Fiqh al Jihad Sheikh Yusuf al Qaradhawi

in many Muslim countries. They started in Egypt; then they moved to Algeria and to
other Arab and Muslim countries.
The Moderate Category Between the Two Extremes
There is a moderate category between those who go to the extreme of succumbing to the
injustices of the rulers and those who go to the extreme of taking up arms against the
unjust without taking the consequences of such confrontation into account, which might
lead to tragedies. These moderate people neither condone the evil that is pervading nor
turn a blind eye to the corruption that is spreading or to the injustice that is aggravating.
These latter are the reasons behind the devastation of a state and the annihilation of an
entire nation, be it good or bad, unless the Muslims rise against the unjust as Allah
Almighty commands:
(And fear an affliction that smites not in particular (only) those of you who are
unjust, and know that Allah is severe in requiting (evil).) (Al-Anfal 8:25)
Dr. Al-Qaradawi then speaks about jihad of the tongue or jihad by speech (or, in other
words, jihad by calling to the way of Allah or media jihad). He proceeds to explain the
types of this rank of jihad, which is imposed on Muslims. Jihad of the tongue can be
performed by
- Calling others to Islam
- Highlighting the merits of Islam
- Preaching in the language spoken by the target audience
- Using proper scientific logic to refute the rejecters' arguments, rebut the fallacies of the
antagonists of Islam, and remove all suspicions others weave about Islam
Dr. Al-Qaradawi then talks about "civil Jihad" and its nature. He says, "There is the civil
jihad, which is the crux of this talk. It means the jihad that satisfies the different needs of
society; solves its various problems; responds to its material and spiritual demands; and
leads it forward in all walks of life, so that the society would assume its appropriate
place. This includes various areas, such as science, culture, social activities, economy,
education, health care, environmental issues, and all fields of civilization in general."
This rank of jihad is not included in Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim's 13 ranks of jihad, but it is a
rank of jihad that is based on evidence derived from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. It is also
based on the objectives of Shari`ah.
Dr. Al-Qaradawi then concludes this chapter with the topic of military jihad, which is the
main topic of the book. He explains that military jihad went through several stages:
1. The phase of individual da`wah and warning
2. The phase of collective jihad of da`wah in the Makkan era
3. The phase of jihad of bearing harm with patience and not fighting back
4. The phase of Allah's permission for Muslims to go to war