Jihād, and Preparation for It

The next discussion concerns jihād, and preparation for jihād. Islam was an entity; it was an entity of rule. Their whole governance was according to Islam. Within that, the whole concept of defence, of fighting, of preparation for it — of being in readiness — had to be part of the system, and so it is. That is why it is found so difficult in the West, which has its own laws, and which sometimes uses so-called mujāhidīn when it suits — as it did in Bosnia, in the Bosnian wars, the Balkan wars — but is afterwards fearful, because some people do some crazy things; they arrive at a misunderstanding of what real jihād is. That is why it has been said before that this is something that will have to be worked out, because the Qur'an is replete with it. If it can help humanity in the right way, then it is an important idea that needs to be discussed openly, for otherwise it creates a major conundrum in the minds of Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Hence the need to provide some clarity, to work towards clarity on this in the West. But the discussions are numerous.

The idea is that Allah (swt) is saying: when you must defend yourselves, when you must undertake certain battles for good reasons, if you are killed in them it is because Allah has written it so. Had Allah written that you should be killed, you would die in your bed; you would die at home; you would die in your field; you would die doing something never thought dangerous. In the end, one's death and one's life are written in the hands of Allah. But where there is a just war, one must take part in it, in the right way, when the call comes. All of this is treated there — together with how the munāfiqīn would try to mislead and say: no, do not go. They would try to demoralise. On numerous occasions they would go out with the army as a contingent and, having gone half the way, turn back. That would demoralise everyone else: we have already lost twenty-five per cent of our people, or ten per cent.

For Allah says, in verse 78 — another very clear-cut statement about death — wherever you are, wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even in lofty towers to which no one has access, where a special crane is needed to carry you up, so that no one can come and kill you there. Death will come even there, where no other man can reach and you are alone — even on the moon, or wherever it may be. It then says that whenever something good happens, people say: this is from Allah. Everything is from Allah, whether good or bad; but whatever good comes to you, understand that Allah wishes to favour you. Some might say there is a contradiction between verses 78 and 79, so this is to clarify. In the first, Allah is saying that everything comes from Allah: good or bad, it is all under Allah's plan, and He is its creator. The second verse is saying that, yes, whenever something good and positive befalls you, Allah is gifting you something; and when something negative and wrong, some adversity, befalls you, it is because of some sin, some wrong, some blameworthy act you have committed. So introspect. Yes, it is created by Allah, but it is most likely a punishment, or something of the kind, for what you may have done.