Contemporary Self-Styled
Jihadi Movements
The violent activities presently engaged in by Muslims in the name of jihad are wholly illegitimate in Islam. A guerilla war is illegitimate in Islam as it is conducted by non-governmental actors and not an established government. Moreover, proxy war being engaged in by a government without making an open declaration of hostilities is also not legitimate in Islam.
Today, in many countries across the world, Muslims are engaged in violent movements in the name of jihad. However, it is a fact that no movement can become a jihad simply because its flag-bearers give it that name. An action can be considered an Islamic jihad only when it completely fulfils Islam’s conditions for jihad. Without these conditions of jihad being fulfilled, a movement cannot be a jihad. Instead, such jihad is condemned in the Quran as fasad, or corruption and chaos. Those engaged in such violent activities will not receive the rewards decreed for those who participate in true jihad. Instead, they will deserve only punishment rather than reward.
In several of my books, I have discussed in considerable detail the various conditions for jihad in the sense of qital or war. Here, I wish to clarify just one point. Moreover, it is that jihad in the sense of war does not have the same status as individual actions such as prayer and fasting. Instead, it is an action that has wholly to do with the state.
In the sense of war, this status of jihad is very clearly explained in the Quran and Hadith. For instance, the Quran (4:83) ordains that if an atmosphere of fear is created because of an enemy, people should not launch action against it on their own. Instead, they should turn to those in authority—that is, people in charge of the government, so that the latter can adequately understand the situation and take appropriate and necessary steps.
The Quran tells us that in the event of fear (a situation of war), it is not permissible for members of the general public to act independently. They can only leave the matter with the rulers and assist the latter in their actions.
According to a Hadith report in the Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 2957, the Prophet has declared that the leader is a shield; war is undertaken under his leadership, and protection is procured through him. We learn that military defence must always be conducted under the Ruler’s leadership. The general Muslim public must obey their rulers in this regard. Lending them their support, they must help them in their efforts.
This issue is one on which there is a consensus among the fuqaha or scholars of Muslim jurisprudence. Perhaps no noted scholar of Muslim jurisprudence has any objection to it. According to the unanimous consensus of the fuqaha, only an established government can declare war. Alternatively, as it is said in Arabic, ar-raheelu lil-imam, that is to say, the declaration of war is the sole prerogative of the Ruler. (Al-Mughni, Vol. 9, p. 202) Non-governmental actors, including groups and individual members of the general public, do not have the right to make such a declaration.
An organised struggle is of utmost importance in the war. Only an established state can engage in such an organised action. That is why only states can engage in war. It is not legitimate for members of the public to initiate war.
In numerous countries, Muslims are engaged in violent confrontation. However, almost without exception, these are not Islamic jihads, but, instead, what is called fasad, or anarchy. None of these so-called jihads has been launched by an established government. All of them have been launched and are being carried out by what in today’s parlance is called non-governmental organisations. If some of their so-called jihadi activities enjoy the support of some Muslim government, this support is being provided in a clandestine and undeclared manner. According to Shariah, a Muslim government has the right to engage in jihad only if it openly and explicitly announces this. According to Islam, it is unlawful for a Muslim government to engage in war without an open declaration.
The violent activities presently engaged in by Muslims in the name of Jihad in various parts of the world are of two types: guerilla war and proxy war. Both of these are, without any doubt, wholly illegitimate in Islam. A guerilla war is illegitimate in Islam because it is conducted by non-governmental actors and not an established government. Moreover, proxy war is illegitimate because a government engages in it without making an open declaration of hostilities, which is not legitimate in Islam.
