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