The Ruling on Jihad While Still Falling into Sins and Religious Innovations (Part Two)

حكم الجهاد في سبيل الله مع الوقوع في المعاصي والبدع

The Ruling on Jihad While Still Falling into Sins and Religious Innovations (Part Two)

Questions and Answers with Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahim as-Sulami (Lecturer in the Department of Creed, Religions, and Contemporary Schools of Thought at Umm al-Qura University)

Translated by: Reza Ervani bin Asmanu

This article, “The Ruling on Jihad While Still Falling into Sins and Religious Innovations,” is included in the Questions about Islamic Creed Category

ولهذا نحن نطالب الأمة جميعاً باليقظة، ونطالبها بالجهاد في سبيل الله، وبالاستعداد، وبتحديث النفس بالجهاد في سبيل الله؛ لأن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول:

For this reason, we call upon the entire Ummah to remain vigilant, to prepare itself, and, according to the Shaykh’s discussion, to keep alive within itself the intention of jihad in the path of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(من لم يغز ولم يحدث نفسه بالغزو مات على شعبة من النفاق)،

“Whoever neither fought nor entertained within himself the intention to fight dies upon a branch of hypocrisy.” (Narrated by Imam Muslim)

على الأقل يحدث الإنسان نفسه بالغزو، ويتمنى ويشتاق أن يشارك في صفوف المسلمين ضد أعدائهم، ويتمنى أن يقاتلهم في سبيل الله وأن يقتل شهيداً،

At the very least, the Shaykh says, a person should entertain within himself the desire to take part in such fighting, hope to stand with the Muslims against their enemies, and long to fight in the path of Allah and die as a martyr.

وعندما يرى إنساناً قتل شهيداً يتمنى أنه ممن قتل شهيداً؛ حتى يدخل الجنة التي عرضها السماوات والأرض.

When he sees someone who has been killed as a martyr, he wishes that he too had been among those who died as martyrs, so that he might enter Paradise, whose vastness is as great as the heavens and the earth.

يجب علاج الأمة من الذنوب والمعاصي وأعظم علاجها هو الجهاد في سبيل الله، يعني: لا ننتظر ونتوقف عن الجهاد حتى نصفي الأمة من البدع وحتى نصفيها من الشرك الأصغر، هي مسلمة حتى لو كان عندها شرك أصغر، هي مسلمة حتى لو كان عندها بدع، ما دام لم تصل إلى الشرك الأكبر،

The Ummah must be treated for its sins and acts of disobedience, and the Shaykh regards jihad in the path of Allah as one of the greatest means of rectification. In other words, he argues that Muslims should not wait and suspend jihad until the Ummah has been completely purified of religious innovations and minor shirk. A person remains Muslim, he says, even if minor shirk or religious innovations are present, so long as the matter has not reached major shirk.

لكن لو وصلت إلى الشرك الأكبر مثل: الشيعة فيجب أن نقف هنا ونقول: أولاً: أسلموا، ثم بعد ذلك جاهدوا، أما أن تجاهد على الكفر ما هي الفائدة؟

The Shaykh then states that if the matter reaches what he regards as major shirk, giving the Shi’ah as his example, one must stop at that point and say: “First enter Islam, and then engage in jihad.” He argues that fighting while upon disbelief would have no benefit.

إذاً: إذا كانوا مسلمين وعندهم تقصير فيجب أن نشجعهم على الجهاد في سبيل الله، وأنه عمل من أعمال الإسلام،

Thus, if they are Muslims who have shortcomings, the Shaykh argues that they should still be encouraged to perform jihad in the path of Allah, since he regards it as one of the deeds of Islam.

فلو أن إنساناً زان أو شارب للخمر رأيته يصلي ركعتين فهل ستقول له: لماذا تصلي ركعتين وأنت شارب خمر؟! سبحان الله! هذه شعبة من شعب الإسلام، وهذا خطأ أخطأه،

Suppose you saw an adulterer or a drinker of wine praying two rak’ahs. Would you say to him, “Why are you praying two rak’ahs while you drink wine?” Subhanallah! Prayer is one branch of Islam, whereas his drinking is another matter in which he has committed a sin.

كذلك الزاني لو تصدق هل تقول: لماذا تتصدق وأنت زانٍ؟! سبحان الله! هذا التصدق يكفر عن نفسه الذنب، وأيضاً حتى لو كان شارباً للخمر وجاهد، فهل نقول له: لماذا تجاهد؟

Likewise, if an adulterer gives charity, would you say, “Why are you giving charity while you are an adulterer?” Subhanallah! Such charity may be a means of expiating his sin. Similarly, even if a person drinks wine and then participates in jihad, would we say to him, “Why are you engaging in jihad?”

وربما يقول بعضهم: إننا سنهزم، نقول: الهزيمة لها أسباب كثيرة، والمعصية سبب من الأسباب، وهذا السبب قد يحصل وقد لا يحصل،

Some may say, “We will be defeated.” The response, according to the Shaykh, is that defeat has many causes, and sin is only one of them. Its effect may occur in a given situation, or it may not.

فقد تكون الأمة فيها ذنوب ومعاص وينصرها الله سبحانه وتعالى،

An Ummah may contain sins and acts of disobedience, yet Allah, Glorified and Exalted, may still grant it victory.

هل تتصورن الجيش الذي قاده صلاح الدين الأيوبي وحرروا بيت المقدس كانوا كلهم من الصالحين؟ هل هم كلهم من الأتقياء الأبرار بدون استثناء؟! لا، أنا أجزم بأنهم ليسوا كلهم، وليس كل فرد فيهم،

Do you imagine that every member of the army led by Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi, which liberated Bayt al-Maqdis, was among the righteous? Were they all, without exception, pious and virtuous people? No, the Shaykh says, he is certain that this was not the case with every single individual among them.

ولهذا كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عندما يذهب للغزو يذهب ومعه بعض المنافقين، ففي غزوة تبوك مثلاً عندما خرج بدءوا يعتذرون، وشاركوا معه في غزوة بني المصطلق، وشاركوا معه في بعض الغزوات،

For this reason, when the Prophet ﷺ went out on military expeditions, some hypocrites were also present with him. In the expedition of Tabuk, for example, when he set out, some of them began presenting excuses. They had also participated with him in the expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq and in some other campaigns.

صحيح أن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يكن يحرص عليهم، لكن لم يكن يمنعهم من الغزو، ما كان يقل لهم: أنتم لا تخرجون معنا؛ لأننا سنهزم بسببكم، لكن صحيح أن الذنب سبب من أسباب الهزيمة.

It is true, the Shaykh says, that the Messenger ﷺ did not place great reliance upon them, but neither did he prevent them from taking part in military expeditions. He did not say to them, “You may not go out with us because we will be defeated because of you.” At the same time, the Shaykh affirms that sin can indeed be one of the causes of defeat.

To be continued in the next part, in sha Allah

Source: Audio Lecture on Usul al-‘Aqidah by Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahim as-Sulami