and the psychological preparation is more important than the material preparation. For it is not required of Muslims to prepare the material means such that they are equal in strength and in number and equipment to the strength of the disbelievers. No, but before all that, they must prepare themselves, and that is by nurturing faith in the hearts of Muslims. And that is not possible except by understanding Islam correctly and applying this Islam in our hearts. And there is a word that I consider profound wisdom in the present age, spoken by one of the great Islamic callers to his group, but the group today has turned away from it to shouting and clamoring about jihad. That word is his saying, may Allah have mercy on him: "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts, and it will be established for you in your land." And establishing the state of Islam in the heart requires knowledge and training, and knowledge requires purification, and purification is not found today in the Islamic world except in very few individuals, lost in the midst of the great multitude of Muslims. Perhaps I have answered your question?

The questioner : Yes, there is another question that also relates to jihad.

The Shaykh: Yes.