Who is Dearer t you?

Incomplete Representation of Jihad

Incomplete Representation of Jihad

Jihad (English pronunciation: /dʒɪˈhɑːd/; Arabic: جهاد‎ ǧihād [dʒiˈhæːd]), an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is mujahideen. Jihad is an important religious duty for Muslims. A minority among the Sunni scholars sometimes refer to this duty as the sixth pillar of Islam, though it occupies no such official status. In Twelver Shi'a Islam, however, Jihad is one of the 10 Practices of the Religion.


There are two commonly accepted meanings of jihad: an inner spiritual struggle and an outer physical struggle.^[1] The "greater jihad" is the inner struggle by a believer to fulfill his religious duties.^[1][5] This non-violent meaning is stressed by both Muslim^[6] and non-Muslim^[7] authors.

The "lesser jihad" is the physical struggle against the enemies of Islam.^[1] This physical struggle can take a violent form or a non-violent form. The proponents of the violent form translate jihad as "holy war",^[8][9] although some Islamic studies scholars disagree.^[10]

The Dictionary of Islam^[1] and British-American orientalist Bernard Lewis both argue jihad has a military meaning in the large majority of cases.^[11] Some scholars maintain non-violent ways to struggle against the enemies of Islam. An example of this is written debate, often characterized as "jihad of the pen".^[12]

According to the BBC, a third meaning of jihad is the struggle to build a good society.^[5] In a commentary of the hadith Sahih Muslim, entitled al-Minhaj, the medieval Islamic scholar Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi stated that "one of the collective duties of the community as a whole (fard kifaya) is to lodge a valid protest, to solve problems of religion, to have knowledge of Divine Law, to command what is right and forbid wrong conduct".^[13]

 

Incomplete Representation of Jihad

Signs of Weak Iman and How to Increase It

Signs of weak Faith: 

• Committing sins and not feeling any guilt.
• Having a hard heart and no desire to read the Quran.
• Feeling too lazy to do good deeds, e.g. being late for salat
• Neglecting the Sunnah. 
• Having mood swings, for instance being upset about petty things and bothered and irritated most of the time.
• Not feeling anything when hearing verses from the Quran, for example when Allah warns us of punishments and His promise of glad tidings.
• Finding difficulty in remembering Allah and making dhikr. 
• Not feeling bad when things are done against the Shariah.
• Desiring status and wealth.
• Being mean and miserly, i.e. not wanting to part with wealth.
• Ordering others to do good deeds when not practising them ourselves.
• Feeling pleased when things are not progressing for others.
• Being concerned with whether something is haram or halal only; and not avoiding makroo (not recommended) things.
• Making fun of people who do simple good deeds, like cleaning the mosque.
• Not feeling concerned about the situation of Muslims.
• Not feeling the responsibility to do something to promote Islam.
• Liking to argue just for the sake of arguing without any proof.
• Becoming engrossed and very involved with dunya, worldly things, i.e. feeling bad only when losing something in terms of material wealth.
• Becoming engrossed and obsessive about ourselves. 
  
  

  

   

Okay, how to increase our faith then ? 

• Recite and ponder on the meanings of the Quran. Tranquility then descends and our hearts become soft. To get optimum benefit, remind yourself that Allah is speaking to you. People are described in different categories in the Quran; think of which one you find yourself in.   
• Realize the greatness of Allah. Everything is under His control. There are signs in everything we see that points us to His greatness. Everything happens according to His permission. Allah keeps track and looks after everything, even a black ant on a black rock on a black moonless night.   
• Make an effort to gain knowledge, for at least the basic things in daily life e.g. how to make wudu properly. Know the meanings behind Allah's names and attributes. People who have taqwa are those who have knowledge.   
• Attend gatherings where Allah is remembered. In such gatherings we are surrounded by angels.  
• We have to increase our good deeds. One good deed leads to another good deed. Allah will make the way easy for someone who gives charity and also make it easy for him or her to do good deeds. Good deeds must be done continuously, not in spurts.   
• We must fear the miserable end to our lives; the remembrance of death is the destroyer of pleasures.   
• Remember the different levels of akhirah, for instance when we are put in our graves, when we are judged, whether we will be in paradise or hell.   
• Make dua, realize that we need Allah. Be humble. Don't covet material things in this life.   
• Our love for Subhana Wa Ta'Ala must be shown in actions. We must hope Allah will accept our prayers, and be in constant fear that we do wrong. At night before going to sleep, we must think about what good we did during that day.   
• Realize the effects of sins and disobedience- one's faith is increased with good deeds and our faith is decreased by bad deeds. Everything that happens is because Allah wanted it. When calamity befalls us- it is also from Allah. It is a direct result of our disobedience to Allah. 

text by: Abu Banan

Stages to do Jihad

Secondly: 

The idea of waging physical jihad against the kaafirs went through a number of stages, depending on the state in which the Muslim ummah was.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

“The first thing which his Lord revealed to him was to read in the name of his Lord who had created. That was the beginning of his Prophethood, where Allaah commanded him to recite to himself but He did not yet command him to convey that. Then He revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning: 

‘O you (Muhammad) enveloped in garments!
Arise and warn!’

[al-Muddaththir 74:1-2]

So he became a Prophet with the word ‘Iqra (Read!) and he became a Messenger with the words, ‘O you (Muhammad) enveloped in garments…’ Then Allaah commanded him to warn his closest kinsmen, then to warn his people, then to warn the Arabs around them, then to warn all the Arabs, then to warn all of mankind. He continued to call them for over ten years from the beginning of his Prophethood, without fighting or imposing the jizyah; he was commanded to refrain, to be patient and to be forbearing.

Then permission was given to him to migrate, and permission was given to him to fight. 

Then he was commanded to fight those who fought him, and to refrain from fighting those who left him alone and did not fight him. 

Then Allaah commanded him to fight the mushrikeen so that the religion would all be for Allaah.

After jihad was enjoined upon him, the kaafirs then fell into three categories: those with whom there was a truce or peace treaty; those with whom he was at war; and those who lived under the rule and protection of the Islamic state.” 

(Zaad al-Ma’aad, 3/159) 

Thirdly: 

The ruling on physical jihad against the kaafirs is that this is an obligation on the community as a whole (fard kafaayah). 

Ibn Qudaamah said: 

“Jihaad is an obligation upon the community; if some people undertake it, the rest are relieved of the obligation.” 

What fard kafaayah means is that if it is not undertaken by enough people, then all the people are guilty of sin, but if enough people undertakes it, the rest will be relieved of blame. Initially the command is addressed to all of them, as in the case of an individual obligation (fard ‘ayn), but then in the case of fard kafaayah the obligation is dropped if enough of the people undertake to do it, unlike the case with fard ‘ayn where the obligation is not dropped if someone else does it. Jihad is a fard kafaayah, according to the majority of scholars.” 

(al-Mughni, 9/163)

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz said:  

“We have previously explained on more than one occasion that jihad is fard kafaayah, not fard ‘ayn. All Muslims are enjoined to support their brothers with their selves (i.e., physically, by joining them), or with money, weapons, da’wah and advice. If enough of them go out (to fight), the rest are freed from sin, but if none of them do that then all of them are sinners. 

The Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Africa, North Africa and elsewhere are obliged to do their utmost, and if there is a jihad in one country, the surrounding countries should hasten to help them, the closest then the next closest.  If one or two states, or three or more, manage to fulfil the obligation, then the rest are freed of responsibility. They deserve to be supported, and it is obligatory to help them against their enemies, because they are oppressed. Allaah has enjoined jihad upon all Muslims, and they must fight against the enemies of Allaah until their brothers are victorious. If they fail to do that then they are sinners, but if sufficient people undertake to do that, then the rest are absolved of sin.” 

(Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 7/335) 

Fourthly: 

Physical jihad against the kaafirs becomes obligatory in four cases, which are: 

1 – When the Muslim is present in a jihad situation.

2 – When the enemy has come and attacked a Muslim land

3 – When the ruler mobilizes the people, they must respond.

4 – When a person is needed and no one else can do the task except him.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: 

Jihad is obligatory and becomes fard ‘ayn if a person is present where fighting is going on. This is the first of the situations in which jihad becomes an individual obligation, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“O you who believe! When you meet those who disbelieve, in a battlefield, never turn your backs to them.

And whoever turns his back to them on such a day — unless it be a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own), — he indeed has drawn upon himself wrath from Allaah. And his abode is Hell, and worst indeed is that destination!”

[al-Anfaal 8:16]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that running away on the day when the army is advancing is one of the sins that doom a person to Hell. He said: “Avoid the seven sins that doom a person to Hell…” among which he mentioned running away on the day when the army is advancing (agreed upon). But Allaah has made exceptions in two cases: 

1-     When it is a military manoeuvre, in the sense that he is leaving to bring reinforcements.

2-     When he is going to join another group, when he has been told that there is a group of Muslims elsewhere who are about to be defeated, so he goes to join them in order to strengthen their numbers. This is subject to the condition that there is no risk to the group he is in; if there is a risk to the group that he is in, then it is not permissible for him to go to the other group. In this case (jihad) is an individual obligation upon him (fard ‘ayn) and it is not permissible for him to leave.

The second situation (in which jihad becomes an individual obligation) is when a city is besieged by the enemy. Then he has to fight in defence of the city, because when the city is besieged there is no alternative but to defend it, for if the enemy is going to prevent people from leaving the city or entering it, and prevent provisions from reaching it, and other things which are well known, then in this case the people of the city are obliged to fight in order to defend their city.

The third situation is when the leader tells the people to mobilize; the leader (imam) is the highest authority in the state, but he need not necessarily be the leader of all the Muslims, because there has been no leader of all the Muslims (khaleefah) for a long time. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Listen and obey, even if you are ruled by an Abyssinian slave.” So if a man becomes a leader, then his word is to be heeded and his commands are to obeyed. 

(al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 8/10-12).

Islam Q&A

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid