Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, we are really impressed by your question, which shows how concerned you are about the affairs of your fellow Muslims and your interest to abide by the Shari`ah in all details of your life. May Allah help us all lead a righteous life based on Islam!
Islamic Shari`ah obligates Muslims to defend their countries against aggression. In other words, it is haram (unlawful) for Muslims to accept and be contented with the occupation and fall short in resisting the invaders. Resisting the invaders is an individual obligation on the people of an invaded country; then the obligation extends to the neighboring countries according to their proximity as well as the necessary needs to ward off the aggression.
In other words, Muslims should never tolerate occupation of their lands, so they should present a united front of solidarity and impress upon the occupiers that they must vacate their territories. However, considering the fact that invasion has already took place, Muslims must do this through using hikmah (wisdom) and strategic methods that are effective rather than simply resorting to rash methods that would only empower the invaders. Rather, the methods we use must be appropriate to the circumstances so that the enemy will eventually be forced to leave.
The late prominent Sheikh Hassan Ma’mun, former Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, stated:
“A Muslim is obliged by Islamic Shari`ah to cooperate with his Muslim brothers in defending his home country or any other Muslim country against offense, for Muslims everywhere are one Ummah. Thus, aggression against a Muslim country is in fact an aggression against all Muslims, for they are tied with the bond of Islam, as Allah Almighty says: “Lo! this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so worship Me.” (Al-Anbiya’: 92)
Any country most of whose inhabitants are Muslims is a Muslim country. Therefore, once an enemy attacks a Muslim country, jihad becomes an individual obligation on all people in that country. Also it becomes incumbent on people of the neighboring countries to cooperate with their Muslim brothers in their resistance until they push back the enemy.
Muslims should not accept any compromise in that cause. Meaning, they should by no means allow enemy’s occupation of any piece of a Muslim land. One who falls short in observing this obligation of defending Muslim countries commits a grave betrayal against his religion and his country. Moreover, those who assist the invaders by any means commits an even graver betrayal.
Treason is an abominable crime that is completely rejected in Islam. Nevertheless, Shari`ah does not stipulate the penalty for this and other similar political crimes. It is left to the imam to decide the penalty that he sees fit for the great abomination of the crime. That penalty must be severe so as to deter the betrayer from doing it again and prevent others from doing the like.
It is mentioned in the third volume of Hashiyat Ibn `Abdeen: “Jihad becomes an individual obligation once the enemy attacks a Muslim country. In this case all people of the country must set out for fighting.” In this case all Muslims, men and women, are required to go for jihad. No one can deny this obligation.
According to the Qur’an, Muslims should ward off aggression and fight their enemies if the latter launch a war against them. Allah says, “Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Sacred Mosque (in Makkah) until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers.” (Al-Baqarah: 190-193)
The Qur’an forbids Muslims from taking their hostile enemies as close friends, saying, “O ye who believe! Choose not My enemy and your enemy for friends. Do ye give them friendship when they disbelieve in that truth which hath come unto you, driving out the Messenger and you because ye believe in Allah, your Lord? If ye have come forth to strive in My way and seeking My good pleasure, (show them not friendship). Do ye show friendship unto them in secret, when I am best Aware of what ye hide and what ye proclaim? And whosoever doeth it among you, he verily hath strayed from the right way. If they have the upper hand of you, they will be your foes, and will stretch out their hands and their tongues toward you with evil (intent), and they long for you to disbelieve.” (Al-Mumtahinah: 1-2)
The ruling in the above verses is applicable to all non-Muslims who drove the Messenger out from his land and also to all non-Muslims who attacks a Muslim country.”
Finally, it is to be stressed that there is a difference between accepting the invasion and being contented with it, which is totally unacceptable from the Shari`ah point of view and from the strategic aspect on one hand, and, on the other hand, dealing with the occupation forces, if need be, in a way that helps the Iraqis remove hardship from the people and make it easy for them to get their necessary needs.
For further information, you can read the following Fatwas:
Iraqis' Obligation to Resist Occupation
Cooperation with the Americans in Reconstructing Iraq
Iraqis Cooperating with the Invaders: Permissible?
War on Iraq: Liberation or Occupation?
