Friday 26 March 2010

23. Arms training

Preparing for Jihad is obligatory since Jihad today is obligatory and the sharia rule states that: “Whatever is needed for an obligatory act becomes obligatory”

Arm training is an essential part of preparation for Jihad.

Allah says: “And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you don’t know but Allah knows” (8:60)

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said regarding this verse: “Power is marksmanship, power is marksmanship” (Related by Muslim)

The issue is so critical that if arm training is not possible in your country then it is worth the time and money to travel to another country to train if you can.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

22. Physical ftness

The Messenger of Allah (saw) says: “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer and there is good in both” (Related by Muslim)

Physical fitness is part of the preparation for Jihad. What Jihad needs is not body builders. What Jihad needs is mujahideen who have the ability to walk for long hours, to run for long distances (important for guerrilla warfare), to sprint (important for urban warfare), and to climb mountains.

The mujahid needs to be able to perform all of the afore-mentioned while carrying a weight. In Jihad lands such as Bosnia and Chechnya unfit brothers represented a burden on the mujahideen because they would slow down the whole group. Also the unfit can more easily fall in the hands of the enemy. So endurance exercises should take precedence over exercise for strength and flexibility. Even if a Muslim is not going to fight, physical fitness is still important. For example, a fit person can withstand prison and torture more than a person who is not.

The early Muslims were fit since they led a military lifestyle. The companion Amr bin al Aas who opened Egypt in the time of Umar and was appointed as its governor used to say in Jumu’ah khutbah: “I don’t want to see any one of you gaining weight while your horse is losing weight. If I see that I will reduce your salaries accordingly”

So dear brothers, exercising with the right intention is an act of worship. Our sisters are not exempt from this. They also need to be fit and the Muslim community needs to work out halal alternatives for the sisters to exercise.

Saturday 20 March 2010

21. Providing the scholars and Imams with information and news about the mujahideen

Just because a person is a scholar doesn’t mean he knows everything. In fact there is a tendency for people who are specialists in a particular field to ignore, and thus become ignorant, of other fields. Scholars and Imams need to be provided with good material. In my conversations with many scholars – some of whom are on a world class level – I was amazed at their lack of knowledge regarding the mujahideen. They lack information on where the mujahideen stand on issues, their publications and their news. The enemies of Islam know the influence that Muslim scholars have on the ummah. Therefore they give scholars special attention. The enemies of Islam would love to see our scholars debating and fighting over trivial issues in order to divert their attention from the real issues that are facing the ummah.

What the brothers and sisters alike can do is to influence the scholars, because by influencing the views of one scholar you could change the views of thousands of Muslims. Provide the scholar with carefully chosen material to read. In the beginning you should give them concise material. Remember scholars tend to be very busy and have a lot of material on their table to read so you need to follow up with them on whether they read what you gave them or not. Discuss with them issues covered in what they read, and discuss it with them as a student and not as an opponent. Avoid confronting them with controversial questions because their fear or cautiousness could cause them to give you a watered down opinion which they might not sincerely believe in and then try to stand by it and defend it just because they said it. Suggest to Imams issues to discuss in Friday khutbahs and provide them with information that could be used in the khutbahs.

Wednesday 17 March 2010

20. The issuance of fatwas supporting the mujahideen

There are scholars who are willing to speak out the truth. Such scholars should be encouraged to do so and brothers should support these scholars and let them know that they would stand by them. The fatwas of these scholars should be widely distributed to the masses. There are many young brothers and sisters who agree with the methodology of the mujahideen but they are not willing to fully embrace it until they see scholars approving this methodology. At the end of the day the masses are followers and they would like to see scholars guiding them.

Sunday 14 March 2010

19. Spreading the writings of the mujahideen and their scholars

Unfortunately we hear some Muslims claiming that the mujahideen lack scholars who support them and they lack a clear strategy and that what the mujahideen are doing is spontaneous and reactionary. Such claims are the furthest from the truth. There are plenty of scholars and strategic thinkers who are supporters of Jihad today. The problem is that because they are on the true path most of them are killed, jailed or forced to go underground. Nevertheless there is still an abundance of material supporting Jihad work and offering strategies for it.

In fact the writings of the scholars of Jihad tend to be the most deeply rooted in sharia because they speak it out as it is, which means they do not need to get involved in ignoring any sharia evidence, twisting sharia texts, and searching for odd opinions as some others may do. The scholars of the mujahideen made it clear that they fear no one but Allah and are willing to displease anyone if that pleases him. They refer to Quran and hadith and quote the scholars of the ummah such as Ibn Hajar, al Nawawi, al Qurtubi, ibn Kathir, ibn Taymiyyah, and the four Imams. They have nothing to hide or conceal. This makes their works the most clear and the most convincing. To counter the fact that no publishers or media outlets are willing to risk sponsoring their works, it falls upon the mujahideen and their sympathizers to do that work. It is therefore our responsibility to spread their knowledge.

Some ways in which you could contribute:
• Handing out books and pamphlets to your friends and family.
• Posting material online
• Setting up websites that publish such works
• Guiding others towards such websites.
• Email lists
• Placing such information in masjids
• Distributing such material in gatherings
• Holding private circles in which these writings are studied

Thursday 11 March 2010

18. Following the news of Jihad and spreading it

Following the news of Jihad and the mujahideen is important because
• It keeps your attachment to Jihad alive.
• It strengthens your belongingness to the ummah.
• It encourages you to join Jihad when you see the heroic acts of the mujahideen. It kindles your desire for martyrdom when you see the courage of martyrs.
• Those who follow the news of the mujahideen will see how Allah is protecting his servants and guiding them towards victory. They will see how the ummah is heading towards the era of Islam under the leadership of: “al Ta’ifah al Mansoorah” mentioned in the hadiths of Rasulullah (saw).
• Reading history or Fiqh books on Jihad provides you with the theory. Following the news of the mujahideen provides you with practical examples of how our brothers are applying the theory in today’s world. It provides you with something tangible, something real.
• The news of Jihad is the news of the conflict between good and evil which has existed since the time of Adam and will continue until the end of time. Following the developments of this conflict brings Quran into light. When you read Quran with this awareness you would have a more engaged relationship with the book of Allah than a person who is living in the seclusion of his ivory tower. This engagement with the book of Allah reaches its height when you yourself are engaged in this conflict by joining the ranks of the mujahideen. I need to repeat what I mentioned in point 13 that you should only spread authentic information from authentic sources. Because spreading rumors is an attribute of the hypocrites:

Allah says: “And when there comes to them something [information] about public security or fear, they spread it around. But if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it.” (4:83)

Monday 8 March 2010

17. Praying for the mujahideen

Never underestimate the power of a sincere dua’.

The Messenger of Allah (saaws) says: “This ummah is given victory through the weak among them, through their dua’, prayers and sincerity”.

Make dua for them in your sujood since that is when you are closest to Allah. An important form of dua that needs to be performed is dua al Qunoot in salah. Encourage Imams to perform it when things get tough on the mujahideen. This is the Sunnah of Rasulullah.Prior to one of the battles, the leader of the Muslim army asked his soldiers to see what Muhammad bin Wasi’ (one of the great worshipers of the early Muslims) was doing. They came back saying that we saw him raising his finger and making dua.

The leader of the army said: “That finger making dua to Allah is more beloved to me than a thousand men!”

Saturday 6 March 2010

16. Protecting the mujahideen and preserving their secrets

We need to guard our tongues. Sometimes you could end up endangering your brothers unwillingly by your words. A Muslim should develop the habit of being able to keep secrets. We have an incident from seerah where a sahabi refused to tell his own wife about a secret mentioned to him by the Messenger of Allah. Sometimes you want to protect the secrets from the closest people to you: your wife, parents, children and brothers, because they might be the most vulnerable. A Muslim should learn to not say more than what needs to be said, to work on a “need to know basis”.

A lot of Jihad work is secret and clandestine by nature. Therefore, brothers and sisters should be very careful with their words. A lot of harm was inflicted on Jihad work because of otherwise good and sincere brothers who had loose tongues. The enemies of Allah will try to recruit Muslims to infiltrate Islamic work. They will tell them that we are doing this to protect the Muslims. They may carry along with them scholars who would approve that. Part of your role in protecting the mujahideen is by warning the Muslim community that spying on a Muslim for a non-Muslim is nothing less than kufr.

Allah says: “And whoever is an ally of them among you – then indeed, he is one of them.” (5:51)

Thursday 4 March 2010

15. Encouraging others to fight Jihad

Inviting others to do good is an encouraged act of worship since it falls under enjoining good and forbidding evil. In addition to that, encouraging others to participate in Jihad was an act of worship we were specifically asked to do.

Allah says: “O Prophet, urge the believers to battle.” (8:65)

And He says: “So fight, [O Muhammad], in the cause of Allah; you are not held responsible except for yourself. And encourage the believers [to join you] that perhaps Allah will restrain the might of those who disbelieve. And Allah is greater in might and stronger in [exemplary] punishment.” (4:84)

Monday 1 March 2010

14. Exposing the hypocrites

The hypocrites represented a great danger to the Muslim community during the time of the Prophet, and they still do. The Messenger of Allah would fight them by exposing their lies. If the battle with the kuffar was primarily a battle of swords, the battle against the hypocrites was primarily a battle of words. 

Since the hypocrites hide behind the cloak of religion to spread their poisonous ideas, the way to fight them is by revealing the truth and exposing their lies. Your weapon against them is Quran and Sunnah. Some of these hypocrites could be very charismatic. They could appear to be very impressive, but they are fake. 

Allah says: “And when you see them, their forms please you, and if they speak, you listen to their speech. They are as if they were pieces of wood propped up – they think that every shout is against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?” (63:4) 

The fake scholars and deviant ideologies need to be exposed for what they are.

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