Kinds of Jihad (struggle)

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), It Jihad Sunnah (optional) or obligatory?’ He replied, ‘Jihad is of four kinds. Two kinds of Jihad are obligatory and there is an optional Jihad which cannot be established without obligatory Jihad. ‘Of the two obligatory Jihad is one’s Jihad (struggle) against his soul’s desires to disobey Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, and this is the greatest form of Jihad. Jihad against the unbeliever (declared) enemies nearby is also obligatory. ‘The kind of optional Jihad, which cannot be established without an obligatory Jihad, is when it becomes obligatory upon the whole nation to fight the enemy; and if they disregard such Jihad torment descends upon them. This is the punishment for the nation. Only for the Imam this is optional. He faces the enemy with the support of the nation to fight. ‘The optional Jihad is every optional institution for the establishment of which one strives hard to accomplish and revive. Working and the pursuit of such task is of the most excellent deeds; it is reviving of a tradition. The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Whoever establishes a noble tradition he gains the reward therefor and a reward equal to the reward of those who act upon such noble tradition up to the Day of Judgment without any reduction in the rewards of anyone of them.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that once a man asked my father (a.s.), about the wars in which Amir al-Mu’minin, had taken part. The man asking the question was of our followers. Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), replied, ‘Allah sent Muhammad (a.s.), with five swords. Three of them are taken out of their sheath and they are not sheathed until war is no more. The day without war will not come until the sun rises from the west. When the sun rises from its westerly direction all people will enjoy peace on that day. On that day a soul’s belief will be of no benefit if it did not exist before or has not gained any good thereby. One of those swords is withheld and the other one remains in its sheath and he has uncovered it on people other than us but it is up to us to decide. ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious has said, “Destroy the pagans wherever you find them; capture, detain them and set up surveillance over their activities. If they repent (accept the faith), perform Salat (prayer) and pay Zakat, they are your brothers in religion.” (9:11) The choice for such people is only acceptance of al-Islam or destruction. Their properties and offspring are held and detained and are dealt with in the way the Messenger of Allah had done. He detained, forgave or released them in exchange for ransom. ‘The second sword is in matters of dealing with the taxpayers. Allah, the most Blessed, the most High, has said, “Speak to people good words.” (2:83). This verse was revealed about the tax payers. Later it was amended by the following verse, “Fight those, who do not believe in Allah and in the Day of Judgment and do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful. Thus, they do not follow the true religion. However, they are of the followers of the book. (This is the case) until they agree to pay taxes by their own hands with humbleness.” (9:30) Those of them who live in the Muslims lands must pay taxes or be destroyed, their offspring detained and no Fay ’ (ransom) is accepted from them. But if they agree to pay taxes it becomes unlawful for us to detain them or touch their properties. It becomes lawful to marry from them. Those of such people who live in the war zones can be detained and their properties withheld. It is not lawful to marry from them and they are given the choices of either moving to the lands of the Muslims, pay taxes or be destroyed. ‘The third sword is to deal thereby with non- Arab pagans, such as al-Turk, al-Daylam and al-Khazar. Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, in the beginning of the Chapter that speaks of “those who disbelieve” has stated their story and said, “It, then, is to strike their necks until they are subdued and captured, thereafter either freed as a favor or in exchange for ransom until the war is no more.” (47:4) His words, “freed as a favor” means after they are detained and His words, “or in exchange for ransom” means in exchange for protection of the interests of the Muslim people. In the case of such people the choice is either destruction or acceptance of al-Islam. It is not lawful for us to marry from them as long as they live in the war zone. ‘The withheld sword is to deal thereby with the rebels and people who raise the issue of interpretations of the texts of the law. Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, has said, “If two groups of believers fight each other, you must establish reconciliation between them. If one group rebels against the other then you must fight the rebellious one until it submits to the command of Allah.” (49:9) When this was revealed the Messenger of Allah said, “Among you there will be those who fight to establish proper interpretation of (the text of law) just as their fighting to establish the revelation of the text of the law.” The Holy Prophet then was asked, “Who will be such fighters?” He (the Messenger of Allah) replied, “One who is stitching his shoes”, meaning thereby Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.). ‘Ammar ibn Yasar has said, “I have fought under this banner alongside the Messenger of Allah three times and this is the fourth time. I swear by Allah, if they beat us to make us retreat even all the way to the twigs of Bahrain, we will still remain certain of our truthfulness and their following falsehood. Dealings by ’Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Alayhi al-Salam, with them were just like those of the Holy Prophet toward the people of Makkah on the day of its conquest. Their offspring were not detained, and he said, ‘Those who keep their doors closed are protected.’ Those who put down their arms are protected. So also did Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), on the day of Basra. He announced among them, ‘You must not detain any of their offspring, you must not attack the wounded, you must not pursue the fleeing and those who close their doors and put down their arms are all protected.’” ‘The sword in the sheath is the sword whereby retaliation for a slain person takes place. Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, has said, “A soul for a soul and an eye for an eye . . .” (5:45) He has made it ready for the heirs of the slain person but the application of its rule is left up to us to decide. These are the swords that Allah sent to Muhammad. Whoever rejects them or anyone of them or anything of their characteristics or rules has rejected what Allah has revealed to Muhammad (SAW).’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that the Messenger of Allah once mobilized a group of people against the enemy. When they returned back he said, ’I welcome a people who have just come back after completion of the minor Jihad and who yet have to complete the major Jihad.’ Someone then asked, ‘What is the major Jihad, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘It is Jihad against the desires of one’s own soul to disobey Allah.’”