Book of Jihād
Chapter on the Rulings of Jihād

Allah has legislated jihād in His cause so that His word may be exalted, His religion supported, and His enemies defeated. He has also prescribed it as a means of testing and trying His servants:
“That is so. Had Allah willed, He could surely have exacted vengeance on them Himself; but He has ordained it in order to test some of you by means of others. Those who are killed in the way of Allah—He will never allow their deeds to be lost. He will guide them, set their state aright, and admit them to a Paradise He has made known to them.” (Qur’an 47:4-6)

Jihād in the path of Allah therefore occupies a position of great importance in Islam: it is the highest peak of the religion, one of the noblest acts of worship, and some scholars have even counted it as the sixth pillar of Islam.

The legitimacy of jihād is established by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the unanimous agreement of the Muslim community. The Almighty says, “Fighting has been prescribed for you” (Qur’an 2:216). The Prophet ﷺ practiced it himself and commanded it, and he said, “Whoever dies without having fought, nor even resolving within himself …"