Jihād Will Continue Until the Day of Judgment – Evidences from Aḥādīth and Scholars’ Statements
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah – Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām, Vol. 2, p. 200
Question:
The famous ḥadīth “al-jihād māḍin ilā Yawm al-Qiyāmah” (“Jihād will continue until the Day of Judgment”) is often quoted by leaders of jihād-oriented organizations. Please provide the takhrīj (authenticity check) and reality of this narration.
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Primary Narration:
Narrated from Yazīd ibn Abī Nushbah → Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه:
“…wa al-jihādu māḍin mundhu baʿathanī Allāhu ilā an yuqātila ākhiru ummatī al-Dajjāl, lā yubṭiluhu jawru jāʾir wa lā ʿadlu ʿādil.”
“…Jihād will continue from the time Allah sent me until the last of my Ummah fights the Dajjāl. No injustice of a tyrant nor justice of a just ruler can end it.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2532; Sunan Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr: 2367)
Chain Status:
- This narration is ḍaʿīf (weak) due to Yazīd ibn Abī Nushbah being majhūl (unknown).
(Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 7785; al-Kāshif by al-Dhahabī: 6475)
Evidence that Jihād Continues Until Qiyāmah:
Although the above chain is weak, other authentic aḥādīth and Qur’ānic verses prove the continuity of jihād until the Day of Judgment.
From the Qur’ān:
﴿كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ القِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ﴾
“Fighting has been prescribed for you, though it is disliked by you.”
(Sūrat al-Baqarah: 216)
From Ṣaḥīḥ Aḥādīth:
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī & Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
«الخيل معقود في نواصيها الخير إلى يوم القيامة، الأجر والمغنم»
“Goodness will remain tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Judgment — reward and spoils of war.”
(Bukhārī: 2852; Muslim: 4849)
- Sunan al-Nasāʾī:
“A group from my Ummah will continue to fight upon the truth until the Hour is established.”
(Nasāʾī, 6/214–215, Ḥadīth 3591)
- Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
“This religion will remain established, a group of Muslims fighting for it until the Hour is established.”
(Muslim: 922, Dārussalām: 9453)
Statements of Scholars & Tābiʿīn:
- Ibn al-Humām (Ḥanafī, d. 761 AH):
“There is no doubt that there is consensus of the Ummah that jihād continues until the Day of Judgment and has not been abrogated.”
(Fatḥ al-Qadīr, 5/190) - Imām Makḥūl al-Shāmī (Tābiʿī):
“In Paradise are one hundred levels, the distance between each level being like the distance between heaven and earth — prepared for those who strive in the path of Allah.”
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, 5/304, Ḥadīth 19353)
Types of Jihād:
- Jihād with the tongue – Refuting falsehood verbally.
“Fight the polytheists with your hands and your tongues.” (Abū Dāwūd: 2504) - Jihād with the pen – Refuting innovations and false ideologies.
- Jihād with wealth – Spending in Allah’s path without boasting or harm. (Sūrat al-Baqarah: 262)
- Jihād with the self –
- Striving against one’s own soul (jihād al-nafs).
- Physical fighting in Allah’s path.
Important Clarification:
- Terrorism and the killing of innocents is not jihād.
- Jihād requires Sharʿī principles and conditions.
Consensus of the Salaf:
Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī & Imām Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī:
“In every era, jihād with Muslim rulers continues from the time Allah sent His Messenger ﷺ and nothing can nullify it.”
(Aṣl al-Sunnah wa Iʿtiqād al-Dīn, pp. 19, 23)
Summary:
Jihād, in its various forms — physical, verbal, financial, and intellectual — will continue against disbelievers and innovators until the Day of Judgment.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
