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Backing the Wronged Afghans

Question and answer details
Sayed
Backing the Wronged Afghans
2003-10-10
Respected Sheikh, in light of the current situation in Afghanistan, how could a Muslim back Afghans? Is it necessary to fight alongside Afghans in resisting the attack launched by the US and its allies or there are other aspects through which a Muslim can offer support?
Group of Muftis
Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


Dear brother in Islam, thank you very much for having confidence in us and thanks again for your good feelings and we hope all Muslims have the same feeling.

In fact, all Muslims are considered one entity and the whole Muslim Ummah is considered one body, which if a single organ aches all the other organs will share the feelings of agony and distress.

Concerning the act of resisting attack launched by non-Muslims, Allah Almighty says: “And wage war on all the idolaters as they are waging war on all of you. And know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).” (At-Tawbah: 36)

He Almighty also says: “O ye who believe! What aileth you that when it is said unto you: Go forth in the way of Allah, ye are bowed down to the ground with heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the world rather than in the Hereafter? The comfort of the life of the world is but little in the Hereafter.” (At-Tawbah: 38)

However, Jihad, as far as Islam is concerned, has wider meaning beyond fighting in the battlefield. One of its meaning applies here in standing full square behind our fellow brothers in Afghanistan.

There are many forms of Jihad that a Muslim can offer in this respect. For example a Muslim can give charity to help them and make du`a for them so that Allah Almighty eases their difficulty. Also, Muslims can make Jihad through mass-media by advocating the cause of the wronged till they achieve victory.

Muslims, all Muslims, should back their Muslims brothers, each according to his means and within the scope of his capability.

Along the course of his life, a Muslim is ordered to have constant inner feeling of Jihad to advocate justice. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “Whoever dies without having an inner feeling of Jihad, dies while being a hypocrite.” But this Jihad does not necessarily mean engaging in battles; it’s wider in meaning, as we’ve said.

Here, Dr. Ahmad Ar-Raysouni, professor of Shari`ah, at Jordan Universities, states that:

“A Muslim is required to support his fellow Muslim brothers using all possible means in case they are at war with the unbelievers. Such kind of support becomes obligatory upon those who are closer to the fighting arena. As for those who are not indulged in face-to-face confrontation, they should leave no stone unturned in backing their fellow Muslims, each according to his means.

Regarding the case in point, all Muslims should back their fellow Muslim Afghans with all means possible until they fend off the aggressors and attain victory over their enemy."

Moreover, the eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, adds:

“Originally, Jihad does not become an individual obligation if the unbelievers do not occupy our Muslim lands. Allah Almighty says: “ And the believers should not all go out to fight. Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they (who are left behind) may gain sound knowledge in religion, and that they may warn their folk when they return to them, so that they may beware” (At-Tawbah: 122)

However, if the enemy of Islam invades a Muslim country, Jihad becomes an individual obligation upon the people of that country in the sense that they are all ordered to fight the aggressor tooth and nail.

Considering this urgent situation, Muslim jurists state that a Muslim woman is allowed to go to the battlefield without obtaining her husband’s consent, a man without his parents’ consent. This is a collective responsibility and all the people of the targeted country are to unite together in fighting.

As for Muslims living beyond the territories, they are required to back the wronged with all means possible. Thus, Jihad is not confined to fighting in the battlefield. There are many forms of support. A Muslim can give out charity, boycott the products of the enemy etc.

What I want to stress here is that a Muslim should have constant intention of making Jihad in Allah’s Cause using all means possible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “Whoever dies without have an inner feeling of Jihad, dies while being a hypocrite.”

Having this noble feeling, a Muslim will be generously rewarded even if he did not have a chance of martyrdom.
Many of the Prophet’s Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) had this noble feeling. Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed (may Allah be pleased with him) said on his deathbed, ‘I participated in one hundred battles in both Islam and Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era) to the extent that no inch of my body was spared the arrows and spears, and now I am awaiting death on my bed in the same way servants face their destiny. Woe upon the cowards!’

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon) him is reported to have said: “He who asks Allah to obtain martyrdom earnestly, Allah will give him a reward equal to that of martyrs, even if he died on his deathbed.”

May Allah guide you to the straight path and direct you to that which pleases Him, Amen.

You can also read:

Backing Fellow Muslims

Two Levels of Backing Oppressed Muslims

Jihad: Not Only Fighting

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