by the enemy, who takes over their land and holds sway over their lives and property.
Abandoning jihād leads to destruction
110 – Neglecting jihād brings devastation in this life, as everyone can see; and in the Hereafter such people will face the torment of the Fire.
The believer looks forward to only one of the two best outcomes
111 – As for the believing fighter, Allah says: “Say, ‘Are you waiting for anything to befall us except one of the two best things? We, on the other hand, are waiting for Allah to afflict you with a punishment from Himself or at our hands. So wait; we too are waiting with you.’” (Al-Tawbah 9:52).
The verse declares that the believer expects nothing but one of the two noble outcomes: either victory and conquest, or martyrdom and Paradise. Thus, if the combatant believer 1 survives, he lives a good and wholesome life; and if he is killed, what is with Allah is better for the righteous.2
(1) The words placed between braces are an added phrase that restores the coherence of the passage.
(2) The author—may Allah have mercy on him—writes: “The benefit of jihad is universal, encompassing both the combatant and others, in matters of religion and worldly life. It gathers within itself every form of inward and outward worship: love of Allah, sincerity toward Him, reliance upon Him, offering one’s life and wealth for His sake, patience, renunciation, remembrance of Allah, and every other type of deed in a way unmatched by any other act. The individual and the community engaged in it are always faced with one of two commendable outcomes: either victory and conquest, or martyrdom and Paradise. Since every creature must live and die, jihad turns both their life and their death into the highest felicity in this world and the next; abandoning it leads to the loss—or at least the diminishment—of those two felicities. Some people are drawn to arduous undertakings, whether religious or worldly, that bring little benefit, whereas jihad is more beneficial than any other strenuous act in both realms. Others aspire to elevate themselves spiritually until death meets them; yet the martyr’s death is the easiest of all deaths and the most excellent of them.” Al-Siyasah al-shar‘iyyah, p. 104.