Fiqh al Jihad Sheikh Yusuf al Qaradhawi

Ranks of Jihad Against the Unjust and the Corrupt
As regards jihad against the unjust, the corrupt, and the
proponents of heterodoxy and evils, there are three ranks:
1. Jihad by hand if possible
2. Jihad by speech if the first rank is not possible
3. Jihad by heart if the second rank is not possible
This completes the 13 ranks of jihad. Those who die without conquering or talking to
themselves of conquering meet their end within one of the dimensions of hypocrisy.
Following his speech about the ranks of jihad against the self and against Satan, Dr. Al-
Qaradawi talks about the rank of jihad against local injustice and corruption. He says,
One of the ranks of jihad, as specified by Islam, is the rank of jihad against injustice and
corruption inside one's own country. This type of jihad is of paramount importance for
the protection of society against collapse or fragmentation. A Muslim society has its own
bases and characteristics that constitute its identity. If such bases are dissipated or
forgotten or fought, no Muslim society would ever survive.
Fields of Jihad in Society
There is a mandatory type of jihad within society. It includes a host of fields.
Jihad Against Injustice and the Unjust
It is the field of resisting injustice and the unjust, penalizing them, and never trusting
them, as Allah Almighty says,
(And incline not toward those who do wrong lest the Fire touch you, and you have
no protecting friends against Allah, and afterward you would not be helped.) (Hud
11:113)
Here, Islam demands that the Muslim should do two essential things: first, not to be
unjust; second, not to support an unjust person. The unjust and their followers will be
thrust into Hellfire together. That is why the Qur'an condemns the tyrants' retinue as it
condemns the tyrants themselves. This is evident in Almighty Allah's words:
(And the family of Pharaoh took him up [i.e., Moses] that he might become for them
an enemy and a sorrow. Lo! Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts were ever
sinning.) (Al-Qasas 28:8)
Allah says about Pharaoh,
One of the ranks of jihad, as
specified by Islam, is the rank of
jihad against injustice and
corruption inside one's own
country