THE MISCONCEPTIONS REGARDING THE IDEA: THERE IS NO JIHAD EXCEPT WITH A KHALIFAH

What has preceded is a sufficient refutation regarding the statement that there is no Jihad except with a Khalifah. But there are a few points that need to be mentioned which needs to be cleared up with more clarity.

Firstly, there is absolutely no evidence found in the Qur’an and Sunnah that can be used to put a condition of placing an Imam before waging Jihad. Rather, all

the ayat and ahadith that have been mentioned are very general and are not restricted in any sense. And moreover, there is not a single Alim from the Muslims who actually make such statements, either from the Salaf or from the Khalaf. So if this statement is so confirmed, wouldn’t it then be explained in the Qur’an and Sunnah? And there are thousands of texts that actually back up Jihad and they are general in terminology and not restricted. So if there is a restriction that negates the thousands of texts, then shouldn’t there be evidences from the Qur’an and Sunnah? And we know that the Deen in its entirety has been complete, as Allah (swt) has said, This day I have perfected your Deen… [al- Ma'idah 5:3]

In the same way, the Messenger Muhammad (saw) said, I have not left anything out (from the Qur’an and Sunnah) with which you can get close to Allah (swt) and there is no such thing which prevents you from worshipping Allah (swt) by disobeying Him except that I forbid you from it

And so if there was any text which restricted this generality in regards to Jihad then the Messenger Muhammad (saw) would have made it clear, or at least the Sahaba or the Salaf would have mentioned it. Moreover, the Shari’ texts have proven that Jihad is continuous until the day of Judgment, whether there is a Khalifah or not, whether the Muslims have a main Imam or they do not.

The Messenger Muhammad (saw) said, There will never cease to exist a group from amongst my Ummah fighting upon the truth apparent till the day of judgment. [Muslim]

Allah (swt) will make the hearts of their people inclined towards them and feed the people through them until the day of Judgment. So these groups of people never cease to fight until the day of Judgment in our time and in the future

The Messenger Muhammad (saw) said, There will never cease to exist a group from amongst my Ummah appeared on the truth fighting in the path of Allah. [Muslim]

Likewise, the Messenger Muhammad (saw) said, There will not cease to be an assembly (Ta’ifah), from my nation (Ummah), establishing the order of Allah. They are unharmed by those who betray them or oppose them, until the matter of Allah arrives while they are dominant over the people. [Sahih Sunan Nisa'i 3333]

The statement ‘Ta’ifah’ in this Hadith includes from one person to as many as possible.

Allah (swt) says, Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after you had believed. If We pardon some of you, We will punish others amongst you because they were Mujrimûn (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, criminals, etc.) [at-Tawbah 9:66]

So here Allah (swt) uses the word Ta’ifah twice. In the first instance He (swt) refers it to one person, and the second instance He refers uses the Ta’ifah as two people.

Al-Qurtubi in his tafsir said regarding this verse: Two of the people were those who mocked the Sahabah, whereas one of them was just with them and smiled at them.

The one who was forgiven is the one who did not speak, but just laughed. So let us imagine, the people of Bid’ah who fall into this category, that a person who takes part in a Bid’ah, like the one who only smiled while the two men were mocking the Sahabah, and Allah (swt) says regarding this one person using the wording Ta’ifah (If we pardon some of you)

So what is apparent here is the word Ta’ifah was used regarding two people and in the same way the word Ta’ifah has been used in the Hadith of Muhammad (saw) as one person and likewise a thousand and what goes beyond that. And that shows us the true understanding of the Messenger of Muhammad (saw) of the meaning he (saw) intended.

And likewise, from the evidences that prove to us Jihad will not cease until the day of Judgment, is the fact that the Messenger (saw) said, Hijrah will not cease as long there is Jihad and in another narration …as long as the enemies are fought. [Reported in Ahmad amongst others and Silsilah Sahihah 1674]

And in another narration we see how the Messenger (saw) reconciled between the two narrations by saying,

The Hijrah will not cease to exist as long as there is Tawbah (repentance), and Tawbah will not cease to exist until the Sun rises from the West. [Reported in Ahmad and Abu Dawud, Sahih Jami' 7469]

So for a person to make a statement such as that when an Imam is not present Jihad will stop also implies that when the main Imam is not present, Hijrah (migration) will also stop. And for a person to say that Hijrah will stop will also imply that Tawbah will also stop. And a Hadith of the Messenger (saw) clearly states that Tawbah (repentance) will continue until the day of Judgment.

And so the one who says that Jihad has stopped is implying that repentance has also stopped, and this statement is the statement of falsehood which is known by necessity in the Deen.

And in the same way, the evidences to refute this claim is in the statement of Allah (swt) in the Qur’an, where He (swt) says, Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties; for the price that theirs shall be the Paradise. They fight in Allah’s Cause, so they kill (others) and are killed. It is a promise in truth which is binding on Him in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospel) and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded. That is the supreme success. [at- Tawbah 9:111]

So Allah (swt) has bought what He (swt) owns anyway, and what is all this for? So that the believers fight in the path of Allah, they kill and are killed. And the promise of Allah in the truth is in the Torah, Injil and in the Qur’an. Who can now come up and say that this contract with Allah (swt) has been stopped because there is no Khalifah present for seventy odd years?

So those people who say that we should wait for Jihad until the Khilafah comes, by this they are implying that the Bayah (contract) with Allah (swt) has also negated by this statement.

Also the Messenger (saw) said, Whosoever is killed defending his wealth is Shaheed and whosoever is killed his blood is Shaheed and whosoever is killed defending his Deen he is Shaheed and whosoever dies defending his family, he is Shaheed. [Reported in Ahmad amongst others, Sahih al-Jami' 6445]

So did anyone come up and say the one who is killed defending his Deen, blood and property is not a Shaheed because there is no Khilafah?

So the evidences to refute this falsehood in a narration from a Sahabi known as Abu Basir (Radhi Allah Anhu), that he (Abu Basir) was actually fighting without the permission or leadership of the Messenger (saw), and we will explain how.

When the treaty of Hudybiyah took place between the Messenger (saw) and Quraysh, this Sahabi Abu Basir (Radhi Allah Anhu) was not able to return to Madinah due to the peace treaty and he did not want to return back to Makkah either, so he would stay in the middle and fight Quraysh.

So we see from the Abbasiyin, Umawiyin and Unthmaaniyin that they would actually engage in Jihad before even establishing themselves and not one of Ulema ever said to them that it is a must for you to become a Khulafah yourself and then wage Jihad. And in the same way, at the time of Ibn Taymiyyah when there was no Khalifah and all the leadership fled, Ibn Taymiyyah himself called the people to Jihad and led them. In the sameway, the Jihad of Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab in the Arabian Peninsula, the Najd Area, against the people who used to worship graves and so on, all the Ulema agreed with his action.

It is apparent that no-one cease to promote this statement that there is no Jihad except with Khalifah) except the enemies. This statement came into the scene when the Muslims were taken over by the Kuffar and had control over the Muslims, this is where this statement innovated from. The purpose of this statement is to say to the Kuffar (disbelievers), “Don’t worry about us, we will not fight or harm you or extract you from our land.”

And this liar called Mirza Ghulam Ahmed from the Qadiyani, was an imposter and a person who told his disciples and followers that there is no Jihad in Islam and has been abrogated, And so he said Jihad has been abrogated in order to serve his master, the British. So what is the objective of these Kuffar is that Jihad is negated and stopped, whether it is by saying it is abrogated by the Shariah or negated because there is no Khalifah.

So when they negated Jihad they are saying there is no difference between us and you. And most of the people who actually made this statement exist in Palestine because it has been ruled by the illegitimate state of Israel for some time. For this reason, not one of these people who make this statement are found to be in prison and so on and so forth. So the Jews allow you to say whatever you want to say about Jihad as long as you don’t hold a stone on your hand, so there will no difference between you and them.

The principle of this has been taken from the extreme sect of the Shia, known as the Rawafidh. The Rawafidh Shia say there is no Jihad except with an Imam and the Imam according to them is the one who has entered a cave and he has not come out since then. So when they realized after spending a thousand years with these thoughts that they are going nowhere by the statement there is no Jihad without a Khalifah, so they innovated a new thought and opinion of having a Faqih Imam (Jurisprudence Imam) for themselves.

So these statements are exactly like them who say that there is no Jihad without a Khalif who comes from cave in the unseen world! We do not know when this person is going to come; it could be ten years, fifty years, a thousand years or whatever. So they imply it is upon us to negate this obligation (Jihad) and just give it to the people who whip the Muslims in prison!