Culture

Jihad is a collective Duty

The reality of Jihad is that it is part of the duties related to the Islamic Ummah as a whole. It is not a rule related to individuals, as in the case of an individual defending himself against an assailant. Assaulting a person or a property unlawfully must be repelled, regardless of whether the assaulter is Muslim or Kafir. There is no argument over the right to defend oneself against an assault on his person, property or honour. However, this matter is looked into on a personal level, not on the level of the Ummah; whereas Jihad is related to the Islamic Ummah as a whole, because it is a collective duty.

How to Perform Jihad 

Allah (swt) has decreed a number of rules demonstrating the manner of performing Jihad and has not left it to people’s own opinion. This manner, which is reflected in the actions and the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (saw), is the one we are commanded to follow and it is that manner that explains how we should perform Jihad. The Messenger of Allah (saw) - in his quality of the Emir of the Muslims – used to dispatch the expeditions of Jihad and appoint for every expedition an Emir and he used to also assume the leadership of the Army himself and perform Jihad. He (saw) said: “The Imam is but a shield behind which one fights and protect himself.” He (saw) also said: “Jihad is obligatory upon you with every Emir, be it righteous or dissolute.” The actions and the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (saw) demonstrate that the Muslims must appoint an Emir from amongst them and it is this Emir who organises the matter of Jihad. The reality of Jihad is that Allah (swt) has decreed it upon the Muslims as whole while they had an Emir; thus Jihad is a collective duty and with the Emir. This means that it is imperative for the Ummah to appoint an Emir. What is meant by Emir in this context is the general Emir who has the competency of running people’s affairs. If he did not have this competency, he would not be the Emir to whom the Shari’ah rule applies. Hence, Jihad is a collective duty and not an individual one; it has to be performed with a group because it is a collective duty.

Another condition of Jihad is that the ruler must be Muslim, be it righteous or dissolute (Fajir); the term Fajir does not include the Kafir because the Kafir cannot be Emir over the Muslim and the Muslim is not obliged to obey him. Allah (swt) says: “And never will Allah grant to the unbelievers a way over the believers.” [4-141].
Another condition of Jihad is that we fight the Kuffar in their quality as Kuffar, because for the fighting to be deemed as Jihad, it must be for the purpose of making the word of Allah supreme, carrying His Da’awah and in execution of His commands. Allah (swt) says: “Fight those who believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.”  [9-29] He (swt) also says: “O ye who believe! Fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Him.”  [9-123] – “So fight against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.” [4–76] – “fight the chiefs of Unfaith.” [9-12] – “And fight the Pagans all together as they fight you all together.”  [9-36].
Hence, the Sabab (cause) of Jihad is that those we fight are Kuffar who rejected the Da’awah to Islam. So we fight them until they embrace Islam and become part of the Islamic household, or pay the Jizya and submit to the authority of Islam, and their household becomes also part of the Islamic household.
Another condition for Jihad is that the fighting must not carry a plot to strike the Muslims and inflict harm on them; in other words, the fighting must not be a means to Haram, because the means to Haram is prohibited.

Another condition for the duty of Jihad and in order to avoid defeat is that the force of the Muslims should be at least half of the enemy’s when initiating the fighting. Allah (swt) says: “For the present, Allah has lightened your (task), for He knows that there is a weak spot in you: But (even so), if there are a hundred of you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred, and if a thousand, they will vanquish two thousand, with the leave of Allah, for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.”  [8-66] Hence, Allah (swt) has not allowed the Muslims when initiating the fight to contemplate defeat even if the enemy’s force were double their own. This is the Shari’ah rule pertaining to performing the duty of Jihad in terms of initiating the fight against the Kuffar and carrying the Da’awah to them. 
 
These are the conditions that must be generated in order to achieve the Jihad that Shari’ah has ordered and in the manner that it has commanded; without these conditions, Jihad is not obligatory upon the Muslims. The obligation then would be to achieve these conditions by working towards generating them, because the Shari’ah principle that applies to this reality stipulates that “whatever is necessary to accomplish a Wajib (duty) is in itself a duty.”

Fighting according to the aforementioned manner and conditions cannot be achieved through organisations and fighting groups, or through individual fighting, even though the fighting yields a personal reward if the intention is for the sake of Allah, and it does not remove the obligation to work towards what fulfils the task within the Shari’ah manner that Allah (swt) has demonstrated.