Is jihad in our time an individual obligation or a collective obligation?

Question:
The honorable Shaykh, here is a questioner who asks and says: Is jihad in this time a collective obligation or an individual obligation? What is the difference between them, and what are their conditions?

Answer:
The original ruling for jihad is a collective obligation; this is the default. If a sufficient number of people undertake it, the obligation falls off the rest. This is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would fight in person and dispatch expeditions and patrols, while the rest of the Muslims remained in the lands to attend to other matters and needs.
It becomes an individual obligation if the imam calls upon those qualified for jihad; in that case, it is obligatory for them. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): .
It also becomes an individual obligation if the enemy attacks Islamic lands. It is obligatory for the Muslims to repel them and fight them until they save the lands from them, as has happened in Afghanistan recently.
Likewise, in a third situation: if a man is in the ranks, in the ranks of the Muslims against their enemy, at the time of the jihad and the formation of the mujahideen to fight their enemy, he has no right to weaken them, nor does he have the right to turn away. Rather, he must fight with his brothers and remain committed.
Anything beyond these cases is a recommended practice and among the best of deeds. In fact, it is the best voluntary deed a person can perform: jihad. This is because texts have come regarding the virtue of jihad that have not come regarding any other deed.