The Urgency Of Jihad And How The Ummah Should Act In Response

Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1432 A.H, Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Before we embark on this study further, we need to first understand the definition of “Ummah” that we mean in this paper: "The Islamic ummah in this country (Indonesia - ed.) who have understood the right Tawheed and who have understood that the Ruling of Jihad today is Fardhu 'Ain". Because that which will be discussed here is based on the facts that happened to the Ummah with the above definition. So it is not the Ummah in the general and broad sense.

My sadness and concern in seeing the condition of this ummah, where they should be mutually reinforcing each other but the reality is otherwise, setbacks are going on and there are reductions in strength here and there because of being wrong in dealing with the trials from Allah SWT, makes me try to contribute ideas which hopefully can be useful for all of us. Wallahul Musta'an.

Dear Ikhwah, may you all be blessed by Allah ......

All have agreed that the ruling of jihad has become Fardhu 'Ain today. But if asked whether the Amaliyah of Jihad can and should be done where there are enemies that can be attacked, here's where the shubhah (doubt) and debate start. A group of people think that it can be done at any time and any place, whether it be individually or in groups, and the other group are of the opinion that we must wait until all of the preconditions they have set are met.

It is these two camps which later are mutually clashing with each other and make us engrossed in long-drawn-out debates and thus forget that the enemies are always developing the strategies of their tactics, resulting in the weakening of the ukhuwah and solidarity, as well as the emergence of mutual of su'u zhan (negative thoughts).

Let's try to unfurl this issue. All this while, I have noticed that the above differences arise because of being different in viewing whether the Amaliyah of Jihad belongs to a Jihad in the context of acquiring tamkin (power) or only difa'i (defensive) in nature. Now, let us begin the discussion.

Since the fall of Andalusia into the hands of the kafir invaders, it is since that time that Jihad becomes Fardhu 'Ain until we are able to restore or liberate the entire lands of the Muslims into the rule of the Muslims. Especially after the fall of the last bastion of the Islamic ummah, namely the collapse of the Khilafah Uthmaniyah in Turkey in the year 1924.

The role of the Khilafah Islamiyah which all this time had been able to protect the ummah from the vile plots of the enemies of Islam, had also gone. It is also since that time that the Islamic ummah have become a plaything, the target of insults, blasphemies, diatribes, abuses, ethnic cleansing, etc. and no single power was able to be a defender. Until finally Allah started to send down His help by the opening of the Jihad Front in Afghanistan in the era of the 80's. The Afghan Jihad had opened the eyes of the world that in truth the Muslims are very powerful, proven by the collapse of Soviet Union which was not able to confront the Mujahideen.

To cut the story short, due to the enemies' plots, the fruit of jihad that earlier was almost rotten was rescued by Allah with the presence of the Taliban. The ruh (spirit) of jihad which originated from Afghanistan and brought to the entire world by the Mujahideen, is being striven to be put together and managed by a Tandhim which is the most frightening to the enemies, namely AL-QAIDAH, which became a global force without frontiers which could be present anywhere and attacking any time. AL-QAIDAH has transformed into a force to be reckoned with, the defender of the ummah and a blow to the enemies. The examples are too numerous to be mentioned, please look up for yourselves...!

Able to be present anywhere and to attack any time is typical of AL-QAIDAH, it could be individually or in groups. All this is in order to fulfill the two obligations and amanahs (mandates), namely the Amanah to defend the Muslims who have been oppressed for so long and the Amanah to establish a strong world order in accordance with the Manhaj Nubuwwah. Meaning, Jihad today is defensive in characteristic, as well as, at the same time a part of Jihad to obtain tamkin (authority).

What we must understand is, in order to be able to switch on to the stage of tamkin, then at the Phase of Defensive (difa'i) Jihad, we should be able to cause magnitudes of damages to the enemies, weakening their power as much as possible, so that when we invite the wider community (ummah) to participate in jihad, there is no more reason to say that our strength is still insufficient, the enemies are too strong, etc. etc...!!!!

Ikhwatiyal kiram...

The substance of our discussion here is the condition of the ummah in this country, so now let's look into our country. The Amaliyah of jihad that have occurred so far in Indonesia, belongs to which stage...??? This is important for us to understand, because it is from that understanding that we can determine the right attitude towards the Amaliyah of Jihad that have taken place all this time. If we observe, all the Amaliyah of Jihad since the Jihad of Ambon-Poso, Christmas Bombings 2000, Bali Bombings I & II, to the latest one - the Cirebon Bombing, are the forms of Jihad Amaliyah which are difa'i (defensive) in characteristic, it still could not be categorized as the stage of Jihad for the acquiring of tamkin. So that if one is assessing it as a misstep, premature, lacking calculation, not understanding the aspects of politics, etc... etc... it could be ascertained that it comes from the group who believe that Jihad is a must be for obtaining tamkin.

True indeed, the ultimate goal that we want to achieve is tamkin. But don't forget, the ummah is in need of Tarbiyah and examples of real deeds, that this ummah is still having defenders who are able to shake the enemies, as well as in need of real examples of defense actions against the injustices and atrocities acted against them by the enemies. Besides that, the Amaliyah of Difa'i Jihad also serves as a test cauldron and exercise to develop the combat capabilities and strategies of the Mujahideen. So, to be able to perform Jihad for tamkin, then the Difa'i Jihad must be carried out as much as possible with the aim to weaken as much strength of the enemies as possible, so that when the Tamkin Jihad is being called upon the ummah, there is no more reason to say that the enemies are too strong, etc... etc... because it had been proven that the enemies could be weakened.

Once we understand that the Amaliyah of Jihad that have happened so far in this country is Difa'i in nature, then we should agree to be a part of the ranks of supporters of Jihad and the Mujahideen instead of producing correction fitnah against an Amaliyah which then will be responded with excessiveness as well by the supporters of the Amaliyah. And also the disturbing stories as mentioned in the writing, "Risalah wa Nida'at" by Ustadz Urwah rahimahullah, and in the writing, "Go Together With Your Rabb (transl.)" by al-akh Abdul Barr al-Harbiy hafidhahullah, should not have happened. Remember, on the condition of Jihad -especially on the condition of difa'i- every word and deed that weaken the jihad is a major sin, and the encouragement to jihad is obligatory.

Then how should this ummah act in response to the Amaliyah of Jihad that have happened so far...???

Dear Ikhwah, may you all be blessed by Allah ......

How should this ummah behave towards the various Amaliyah of (difa'i) Jihad that have happened in this country all this while...??? Let us learn from how the Taliban behave toward AL-QAIDAH post-the 2001 WTC attack. Look at the Taliban, they have never - and will never - blame AL-QAIDAH which have attacked the WTC, which then eventually led to the attacks of their country by the International Coalition of Crusader Forces, which is still ongoing today. In fact, they later united in one rank confronting the enemies as heroic warriors. They expressed no grievances. That's how this ummah should be...!!!

What we are experiencing in this country as a result of the Amaliyah of the ikhwans so far, is still a far cry from what they (the Taliban) are experiencing there, not even a teensy, tiny bit. Our sincerity in living more difficult lives (the da'wah which is increasingly onerous, the ma'isyah [livelihood] that is getting harder, restriction of freedom to move about, etc.) will be valued as a form of support for the Jihad -in which the ruling is Fardhu 'Ain today- and the Mujahideen, and make us as a unity in the ranks of Jihad.

Ikhwah...

In fact, with the existence of an Amaliyah, it could be the starting point for raising and uniting the strength or could also be the starting point of a division and disintegration of the strength, depending on how this ummah is responding to it. And the enemies are well aware of the conditions such as these, so they are sending in the masters and experts in inventing shubhah into the midst of the ummah, they use all the resources and media that they own to weaken the strength of the ummah. We must understand this...!!!

Whether or not there is an Amaliyah of Jihad, the thaghut will still try with all their might to prevent the implementation of the Amaliyah of Jihad. If then there still occurs an Operation of Jihad (difa'i), then it will obviously aggravate their work, where originally they were only preventing the increase of the Amaliyah, and so now with that Amaliyah they must cope with it and take action against the 'perpetrators'. And of course, their efforts to eradicate and prevent the Amaliyah of Jihad will become more frequent.

Once we already know that the enemies will fight Jihad and the Mujahideen more frequently after the operation of an Amaliyah of Jihad, then what we should do is strengthening our ranks further, fortifying the ukhuwwah, increasing the solidarity, forgetting about the trauma, keeping away from the debate that is not important and avoiding mutual su'u zhan. So that the enemies' plots will be met with failure and they will suffer great losses. Not by the other way around, i.e. mutually “reminding” each other so as not to be affected from the Amaliyah of Jihad, to the point that they don't even dare visit a masjunin (prisoner), whereas they are not even under udzur (valid hindrance, eg. from being ill, old-aged, unfree, etc.).

We also should not get too drawn-out in busying ourselves with unnecessary debates. It is better to use our energy and mind to think of new strategies which are better in the confronting the enemies. The enemies are working 24 hours, spying and looking for our weaknesses, while we are not even aware of it. Study the patterns of movement and strategies of the enemies, think of ways to deal with it, the way to obtain logistics which are needed urgently, etc... etc.... Insha Allah, it is more useful than engrossing ourselves in the debates.

We may be traumatized or disillusioned with the incident of the arrest of many Ikhwan Mujahideen as a result of the legal action operations carried out by the thaghut, the disorderliness of the Sariyah of Jihad that had been developed, etc... etc.... But don’t let all those make us become weak, much less retreating from stepping forward. Do not feel traumatized and disillusioned because of being uncovered, disappointed because of getting less organized, etc. It only makes us stop in doing good deeds. Make it as a lesson so that we could do better in the future. All those should not be a reason for retreating from advancing.

A mu'min is clever, make use of all the abilities that has been given Allah to the utmost degree and do not despair! This path of Jihad is still long ahead. Make the Mujahideen feel comfortable in doing their deeds by taking up the attitude as we have described above. Let us bear with the burden of this jihad all together, indeed the Amaliyah of Jihad is the responsibility of the ummah (all together). If the load is only burdened on the Mujahideen, of course it will become very heavy, which leads to fewer and fewer people willing and are able to perform jihad.

If unknowingly our attitude all this time has been causing the Mujahideen to be more easily captured, the families of the captured Mujahideen to become abandoned, hurting the feelings of the Mujahideen, etc... then let us repent to Allah immediately.

Sad stories such as those mentioned in "Risalah wa Nida'at" by Ustadz Urwah rahimahullah, and in the writing "Go Together With Your Rabb (transl.)" by al-akh Abdul Barr al-Harbiy hafidhahullah, should not happen again to us. The story from a Sheikh, that a lot of major donors had backed off after the operations of arrest of the participants of I'dad in Aceh, should not be happening again as well. While the door of repentance is still open, there is no such thing as ‘it’s too late’ to improve ourselves. Act like the attitude of the Taliban towards AL-QAIDAH after the 2001 WTC attack and remember that someday we will be called to account by Allah SWT for all our attitudes towards Jihad and the Mujahideen.

I end this piece this writing here, if there is anything that is true and useful it comes from Allah alone, and if there are mistakes and shortcomings, then that is from the weaknesses of myself, the faqir and I ask for forgiveness from Him. May Allah accept this as an accretion to the righteous deeds for me, and hopefully there will be responses and inputs from the ikhwah for our common good.

Verses of Inspiration :

"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 [military] might of those who disbelieve. And Allah is greater in might and stronger in [exemplary] punishment." ( An-Nisa : 84 )

"Indeed, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in a row as though they are a [single] structure joined firmly." (Aş-Şaf : 4 )

Saturday, 13th Jumadil Ula 1432 H / 16th April 2011 AD
By : Akh jaisy_554