| Answer: Answer: The first part of your question can
have two aspects:
i. When does Jihād become obligatory on a
state?
ii. When does Jihād become obligatory on an
individual?
As far as the first aspect is concerned, the
answer is that Jihād becomes compulsory on a state if in the opinion of its
rulers it has the military and moral might to curb the oppression and
injustice of the country
against which Jihād is to be waged. This inference is based on the guidance
provided by the Qur’ān to the Prophet (sws) and his Companions (rta). They
were told that if they possessed a certain level of military strength (ie
number of combatants), it was imperative upon them to wage Jihād. This
principle is spelled out in the following verses:
يَاأَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَرِّضْ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى
الْقِتَالِ إِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَابِرُونَ يَغْلِبُوا مِائَتَيْنِ
وَإِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ مِائَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفًا مِنْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ الْآنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ
أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفًا فَإِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ مِائَةٌ صَابِرَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا
مِائَتَيْنِ وَإِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أَلْفٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفَيْنِ بِإِذْنِ
اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ(٨:
٦٥-٦٦)
Prophet! Rouse the believers to wage war. If
there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will subdue two
hundred: if a hundred, they will subdue a thousand of the Disbelievers: for
these are a people without understanding. [From] now, God has lightened your
[task] for He knows that there is now weakness amongst you: But [ever so],
if there are a hundred of you, patient and persevering, they will subdue two
hundred, and if a thousand, they will subdue two thousand, with the leave of
God: for God is with those who patiently persevere. (8:65-6)
It is evident from these verses that the
Prophet (sws) and his Companions (rta) were required to fight if they were
outnumbered by 1:10 and later by 1:2 because it was their inner strength –
the strength of faith which would compensate for their numbers. However,
since these ratios specifically pertained to the Companions (rta) whose
level of faith one can only imagine, in later times the rulers must exercise
their judgement in working out a ratio for themselves. What can be said with
certainty is that Muslim to enemy ratio should be at least 1:2.
Of course, a natural pre-condition to waging
Jihād is that all diplomatic level negotiations have failed.
As far as an individual is concerned, Jihād
becomes compulsory upon him if both the following conditions are fulfilled:
i. The rulers give a call to each an every
citizen of their country to participate in Jihād.
ii. The individual himself is convinced that
his rulers are waging war on the only legitimate basis on which war can now
be waged: to uproot injustice and oppression perpetrated by a country. If a
person is convinced that his country has some other objective in mind, he
can of course refuse their call.
Now I come to the second part of your query:
A study of the Qur’ān shows that there is no
worldly punishment for either a state or an individual if they do not
undertake Jihād when it becomes obligatory upon them. The reason for this is
that the Qur’ān does not mention any such punishment. It seems that it is
the Almighty Himself Who directly punishes such negligence in this world or
in the Hereafter.
|