of people for people; you bring them in fetters and chains until you lead them into Paradise.”

Thus the Almighty made it clear that this community is the best of all communities for mankind. They are the most beneficial to humanity and the greatest in showing kindness to others, for they have perfected the task of commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong in both quality and scope: they have been ordered to command every good and forbid every evil for every person, and they have carried this out through jihad in Allah’s cause with their lives and their wealth—thereby providing complete benefit to creation.

No other nation was charged with commanding every individual to every good, or with forbidding every individual from every evil, nor did they wage jihad to uphold that duty. Some of them never fought at all, and those who did—such as the Children of Israel—fought mostly to drive an enemy from their land, as one repels an unjust aggressor; their struggle was not undertaken to invite others to the faith, to command them to good, or to forbid them from evil.

Moses said to his people:

“O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has prescribed for you, and do not turn back, lest you become losers.” They said, “O Moses, within it is a formidable people, and we shall never enter it until they leave it; if they leave it, then we will enter.” (5:21–22)

—and up to His words:

“They said, ‘O Moses, we will never enter it, ever, as long as they remain there. So go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will sit right here.’” (5:24)

And the Exalted said:

“Have you not considered the leaders of the Children of Israel after Moses, when they said to a prophet of theirs, ‘Appoint for us a king so that we may fight in Allah’s path’? He said, ‘Is it possible that if fighting is prescribed for you, you will not fight?’ They replied, ‘Why should we not fight in Allah’s path when we have been driven from our homes and our sons?’” (2:246)