In light of the genocide faced by the people of Gaza from the Zionist entity and America, with the West backing them, it has become a religious duty for the people of Islam to support their brothers, individually, collectively, as nations, and governments. The voices of the oppressed have called for relief and support, and seeking support is an ongoing tradition. Ibn Ishaq said: "When Abu Talib died, Quraysh inflicted upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) harm that they had not done during the life of his uncle Abu Talib. So, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went to Ta'if, seeking support from Thaqif, hoping for protection from his people, and wishing that they would accept from him what he brought to them from Allah, the Exalted. He went to them alone.(1)
And it has been the decree of God Almighty that His support comes through the hands of the believers, who exert effort, strength, and strive against the disbelievers. The people of affirmation said: Victory is from God in what He does and instills in the hearts of believers, giving them boldness against the disbelievers; the strength in faith can also be referred to as victory.(2)
Types of support:
Special support
It is what is meant by the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him(Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one. People asked, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By preventing him from oppressing others.)
General Support:
The intended meaning is jihad and steadfastness, enjoining what is right, it is the general support.
The Legitimacy of Support.
The verses of the Qur'an and the prophetic hadiths have come to clarify the obligation of support, as in His saying, the Almighty:( and who enforce justice when wronged.)( Ash-Shuraa:39) "and his saying (There is no blame on those who enforce justice after being wronged.)( Ash-Shuraa:41)
And from the Sunnah is his saying (peace be upon him):( You should say something to defend yourself.)
And supporting [the cause of justice] is a duty upon the entire community, as stated in the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) (He ordered us to visit the patients and to help the oppressed) Rather, the Prophet (peace be upon him) warned against abandoning support among the believers, as he (peace be upon him) said: (Whoever humiliates a believer in front of him and does not support him, while being able to help him, Allah will humiliate him before the witnesses on the Day of Resurrection.) (Narrated by Ahmad)
We have seen today with our own eyes how we surrender our brothers to the enemies of God and our enemies with a betrayal rarely seen, to the extent that our enemies are astonished by this betrayal, and they did not expect it to be like this. The Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited this betrayal and considered it one of the breaches of Islamic brotherhood. In Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Ibn Umar. That the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim, he doesn't oppress him and doesn't put him into ruin, and whoever is concerned for the needs of his brother, Allah is concerned for his needs, and whoever relieves a Muslim of a burden, Allah will relieve him of a burden from the burdens of the Day of Judgement and whoever covers (the faults of) a Muslim, Allah will cover (his faults) on the Day of Judgement. We are today handing over our brothers to our enemies through our silence and inaction, as nations and governments. May God be with you, O people of Gaza!
The world today is divided into two camps, with no third option: the camp of disbelief, atheism, and oppression, led by the global Zionist movement, headed by America, the Zionist entity, and some Western regimes, along with some complacent, normalizing, and complicit Arab regimes. The other camp is that of Islam and faith, represented today by Muslim peoples, supported by many non-Muslim peoples.
The principle in support is: "Do what is possible and feasible, each according to their capability and status." Thus, the support of individuals differs from the support of groups and institutions, as well as from the support of states and governments.
The most important duties of support:
The first duty - Striving through constant supplication:
This is done in secret and openly, in obligatory acts and voluntary ones, in every situation. In the Hadith: "Whoever calls upon someone who has wronged him has achieved victory" (reported by Al-Tirmidhi). It is also necessary for the imams to perform qunut (supplication) in prayers, which is a confirmed Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Additionally, it is important for the preachers to make supplications from the pulpits during their sermons; this is the least they can do. In the act of supplication, we seek help from Allah and entrust the matter to Him. Furthermore, the qunut prayer keeps the cause alive in the hearts of Muslims, reminding them of their brothers in every prayer.
The second duty: Jihad with wealth:
And that it is not enough to just give them zakat, but rather, everyone who frees their wealth should do so in a way that establishes their name in the register of those who strive in the way of Allah, and Allah Almighty has said
(So go out, no matter whether you are lightly or heavily armed, and struggle in God’s way with your possessions and your persons: this is better for you, if you only knew.)( At-Tawbah:41) Allah has made the expenditure of wealth a trade with Him, Blessed and Exalted, and He said: (O believers! Shall I guide you to an exchange that will save you from a painful punishment? ˹It is to˺ have faith in Allah and His Messenger and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if only you knew.) (As-Saf 10:11)
The jihad with money is a duty for every capable individual, company, institution, and country. This financial jihad includes providing the people of Gaza with food, water, medicine, clothing, housing, energy, and other basic needs. It also includes equipping the fighters and attackers. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who equips a Ghazi (fighter) in the way of Allah is as if he has taken part in the fighting himself
The third duty: Struggling with intellect:
This is done by publicizing their cause and exposing their enemies, refuting the doubts against them, and silencing every cowardly tongue. Jihad with words is of great importance, just as jihad with oneself is. In the Sunnah of Abu Dawood, there is a hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him: 'Strive against the polytheists with your wealth, your tongues, and your selves.' And when Pharaoh said to Moses, peace be upon him: (I really think that you, O Moses, are bewitched) Moses responded to him saying: (And I really think that you, O Pharaoh, are doomed.) (Al-Isra :102) The impact of media warfare on shaping public opinion has been established, even influencing governments and international institutions.
The Fourth Assignment: Economic Boycott:
One of the duties of supporting the people of Gaza is to activate the economic boycott by individuals, companies, institutions, systems, and governments. Individuals should refrain from purchasing goods produced by the Zionist entity as well as from systems that participate in the genocide. Companies and trade institutions in the Islamic world should boycott Zionist companies and those who assist them in the import and export of large and small goods. Governments should also boycott the Zionist entity in trade exchanges between them. It is a disgrace and shame that there are Muslim countries that collaborate with Zionist companies that are building settlements.
Imam Nawawi reported in Al-Majmu' (9/432) the consensus on the prohibition of selling weapons to those engaged in war, and this extends to anything that aids the enemy in fighting against Muslims. The evidence for the legitimacy of boycotting is found in the two Sahihs, from Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, that Thumama bin Athal, when he embraced Islam, traveled to Mecca for Umrah and said to the people of Mecca: "By Allah, no grain will come to you from Yamama until the Prophet, peace be upon him, permits it." The Prophet, peace be upon him, approved of this action.
Read also: The fate of world Zionism and the Arab boycott.
The fifth duty: Preventing the displacement of the people of Gaza.
Governments and Islamic regimes must prevent the forced displacement of the people of Gaza to any other place, as forced displacement is a war crime that is not permissible either religiously or legally. Everything must be done to prevent this displacement, and Allah has permitted fighting to prevent unjust displacement, as He said: (Those who have been attacked are permitted to take up arms because they have been wronged- God has the power to help them- those who have been driven unjustly from their homes only for saying, ‘Our Lord is God.’ If God did not repel some people by means of others, many monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where God’s name is much invoked, would have been destroyed. God is sure to help those who help His cause- God is strong and mighty-) (Al-Hajj 39:40)
The Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Forcing someone to leave their homeland or to move from it without justification is one of the injustices that Allah and His Messenger have prohibited.
International law has defined forced displacement as: "the illegal removal of a group of individuals and populations from the land where they reside." It falls under war crimes, crimes of genocide, and crimes against humanity; it is indeed a crime against humanity, as stated in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is also confirmed by Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.
Other duties:
Individuals, institutions, and peoples must do everything possible to support and prevent the betrayal of our brothers by any means necessary, each according to their ability. This includes filing lawsuits against the Zionist entity and its allies in international forums, organizing peaceful marches in coordination with the relevant authorities to express the people's stance rejecting this injustice, alleviating pressure on Islamic governments, conducting media campaigns across all media platforms and social networks, dedicating sermons and lessons to educate people about the issue and its various dimensions, and coordinating with institutions, parliamentarians, and human rights and humanitarian organizations worldwide to pressure the Zionist entity to cease the genocide and accept negotiations to end this unjust war.
Read also: 5 Paths for Arabs to Stop the Aggression on Gaza
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[1] - Sirah of Ibn Hisham (1/ 419)
[2] - 'Articles of the Islamists' (1/ 210).
[3] - 'The Sufficient Advice for Those Whom Allah Has Blessed with Health' (p. 18).
