Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Amr al-Zubayri said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Tell me about calling people to Allah and jihad in His way — is it something particular to a group for whom alone this task is permissible, so that no one may undertake it except those from this group, or is this task permissible for every monotheist?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "This task is particular to a group for whom alone it is permissible, and no one may undertake it except those who belong to this group." I said: "May Allah cover you with His mercy! Make this matter completely clear to me." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Allah the Blessed and Exalted, in the Quran, has informed His Prophet about calling to Himself, and has described those who call [others] toward Him, and has made this calling [encompass] for them ranks, each rank of which is known through another rank and each serves as an indication of the other. Allah [in the Quran] has informed that He Himself is the first who calls [the servants] toward Himself and toward obedience to Him and following His commands; so He began with Himself first... Then in the second rank He called by means of His Messenger... And in the third rank He called toward Himself by means of His Book (the Quran)... Then in His Book He mentioned those to whom, after Himself and His Messenger, He gave permission to call toward Him, and said: 'Let there be from among you a group who call to good, and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong; they are the ones who prosper' (Al Imran/104). Then He informed about this group and who they are, [and said] that they are from the progeny of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and Ismail (peace be upon him) — those about whom He informed in His Book that He has removed impurity from them and purified them with a thorough purification (a reference to verse 33 of Surah al-Ahzab which was revealed concerning the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)). Then He mentioned the followers of His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the followers of this group whom Allah has described in His Book with enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, and has made them callers toward Himself and permitted them to call toward Him... Then He went on to describe the qualities of these followers, so that no one may claim to be among them except one who is truly of them... Then Allah has informed that from these believers and those who possess their qualities He has purchased their souls and their wealth, that for them shall be Paradise; [in this way that] they fight in the way of Allah, they kill and are killed; this is a true promise binding upon Him, which He has mentioned in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran (Tawbah/111). Then He stated the fulfilment of His covenant and pledge with them and said: 'And who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in the transaction you have made with Him — that is the great success' (Tawbah/111). When the verse: 'Allah has purchased from the believers their souls and their wealth in return for Paradise' (Tawbah/111) was revealed, a man stood up and came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: 'O Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! In your view, a man who takes up his sword and fights until he is killed, while he has committed some sins — is he a martyr?' At that moment, Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed this verse to His Messenger: التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ الْحَامِدُونَ السَّائِحُونَ الرَّاکِعُونَ السَّاجِدُونَ الْآمِرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ النَّاهُونَ عَنِ الْمُنْکَرِ وَ الْحَافِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ اللهِ وَ بَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ [Those who repent, those who worship, those who praise, those who journey (fast), those who bow, those who prostrate, those who enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and those who guard the limits of Allah — (these are the true believers) — and give glad tidings to the believers] (Tawbah/112). The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) [then] gave the glad tidings of martyrdom and Paradise to the fighting believers who possess these qualities, and said: 'Those who repent from sins; the worshippers are those who worship none but Allah and associate nothing with Him; those who praise are those who praise Allah in every state, in hardship and ease; those who journey are the fasters; those who bow and those who prostrate are those who are constant upon the five daily prayers and diligent in performing them, and who continue upon their prayers with [proper] bowing and prostration, with humility in them, and in their [proper] times; these people, after performing worship, enjoin the good and themselves act upon it, and forbid the evils and themselves keep away from them.' Allah [said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)]: 'Whoever possesses these qualities and is killed, give him the glad tidings of martyrdom and Paradise.' Then Allah the Blessed and Exalted informed that He has commanded to fight only those who possess these conditions, and said: أُذِنَ لِلَّذِینَ یُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِیرٌ الَّذِینَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِیَارِهِمْ بِغَیْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّا أَنْ یَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ [Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed, and indeed Allah is well able to help them. Those who have been driven from their homes without right, only because they said: Our Lord is Allah] (Hajj/39–40). And this [saying that they have been oppressed and driven from their homes without right] is because all that is between the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah, His Messenger and their believing followers who possess these qualities; consequently, whatever of the world lies in the hands of the polytheists, disbelievers, oppressors and evildoers who oppose the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and those who have turned away from the obedience of Allah and His Messenger — by [seizing] that they have oppressed the believers who possess these qualities and have prevailed over them regarding what Allah has bestowed on His Messenger [as fay']; so all this is the right of those believers upon which Allah has bestowed [it] and which He has restored to them. And 'fay'' means every wealth that [at first] fell into the hands of the polytheists and then returned [to the hands of the believers who are its true owners] — that is, wealth which the Muslims obtained [without warfare], or land over which they gained dominion; so [in Arabic] every speech or action which returns to its [original] place is called 'fa'a'; like this saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [who said]: لِلَّذِینَ یُؤْلُونَ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ تَرَبُّصُ أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْهُرٍ فَإِنْ فَاؤُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِیمٌ [For those who swear off (relations with) their wives, there is a waiting period of four months; and if they return, then indeed Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful] (Baqarah/226) [where here 'fa'u' means] returned. Then [continuing] He said: وَ إِنْ عَزَمُوا الطَّلَاقَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِیعٌ عَلِیمٌ [And if they resolve on divorce, then indeed Allah is Hearing, Knowing] (Baqarah/227). And [in another verse] He said: وَ إِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَیْنَهُمَا فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِی تَبْغِی حَتَّى تَفِیءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ [And if two parties of the believers fight, then make peace between them, and if one of them acts wrongfully towards the other, then fight the one that acts wrongfully until it returns to Allah's command] — [here 'tafi'a'] meaning: returns; فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ [and if it returns] meaning: if it returned, فَأَصْلِحُوا بَیْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَ أَقْسِطُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ یُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِینَ [then make peace between them justly, and act equitably; indeed Allah loves those who act equitably] (Hujurat/9), where the meaning of 'tafi'a' is 'tarji'a' (it returns). And these [verses] indicate that 'fay'' is everything that returns to its former state or place; and when the sun inclines from the middle of the sky toward the west, they say: 'قَدْ فَاءَتِ الشَّمْسُ' — and this is when the shadow [due to the sun's movement toward the west] is drawn from the west toward the east and the sun returns to its declining. So too is what Allah restores from the disbelievers to the believers: all of it is the right of the believers, which is returned to them after the oppression which the disbelievers inflicted upon them. This is that saying of Allah [who said]: أُذِنَ لِلَّذِینَ یُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا [Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed]. It is not that all the believers are worthy of fighting the disbelievers; rather permission has been given only to those believers who possess the conditions of faith — the very conditions we have described. The proof of this is that no one is permitted to wage jihad unless he has been oppressed, and no one is oppressed unless he is a believer, and no one is a believer unless he possesses the conditions of faith — the very conditions which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has laid down for the believers and the fighters. So whenever the conditions of Allah the Mighty and Majestic are complete in someone, he is a believer; and when he is a believer, he will be oppressed; and when he is oppressed, permission for jihad will be granted to him — on account of this saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [who said]: أُذِنَ لِلَّذِینَ یُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِیرٌ. And if someone does not possess all the conditions of faith, he is an oppressor who transgresses, and fighting against him is obligatory until he repents; such a person has no permission to wage jihad or to call [others] toward Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because he is not among the oppressed believers to whom permission for jihad has been given in the Quran. When the verse أُذِنَ لِلَّذِینَ یُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا was revealed concerning the Muhajirun (Emigrants) whom the people of Mecca had driven out of their homes and possessions, jihad against the people of Mecca — because of the oppression which they had inflicted on the Muhajirun — became lawful for the Muhajirun, and permission to fight was given to them." [Abu Amr al-Zubayri said:] I said: "This verse was revealed concerning the Muhajirun because of the oppression which the polytheists of Mecca had inflicted upon them; so why did the Muslims fight Kisra (the king of Persia), Qaysar (the king of Rome), and the polytheists of the Arab tribes other than those of Mecca?!" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "If permission had been given to them only to fight the people of Mecca who had oppressed them, they would have no right to fight the armies of Kisra, Qaysar and the other Arab tribes besides the people of Mecca; because those who had oppressed them were other than these, and they were permitted only to fight the people of Mecca who had oppressed them, because they had driven them out of their homes and possessions without right. And if the verse had meant only the Muhajirun whom the people of Mecca had oppressed, then when no one from those oppressors and those oppressed remained, no obligation of the verse would remain, and its obligation would be lifted from the people after them; but it is not as you have supposed and stated. Rather, the Muhajirun were oppressed from two directions: the people of Mecca oppressed them by driving them out of their homes and possessions, and the Muhajirun fought them by Allah's permission in that; and Kisra, Qaysar and the other Arab tribes [also] oppressed the believers by seizing what the believers were more deserving to possess, so the believers rose to fight them by the permission of Allah the Mighty and Majestic in that. And by the authority of this verse, the believers of every age may fight [the oppressors]; and Allah the Mighty and Majestic has given permission [to fight] to all those believers who possess the conditions of faith — the very conditions which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has laid down for the believers and the fighters; and whoever possesses these conditions is a believer and oppressed, and permission for jihad has been given to him in this sense; and whoever does not possess those conditions is an oppressor, and is not counted among the oppressed, and has no permission to fight, nor permission to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, because such a person has neither the qualification for such a task, nor the permission to call toward Allah the Mighty and Majestic; and since one such as him does not rise for jihad — while it is necessary that others should call him toward Allah — and the one whom the believers are commanded to fight and whom Allah has prevented from waging jihad cannot be a fighter, and the one whom others are duty-bound to call toward repentance and truth and to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong cannot himself be a caller toward Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and one whom others are duty-bound to enjoin to the right cannot himself be an enjoiner of the right, and one whom others are duty-bound to forbid from wrong cannot himself be a forbidder of wrong. So whoever possesses in full the conditions of Allah the Mighty and Majestic — the very conditions which the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) possessed — and at the same time is oppressed, has permission for jihad, just as Allah gave permission for jihad to the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family); because the ruling of Allah the Mighty and Majestic and His obligations regarding the first Muslims and the last of them are one, unless an illness or event changes the ruling and obligation of Allah — in which case the first and last are equal in the changing of rulings on account of events, and their obligations are one; the last will be asked the same questions as are asked of the first, and both will be held accountable for one and the same thing. And whoever does not possess the quality of the believers to whom Allah has given permission for jihad will not be among the people of jihad and does not have permission for such a task until he returns to the conditions of Allah the Mighty and Majestic; and whenever the conditions which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has appointed for the believers and the fighters are completely realized in him, he too will be among those who have permission for jihad. So every servant must adopt the fear of Allah, and regarding those hadiths which are falsely attributed to Allah, must not be deceived by [carnal] desires which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has forbidden — the very hadiths which the Quran considers false and from which, and from whose carriers and narrators, it dissociates itself — and must not commit an offense against Allah the Mighty and Majestic through a doubt for which he has no excuse; because in front of one who [wrongfully] exposes himself to being killed in the way of Allah there is no rank or station by which he may draw close to [the presence of] Allah, while drawing close to [the presence of] Allah — a most exalted station — is the ultimate goal of righteous deeds. Every person must judge himself and present himself to the Quran and measure himself against it, because no one is more aware of a person than he himself; so if he finds in himself the conditions which Allah has stated concerning jihad, he must undertake jihad, and if he sees any shortcoming in himself, he must correct it and bring himself into conformity with the conditions of jihad which Allah has made obligatory upon him, and then undertake jihad, while he is pure and cleansed of every defilement that would come between him and his jihad. We (the Ahl al-Bayt) do not say to those who intend to wage jihad but do not possess the conditions which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has stated for the believers and the fighters: 'Do not wage jihad!' But we say: We have taught you the conditions which Allah has laid down for the people of jihad — those people of jihad with whom Allah has made a covenant and from whom He has purchased their souls and their wealth in exchange for Paradise; now everyone must set right the conditions he does not see in himself and present himself to the divine conditions, and if he sees that he possesses those conditions in full, let him know that he is among those to whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic has given permission for jihad. And if, despite persisting in sins and forbidden things, he still wishes to be a fighter and undertakes jihad ignorantly and blindly, and out of ignorance and heeding fabricated narrations commits an offense against [the commands of] Allah the Mighty and Majestic — by my life! — the result of such a person's action is that Allah the Mighty and Majestic will aid the religion of Islam by means of groups who have no share [of Islam] (that is, the disbelievers and polytheists). So everyone must have fear of Allah and beware of being among such fighters, for Allah has made [this truth] clear to you, and after the divine explanation, you will have no excuse in ignorance. There is no power except from Allah, and Allah is sufficient for us; upon Him alone we rely, and to Him is the return."