Question: I do not agree with
you when you say in your answer that a state is essential to carry out
Jihad. First, a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (sws) whose
meanings are something like: ‘Jihad will continue till the Day of
Judgment and no just or unjust ruler will be able to stop it’.
Now, tell me in the light of this
Hadith that if in the present world there is no Islamic country
or ruler who orders Jihad then will it stop? If yes, then this is
against the Hadith. I think you will understand what I want to say.
Second, you say that for Jihad, we have to get approval from Parliament.
With extreme apology, our parliament is a group of people, who have no
Islamic sense, who are only involved in their own worldly enjoyments; they
can never feel the pain of people. Now again with due apologies, if any
non-Muslim insults your sister, what would you do? Will you approach your
rulers to obtain permission to save your sister from the followers of Satan?
If not, then why do you say that we must take permission from our rulers
for Jihad in order to help women of Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya, Bosnia,
and other countries. I think you are not considering them your sisters.
Answer: I can feel your emotions
in the email you sent me. It is for this reason I said that the nature
of the question is very delicate and therefore must be understood in its
proper perspective with a cool mind. You have actually mixed up the things
and this has given rise to confusion in your mind. Now, I’ll try to clarify
them.
First of all, I would like to place
before you again that undertaking Jihad is not prohibited at all. It is
just that there are certain conditions that must be complied with before
we become authorized to uplift arms. These conditions are of paramount
importance. If we were allowed to wage war in our individual capacities,
Jihad would, indeed, turn out to be mere nuisance. Islam wants that a battle
must be fought, under the authority of one Islamic state. It needs to be
appreciated that if Jihad is undertaken by many independent leaders or
groups of a country, none will definitely enjoy the confidence of all the
participants. So who will be followed; and under whose supervision all
affairs will be settled during/after war? Of course, in this situation,
disorder and anarchy will inevitably ensue. Precisely for this reason,
Islam has made it imperative to wage war only under the authority of an
Islamic state.
You quoted a Hadith in your
reply but did not give any reference thereto. I, however, have found a
similar one that has been reported in Abu Da’ud:
Ever since my deputation, Jihad will continue
till last group of my Ummah will fight the Dajjal; and it
will not be stopped by the atrocities of a tyrant or the justice of a just.
(Abu Da’ud, No: 2170)
I am afraid if it were interpreted in
the way you have done, it would entail that, even if there is no persecution
in this world, we will still have to wage war against ‘someone’. Thus,
in order to fulfill the commandment, we will first have to compel people
to spread disorder and anarchy in land so that we could be able to uplift
arms against them. I hope you understand that the interpretation that you
have offered is not correct.
In my opinion, this Hadith only
conveys to us the fact that Jihad will remain an option available to the
Muslims to curb persecution. If their collectivity decides to undertake
it, none would be able to hinder its execution or brand it as forbidden
since it is perfectly allowed to combat persecution when all diplomatic
efforts fail.
Your second point is about the moral
character of the members of our parliament. With all due respect, I would
say that these people have assumed their seats with the mandate of you
and me. And if ‘you and me’ are inclined to bring such people into parliament,
then those who need to be edified first are us, the public and not the
outside world.
I am afraid you have passed a hard
judgment against me as far as your third point is concerned. The sublime
emotion that gains grounds in a person’s heart and soul after professing
faith is about Islamic brotherhood which is above all color, cast and creed.
How come you think that a Muslim would not be hurt for what happens to
his brothers and sisters? I tell you that I ache for them. I think for
them and I pray for them. But I can’t undertake something that has not
been allowed to me by the Almighty. Did you ever think why Muslims did
not resort to force during the Makkan life of the Prophet’s propagation?
Were they devoid of the sense of brotherhood that they let the Mushrikin
(polytheists) put their venom out on Bilal (rta), the mother and father
of ‘Ammar (rta) and the Prophet (sws) himself on many occasions.
This of course cannot be conceded. It was just that they were not yet authorized
to uplift arms, against the atrocities of the polytheists. As soon as the
Muslims succeeded to build a political structure in Madinah and agreed
to live under the authority of the Prophet (sws), the Almighty sanctioned
them to fight those who had forced them to leave their homes (22:39-40).
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