‘YOU KEEP SAYING that the armies need to move to save the people and that the current political institutes and the UN etc won’t be able to solve this,’ my son stated.
‘I do say that. And I say that because our source of guidance is Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. It is inconceivable that our deen which is complete and has guidance for every situation would not have anything to say about the oppression that we are seeing.
Allah says:
وَإِنِ ٱسْتَنصَرُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ فَعَلَيْكُمُ ٱلنَّصْرُ
But if they seek your help (against persecution) in deen, you must help them. (al-Anfal 72)
Any command is dependent on capability. So, in this case, it is obligatory on the rulers and armies who have the capability to act.
‘So why are the armies not moving?’
‘That is a good question, and it allows us to explore and understand some very basic Islamic concepts.
1. There is no obedience when it leads to disobedience to Allah.
It is well known that soldiers follow the chain of command. It would be chaos otherwise. We know that Allah instructs us to obey those in authority amongst us. But for the Muslims that obedience has a caveat- a Muslim cannot obey anyone if that leads to disobeying Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
There is a narration in ibn Majah where ‘Abdullah bin Hudhafah bin Qais As-Sahmi was appointed as a leader of an expedition. At a stop, the men lit a fire to keep themselves warm. ‘Abdullah, a man who liked to joke, said: “Do I not have the right that you should listen to me and obey?” His men said: “Yes.” He said: “And if I command you to do something, will you not do it?” They said: “Of course.” He said: “Then I command you to jump into this fire.” Some people got up and got ready to jump, and when he saw that they were about to jump, he said: “Restrain yourselves, for I was joking with you.” When they returned to Madinah, the incident was mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ, and he ﷺ said: “Whoever among you commands you to do something that involves disobedience to Allah, do not obey him.”
There are other hadith and ayat to that understanding. If the leaders and commanders of Muslim armies are preventing their forces from moving to defend the Palestinians, then this action involves sin and disobedience to Allah and it becomes a grave sin for the soldiers to obey.
2. The poison of nationalism.
Perhaps the greatest poison that has been injected into the body of the Muslim ummah is nationalism. It allows a soldier to stand on one side of a border and do nothing as Muslims get killed in his sight on the other side. Why? Because the one getting killed is not of his nationality.
The nation-state, a modern-day manifestation of tribalism, was never an Islamic concept. Rather it is one that arose from the West and is used by the colonialists to keep us weak and divided.
The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Whoever is killed under the banner of blind following, who calls to tribalism or supports tribalism, then he has died upon ignorance.’ (Muslim)
Martyrdom is achieved by fighting to raise the Word of Allah most high and not by fighting for your nation-state, your flag or your ruler based on nationalism (where you support your own people blindly regardless of wrongdoing) .
3. The correct motivation.
فَلْيُقَـٰتِلْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَشْرُونَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ وَمَن يُقَـٰتِلْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَيُقْتَلْ أَوْ يَغْلِبْ فَسَوْفَ نُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
Let those who would sacrifice this life for the Hereafter fight in the cause of Allah. And whoever fights in Allah’s cause—whether they achieve martyrdom or victory—We will honour them with a great reward. (an-Nisa 74)
Allah tells us that the motivation to be a soldier and fight in Allah’s cause is to earn Allah’s pleasure in victory or martyrdom and the hope of His eternal Jannah.
Today unfortunately for many who join the army it is about some worldly gain be it a title, the medals, the army lifestyle, a piece of land at retirement, lucrative business deals etc.
Allah warns about this attitude:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَا لَكُمْ إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمُ ٱنفِرُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ٱثَّاقَلْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ أَرَضِيتُم بِٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا مِنَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ فَمَا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ
O believers! What is the matter with you that when you are asked to march forth in the cause of Allah, you cling firmly to (your) land? Do you prefer the life of this world over the Hereafter? The enjoyment of this worldly life is insignificant compared to that of the Hereafter. (at-Taubah 38)
إِلَّا تَنفِرُوا۟ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا وَيَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّوهُ شَيْـًٔا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
If you do not march forth, He will afflict you with a painful torment and replace you with other people. You are not harming Him in the least. And Allah is Most Capable of everything. (at-Taubah 39)
The Muslim armies are men from the sons, brothers, husbands and fathers of this ummah. So, if the armies are to move then we all need to contribute to building public pressure by reminding those in the armies to obey Allah above everything else, to forsake nationalism and to strive for what awaits in Jannah and not some insignificant gain in the dunya. For that, they have our full support, honour, and gratitude.
If they move, then they have fulfilled their obligation to Allah.
If they do not, then we will have fulfilled our obligation to those amongst the Muslims who are sinful:
قَالُوا۟ مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
‘They replied: ‘To be free from guilt before your Lord, and perhaps they may fear Allah.’ (al Araf 164)
[Making Islam Relevant: from a series of conversations with my 17-year-old son relating Islam to topical issues]
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