Jihad with the pen, the pen and nothing but the pen...

At-tawbah (122)

And it is not (proper) for the believers to go out to fight (Jihad) all together. Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they (who are left behind) may get instruction in (Islamic) religion, and that they may warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware (of evil).

According to Tafsir Ibn Kathir:

Allah here ordered the Muslim to march fourth with the Messenger of Allah (SAW) in the battle of Tabuk. According to the salaf this ayah abrogated the ruling of the following ayah:

March forth, whether you are light (being healthly, young and wealthy) or heavy )being ill, old and poor), and strive hard with your wealth and your lives in the Cause of Allah. This is better for you, if you but knew. (9:41)

It was not becoming of the people of Al-Madinah and the Bedouins of the neighbourhood to remain behind Allah’s Messenger (Muhammad SAW when fighting in Allah’s Cause0 and (it was not becoming of them) to prefer their own lives to his life. That is because they suffer neither thirst nor fatigue nor hunger in the Cause of Allah, nor they take any step to raise the anger of disbelievers nor inflict any injury upon an enemy but is written to their credit as a deed of righteousness. Surely, Allah wastes not the reward of the Muhsinun. (9:120)


It is said that at least a group of every tribe should march for jihad. Those who went with the messenger would gain instruction and studies in the revelation that came down to him, and warn the people about the battle when they return. This way the group that went with the Prophet will achieve both goals [jihad and learning the revelation from the prophet.]

A friend of mine used this ayah as a prove to her opinion that in our days it is not our duty to go to the frontline for example in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine. She said that as far as she knows, there is no Fatwas calling for worldwide jihad. She also said that building the ‘Ummah’, like strengthening their A’qeedah, is the main priority. Only then would we be able to wage jihad properly when we have Mujahideen with strong faith.

This is my repond to her:

For me, a person who lives in this modern world with all the worldly luxury surrounding him, who is also willing to go to the frontline, has a high enough level of faith. Just by the occurrence of an intention upon him to go and wage Jihad just proves it. No need to mention bout those who has actually made an effort to go for jihad.

This ayah said that a party only should go forth, but today, we have none that is sent forth, that is trained or even prepared to go forth. We are not preparing the Muslims just in case that we do need to attend the frontline. We have no training camp except those like national service which trains youth to defend their country, that emphases on patriotism. We are told that jihad with the pen is more afdol (better) for us now. But we have been going on like this for ever. It is not a new idea, over 50years since independence, we have gained a lot, our growth is much faster than any other Muslim country but still we remain ignorant. We are too dependent for people to tell us what to do.

Who in this country or which ulama dares to issue such fatwa for jihad, they don’t even dare to publicly condemn al-munkar that is lurking around in front of their eyes. We have to remember that our ulama nowadays are paid by the taghut, they are appointed by the taghut, when will they ever dare to forbid. And we want to wait for these ulama to tell us what to do. But don’t get me wrong, not all of them, there are ones that do condemn but only behind the curtain.

So lastly I told her, it’s like building a sand castle by the beach, if you don’t build a wall or something, the wave will just come and destroy your castle. And you will be at square one again and keep going in circle, where you will never get to finish up your castle.

That’s why a party should be sent forth even if it is a small portion compared to the one staying behind.

No Islamic Movement in this country has a quota to train ‘a party’ of their Muslim or their own members for jihad, especially in the militaristic aspect of it. Their reason is that our country is not at war with the infidels. Well read this "OUR UMMAH IS AT WAR, WAKE UP!!!"