Allah the Exalted says, “Fighting has been prescribed for you, though you dislike it; yet it may be that you dislike something while it is good for you, and it may be that you love something while it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.”

He also says, “Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah.”

And He says, “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth in exchange for Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, kill and are killed—a promise binding upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an. And who is truer to His covenant than Allah? Rejoice, then, in the bargain you have made, for that is the supreme triumph.”

[Explanation]
The author al-Nawawi—may Allah have mercy on him—has gathered in his Riyad al-Salihin a number of verses on jihad, some of which have already been cited and others will follow, Allah willing. Among them is His statement, “Fighting has been prescribed for you….” We have previously clarified that combat is an obligation upon the Muslims: they must confront the enemies of Allah and their own enemies—the Jews, the Christians, the polytheists, the communists, and anyone else who is not a Muslim.