1619 - Issue: He said: "Jihad is a communal obligation (fard kifayah); if a group undertakes it, it ceases to be obligatory for the remainder."
The meaning of a communal obligation is one that, if not fulfilled by a sufficient number of people, all of the people incur sin, but if fulfilled by a sufficient number of people, it ceases to be obligatory for the rest of the people. In its initial addressing, the command encompasses everyone, just like an individual obligation (fard 'ayn), but they differ in that a communal obligation is fulfilled by the action of some people, while an individual obligation is not lifted from anyone by the action of others. Jihad is among the communal obligations according to the opinion of the majority of scholars. It has been narrated from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib that it is an individual obligation, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: {Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah} (2). Then He said (3): {If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment} (4). And His saying, the Almighty: {Fighting has been prescribed for you} (5). Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "Whoever dies without having fought or having intended to fight, dies upon a branch of hypocrisy." (6). Our argument is the saying of Allah the Exalted: {Those of the believers who sit back, other than those who have a disability, are not equal to those who strive in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred those who strive with their wealth and their lives over those who sit back by a degree, and to each, Allah has promised the best} (7). This indicates that
(1) Omitted from [A] and [M]. (2) Surah At-Tawbah, 41. (3) This is as it appears in the manuscripts. The following verse precedes it. (4) Surah At-Tawbah, 39. (5) Surah Al-Baqarah, 216. (6) Omitted from [A] and [M]. It was narrated by Abu Dawud in: The Chapter on the Dislike of Abandoning Jihad, from the Book of Jihad. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/10. It was also narrated by Muslim in: The Chapter on the Censure of the One Who Dies Without Having Fought or Having Intended to Fight, from the Book of Leadership. Sahih Muslim 3/1517. And by Al-Nasa'i in: The Chapter on Severity Regarding Abandoning Jihad, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Mujtaba 6/7, 8. And by Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 2/374. (7) Surah An-Nisa', 95.
١٦١٩ - مسألة؛ قال: (والْجِهَادُ فَرْضٌ عَلَى الْكِفَايَةِ، إِذَا قَامَ بِهِ قَوْمٌ، سَقَطَ عَنِ الْبَاقِينَ)
معنى فَرْضِ الكِفايةِ، الذي إن لم يَقُم به مَنْ يَكْفِى، أَثِمَ النَّاسُ كلُّهم، وإن قامَ به مَنْ يَكْفِى، سَقَطَ عن سائِرِ النَّاسِ. فالخِطَابُ في ابْتِدائِه يتَناولُ الجميعَ، كفَرْضِ الأعيانِ، ثم يخْتلِفانِ في أنَّ فَرْضَ الكِفَايَةِ يسْقُطُ بفِعْلِ بعضِ النَّاسِ له، وفرْضُ الأعْيانِ لا يَسْقُطُ عن أحَدٍ بفعلِ غيرِه. والجهادُ من فُرُوضِ [الكِفَاياتِ، في قَوْلِ عامَّةِ أهلِ العِلْمِ. وحُكِىَ عن سعيد بن المُسَيَّبِ، أنَّه من فُروضِ] (١) الأعْيانِ؛ لقولِ اللَّه تعالى: {انْفِرُوا خِفَافًا وَثِقَالًا وَجَاهِدُوا بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنْفُسِكُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ} (٢). [ثم قال] (٣): {إِلَّا تَنْفِرُوا يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا} (٤). وقولِه سبحانه: {كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ} (٥). ورَوَى أبو هُرَيْرَةَ، رَضِىَ اللهُ عنه، أنَّ النَّبِيَّ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم- قال: "مَنْ مَاتَ وَلَمْ يَغْزُ، وَلَمْ يُحَدِّثْ نَفْسَهُ بِالْغَزْوِ، مَاتَ عَلَى شُعْبَةٍ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ". [رَواهُ أبو دَاوُدَ] (٦). ولَنا، قولُ اللَّه تعالى: {لَا يَسْتَوِي الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرُ أُولِي الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ دَرَجَةً وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْحُسْنَى} (٧). وهذا يَدُلُّ على أنَّ
(١) سقط من: أ، م.(٢) سورة التوبة ٤١.(٣) كذا في النسخ. والآية التالية سابقة.(٤) سورة التوبة ٣٩.(٥) سورة البقرة ٢١٦.(٦) سقط من: أ، م.وأخرجه أبو داود، في: باب كراهية ترك الغزو، من كتاب الجهاد. سنن أبي داود ٢/ ١٠.كما أخرجه مسلم، في: باب ذم من مات ولم يغز ولم يحدث نفسه بالغزو، من كتاب الإِمارة. صحيح مسلم ٣/ ١٥١٧. والنسائي، في: باب التشديد في ترك الجهاد، من كتاب الجهاد. المجتبى ٦/ ٧، ٨. والإِمام أحمد، في: المسند ٢/ ٣٧٤.(٧) سورة النساء ٩٥.
