The general call to arms, and evidence that jihad is a communal obligation

The saying of Allah, exalted be His praise: "Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home) without any disability and those who strive in the way of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred those who strive with their wealth and their lives over those who sit (at home) by a degree, and to each Allah has promised good." [Surah al-Nisa: 95]

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: The verse "Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home)" [Surah al-Nisa: 95] concerns those who went out to Badr and those who did not. When the battle of Badr took place, Abdullah bin Jahsh al-Asadi and Abdullah bin Shurayh, or Shurayh bin Malik bin Rabi'ah bin Dibab (he is Ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him)), said: "O Messenger of Allah, we are blind; is there a concession for us?" So this verse was revealed: "Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home)" "Allah has preferred those who strive with their wealth and their lives over those who sit (at home) by a degree" [Surah al-Nisa: 95], meaning: those of the believers who sit (at home) without an excuse are not equal to those who go out; Allah has preferred those who strive with their wealth and lives over those who sit (at home) by a degree. These are the ones who sit (at home) without any excuse: "Allah has preferred those who strive over those who sit (at home) with a great reward, degrees from Him" [Surah al-Nisa: 95-96], meaning Allah has preferred the strivers with a great reward over those who sit, those who sit (at home) without an excuse.
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) says: It is clear that since Allah has promised good to those who sit (at home) without a disability, they are not sinful for staying behind. And Allah made it clear in His words about going forth, when He commanded going forth: "Go forth, light and heavy" [Surah al-Tawbah: 41], and He said: "If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment" [Surah al-Tawbah: 39]. And He said: "It is not for the believers to go forth all together. Why should not a party from every group of them go forth?" [Surah al-Tawbah: 122]. Here Allah has made known that jihad is a communal obligation (fard kifayah), and made clear that if all of them stayed behind together, all of them would be sinful for staying behind, in the light of His words: "If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment" [Surah al-Tawbah: 39].

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that the verse: "If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment" [Surah al-Tawbah: 39], and His saying: "It was not for the people of Madinah and the Bedouins around them to stay behind the Messenger of Allah" [Surah al-Tawbah: 120] up to "they do" [Surah al-Tawbah: 121], both of these verses were abrogated by the verse that follows, which is: "It is not for the believers to go forth all together. Why should not a party from every group of them go forth?" [Surah al-Tawbah: 122].

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that Allah Almighty said: "O you who believe, take your precautions, then go forth in detachments" [Surah al-Nisa: 71]. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: "thubat" means groups. "O you who believe!" "Or go forth all together" [Surah al-Nisa: 71]. And He said: "Go forth, light and heavy" [Surah al-Tawbah: 41]. And He said: "If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment" [Surah al-Tawbah: 39]. Then He abrogated these verses and said: "It is not for the believers to go forth all together" [Surah al-Tawbah: 122]. And he said: One party would go out to the front with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and one party would stay behind. Those who stay with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are the ones who gain understanding of the religion, and they warn their people when they come back to them, so that they may beware regarding what Allah has revealed. This is in the matter of the obligations and the limits (hudud).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Khalid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever equips a fighter in the way of Allah, it is as though he himself has fought, and whoever looks after the fighter's household well in his absence, it is as though he too has fought."

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a party to Banu Lihyan and said: "Let one man out of every two go forth." Then he said to "al-qa'idin" (those staying behind): "Whoever among you takes the place of the one going out for jihad in looking after his household and property well, he is given a reward equal to half the reward of the one who goes out for jihad."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever dies without having fought, and without the desire for jihad ever arising in his heart, dies upon one of the branches of hypocrisy."

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever does not fight, nor equip a fighter, nor look after a fighter's household well in his absence, Allah will strike him with a calamity." Yazid says: This will be before the Day of Resurrection.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called on the people of a tribe to go out for jihad, but they were sluggish, so Allah revealed this verse: "If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment" [Surah al-Tawbah: 39]. And he said: "The form of their punishment was that rain was withheld from them."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon in which he mentioned jihad, and he did not declare anything superior to it except the obligatory (prayer). This is evidence that jihad is a communal obligation (fard kifayah), since it was placed a degree below the individual obligation.

Abdullah bin Awn (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote to Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) asking why Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) did not go out on the military expeditions. He wrote in reply that he used to send his son out on campaigns and provide riding mounts (for the fighters), and that nothing kept him back from fighting except the trusts left by Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and young children; and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) regarded jihad in the way of Allah as superior to all other deeds after the obligatory prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and Imam Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) says that (his teacher) al-Hasan bin Ali narrated it as a saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "When a group passes by, it suffices for them that one of them gives the greeting of salam, and for those sitting it suffices that one of them returns it."