You wrote,

“In Islam only noble means are allowed to bring about noble ends.”

And what’s more better than a noble death of Shahaada fe Sabeelillah?

These Mufti’s are mistakened when they say Jihad is not fard al ‘ayn. Not only is this further humiliating the Ummah (as leaving Jihad humiliates the Ummah as Muhammad (s) had said), but it shows the ignorance regarding Jihad fe Sabeelillah. I am extremely surprised that these Mufti’s are saying it’s not fard al ‘ayn when they are living right next to Afghanistan! Did they not say themselves,

“If that particular community feels it cannot fight off attackers on its own, then jihad becomes incumbent on Muslims living in nearby communities.”

Actually, if you analyze what they said here, it’s slightly incorrect. Let me show you what the Hanafi Ijmaa’ says regarding this:

Ibn Aabidin (rahimahullah) said: “Jihad becomes Fard ‘Ayn if the enemy attacks one of the borders of the Muslims, and it becomes Fard ‘Ayn upon those close by. For those who are far away, it is Fard Kifaya, if their assistance is not required. If they are needed, perhaps because those nearby the attack cannot resist the enemy, or are indolent and do not fight Jihad, then it becomes Fard ‘Ayn upon those behind them, like the obligation to pray and fast. There is no room for them to leave it. If they too are unable, then it becomes Fard ‘Ayn upon those behind them, and so on in the same manner until the Jihad becomes Fard ‘Ayn upon the whole Ummah of Islam from the East to the West”. (Hashiyat Ibn Aabidin 3/238)

And the following have similar Fatawa: Al Kassani (Bida’y as Sanaiy 7/72), Ibn Najim (Al Bahr ar Raa’iq by Ibn Najim 5/191) and Ibn Hammam (Fath al Qadir by Ibn Hammam 5/191).

This obligation of Jihad keeps spreading until the enemies are repelled from that Muslim land. Meaning, Jihad today is fard al ‘ayn on the whole of the Ummah until the enemies are kicked out (from Afghanistan, Sheeshan, ‘Iraq, Filistine etc.).

Is Mullah Omar, Mullah Dadullah, Shaykh Abu Yayha al Libbi, and other Taliban commanders saying Jihad is fard kiffaya or fard al ‘ayn? They have said that Jihad is fard al ‘ayn and that this is an issue regarding the whole of the Ummah.

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) remarked: “If the enemy enters a Muslim land, there is no doubt that it is obligatory for the closest and then the next closest to repel him, because the Muslim lands are like one land. It is obligatory to march to the territory even without the permission of parents or creditor, and narrations reported by Ahmad are clear on this.” (Al Fatawa al Kubra 4/608)

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) also said, “About the Defensive Jihad, it is the most urgent type of repelling the intruder away from the sanctities and the religion. So it is obligatory according to the consensus (Ijmaa’). So the intruding enemy who corrupts the religion and this life; there is nothing more obligatory after Iman than to repel it. So there are no conditions for it, rather it must be repelled using any means available.” (“Al-Ikhtiyaaraat al-Fiq ‘hiyyah” by Ibn Taymiyyah, page 309)

The people who make every excuse to sit back are the ones that are most ignorant regarding Jihad fe Sabeelillah. I can almost guarantee you that the majority of Muslims in the West have never ever heard any of this stuff before on how Jihad is now fard al ‘ayn. The following is a short list of Contemporary Shuyookh that say Jihad is now fard al ‘ayn:

1. Shaykh ‘Abdullah Yusuf ‘Azzam
2. Shaykh Abu Yahya al Libbi
3. Shaykh Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah Rushood
4. Shaykh Ahmad Al-Kubeisi
5. Shaykh Muhammad ‘Ali
6. Shaykh Saleh bin Muhammad al Sultan
7. Shaykh Suleiman al Odeh
8. Shaykh Musa al Qarni
9. Shaykh Abu Mohammed al Maqdisee
10. Shaykh Abu Qataadah Al-Filasteenee
11. Shaykh Faris bin Ahmed Al-Shuwayl
12. Shaykh ‘Abdul-Qaadir Ibn ‘Abdul-’Azeez
13. Shaykh Abdul Maajid Muhammed Al-Munee’
14. Shaykh Sultan al-Utaybi
15. Shaykh Anwar al ‘Awlaki
16. Shaykh Hamood ibn ‘Uqlaa ash-Shu’aybee
17. Shaykh Sulaymaan ibn Naasir al-‘Ulwaan
18. Shaykh ‘Ali ibn Khudayr al-Khudayr
19. Shaykh Naasir bin Hamad al Fahd
20. Shaykh Yusuf al-‘Uyayree
21. Shaykh Muhammad Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee

Included is Shaykh ‘Azzam since his fatawa on how Jihad became fard al ‘ayn in Afghanistan during the Soviet war is 100% applicable to the Jihad in Afghanistan today against America; the only difference are the empires. In the end, it is Taghoot that we are fighting; raising the word of Allah high and the establishment of Islam is what we are fighting for in these lands.

Samir