for it is the middlemost and highest part of Paradise. Above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful, and from it the rivers of Paradise flow.” (1)

Know that jihad, in general, is an obligation; however, it is divided into an individual obligation and a communal obligation.

An individual obligation arises when the disbelievers enter the land of a people from among the believers. In that case, every legally accountable man of that town who has no excuse must go out to confront their enemy, whether free or enslaved, wealthy or poor, in defense of themselves and their neighbors.

With respect to Muslims who are farther away, it is a communal obligation. If those upon whom the enemy has descended are insufficient to meet the need, then the Muslims farther away must aid them. But if those directly affected are sufficient, there is no obligation upon those farther away, except as a voluntary act. Enslaved persons and the poor are not included in this category.

Another instance of this category is when the disbelievers remain settled in their own lands. The imam must not allow a year to pass without conducting a military campaign against them, either in person or through his expeditionary detachments, so that jihad does not fall into neglect. As for the able person, when others have sufficiently fulfilled the duty, the preferable course is not to remain behind from jihad, though it is not obligatory upon him. For Allah, Exalted is He, promised reward to both the one who strives and the one who remains behind in this verse, saying: “Yet Allah has promised each of them the best reward.” Had it been obligatory upon everyone, the one who remained behind would have deserved punishment rather than reward.

“Indeed, when the angels take the souls of those who have wronged themselves, they will ask, ‘What was your situation?’ They will reply, ‘We were oppressed in the land.’ The angels will say, ‘Was not Allah’s earth spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?’ Their refuge will be Hell—what an evil destination!” (97)

Regarding His saying, Exalted is He, “Indeed, when the angels take the souls of those who have wronged themselves,” and the rest of the verse: it was revealed concerning some people of Mecca who had professed Islam but had not emigrated. Among them were Qays ibn al-Fakih ibn al-Mughirah, Qays ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, and others like them. When the idolaters set out for Badr, they went out with them and were killed alongside the disbelievers.

Allah, Exalted is He, said, “when the angels take the souls of those who have wronged themselves.” This refers either to the Angel of Death and his assistants, or to the Angel of Death alone, as Allah, Exalted is He, says: “Say, ‘The Angel of Death appointed over you will take you in death.’” (al-Sajdah 11) The Arabs may at times refer to a single individual using plural wording.

“Those who have wronged themselves” means through shirk. It is in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier; that is, while they were wronging themselves. It is also said that it means by remaining in the land of shirk, for after the Prophet’s migration, Allah, Exalted is He, did not accept Islam without migration. Then He abrogated this after the conquest of Mecca, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “There is no migration after the Conquest.” (2)

These people were killed on the day of Badr, and the angels struck their faces and backs, saying to them, “What was your situation?” This is the meaning of His saying, Exalted is He, “They will ask, ‘What was your situation?’” That is: What were you involved in? Or, which of the two parties were you with? Were you among the Muslims