THE VIRTUE OF JIHAD IN THE PATH OF ALLAH
All praise is for Alláh, Who ordered the Muslims to perform Jihad (fighting for the sake of Alláh) to purge the earth of infidelity, disbelief, and aberration. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship save Alláh Alone having no partners, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, who fought and struggled rightly and piously with all means of struggle. He performed Jihád at every level throughout his life and called the people to Islam using the signs and proofs given to him by Allah(swt). He further fought, abiding by the commandments of Allah(swt), to establish the religion of Islam on earth. His entire life was dedicated to that cause. His days, hours, and minutes were committed to achieving that goal. May peace and prayers be upon him, his family and his Companions who dedicated their lives and their wealth for Jihád in the path of Allah(swt) in order to please Allah(swt) and be rewarded by Him.
O servants of Alláh! Fear Alláh and be aware of the fact that Allah(swt) with His great wisdom ‘tests the believers. He tests them with the existence of the disbelievers and hypocrites. The truthfulness of the believers is tested in this way and they thereby earn their rank and status in the Hereafter. Indeed Allah(swt) is able to ruin and destroy the disbelievers completely, but He wants to test the believers through their confrontation with them. Allah(swt) says:
“But if it had been Alláh’s Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight) in order to test sorne of you with others. But those who are killed in the way of Alláh, He will never let their deeds be lost. He will guide them and set right their state. And admit them to Paradise which He has made known to them (i.e., they will know their places in Paradise better than they used to know their homes in the world). O you who believe! If you help (in the cause of Alláh), He will help you, and make your foothold firm. But those Islámic who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Alláh – Monotheism), for them is destruction, and (Alláh) will make their deeds vain.” (47:4-8)
O believers! Jihád is the peak of Islam, and those who perform Jihád occupy the highest ranks in Paradise as well as in this life. Allah(swt) said:
“Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home), except those who are disabled (by injury or are blind or lame), and those who strive hard and fight in the Cause of Alláh with their wealth and their lives. Alláh has preferred in grades those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and their lives aboye those who sit (at home). Unto eaeh, Alláh has promised good (Paradise), but Alláh has preferred those who strive hard and fight, aboye those who sit (at home) by a huge reward. Degrees of (higher) grades from Him, and forgiveness and mercy. And Alláh is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (4:95,96)
Allah(swt) ordered the believers to perform Jihád against the disbelievers and hypocrites. This is to be accomplished in four ways: with the heart, with the spoken word, with money and with their bodies. Fighting the disbelievers is to be accomplished with money and weapons, whereas performing Jihád against the hypocrites is to be accomplished with proofs and reasoning. Alláh(swt) has decreed Jihád to make Alláh’s word superior and to establish the worship of Allah(swt) alone, without partners. In this regard Allah(swt) says:
“And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism, i.e., worshipping others besides Alláh), and the religion (worship) will all be for Alláh Alone [in the whole of the world].” (8:39)
Alláh has further decreed this obligation to defeat the disbelievers and the Mushrikeen (those who take partners with Allah(swt)) to protect the believers from their harm. Allah(swt) said:
“Those who believe, fight in the Cause of Alláh, and those who disbelieve, fight in the cause of Tághút (Satan). So fight you against the friends of Shaitán (Satan); ever feeble indeed is the plot of Shaitán (Satan).” (4:76)
Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “The fact of the matter is that Jihád in general is an obligation upon every Muslim. It can be established at different levels by different means. These means are the heart, the speech, the wealth and the body. It is incumbent upon every Muslim to establish Jihád by one of these means.” Imam Ahmad narrated a Hadith in which aman asked the Prophet(pbuh) to advise him, upon which he said: “1 advise you to fear Alláh, for fearing Alláh is everything. Establish Jihád, for it is the monasticism of Islam. Keep mentioning Alláh and reciting the Qur’án for they are your soul in the heavens and your fame on earth.” In this regard the Prophet(pbuh) said:
“Alláh vowed to help three persons: the one who fights in the path of Alláh, the slave who wants to pay for his freedom, and the man who wants to get married to keep himself away from the temptation of women.”
“He who dies without having fought for the sake of Alláh or having intended to do so, will die with one of the characteristics of hypocrisy.”
“He who neither takes part in fighting, nor equips a fighter, nor looks after a fighter’s family will be afflicted by severe disaster before the Day of Resurrection.”
He(pbuh) also said:
“If people become stingy in giving charity, deal with Ina (a form of business based on usury), follow the tails of cows (to resort totally to life activities like farming), and cease to establish Jihád in the cause of Alláh, soon Alláh(swt) will afflict them with a great tribulation which will never be alleviated until they return to their religion.”
Ibn Májah narrated that the Messenger of Alláh(pbuh) said:
“He who meets Alláh(swt) without having shown a sign that he fought on the path of Allah(swt) will meet Him with a deficiency.”
O servants of Alláh, Jihád in the cause of Alláh can be fighting in the path of Alláh or offering money in support of those who fight. However, establishing Jihád through offering money has been mentioned in the Qurán before establishing Jihád physically, as Alláh(swt) said:
“March forth, whether you are light (being healthy, young and wealthy) or heavy (being ill, old and poor), and strive hard with your wealth_and your lives in the Cause of Alláh. This is better for you, if you but knew.”(9:41)
Furthermore, Alláh made forgiveness, deliverance from the torment of the Fire and entering Paradise conditional upon performing Jihád physically and financially. In this regard Allah(swt) said:
“O you who believe! Shall I guide you to a trade that will save you from a painful torment? That you believe in Alláh and His Messenger (Muhammad (pbuh)), and that you strive hard and fight in the Cause of Alláh with your wealth and your lives, that will be better for you, if you but know! (If you do so) He will forgive you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow, and pleasant dwellings in ‘Adn (Eden) Paradise; that is indeed the great success.” (61: 10-12)
Allah(swt) also said that He bought from the believers their souls and money in return for Paradise. The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) said:
“He who spends a pair of things out of the things in the way of Alláh, will be called from the gates of Paradise: O servant of Alláh! This gate is better for you.”
“He who makes a contribution (from his surplus wealth) for the sake of Alláh, will have his reward multiplied seven hundred times.”
“He who contributes from his wealth for the sake of Alláh, and stays at his home will have the reward of seven hundred dirhams for each dirham he spends.”
“He who helps a Mujahid in the path of Alláh, helps pay the debts of someone in debt, or contributes to the freedom of a slave, will be in the shade of Alláh at the time when there is no shade except the Shade of Alláh.”
O servants of Alláh, establishing Jihád by offering money is to provide the Mujahidoon with the money they need for their own expenses during their incursions for the sake of Alláh(swt), and for their family’s living expenses, and for buying weapons. For that reason, Alláh(swt) mentioned participating in Jihád with money prior to participating in it physically. This is a vital reason to have all the Muslims integrated like one body so that if one organ suffers the whole body will empathize with this organ by means of fever and lack of sleep.
“Fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Who will lend to Allah a good loan which Allah will multiply many times over? It is Allah ˹alone˺ who decreases and increases ˹wealth˺. And to Him you will ˹all˺ be returned.”(2: 244,245)
By this I conclude my speech and ask Alláh(swt) to forgive all or our sins and wrongdoings.
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