Question on abdullah azzam

[Madarijas-Salikeen]

as salaamu alaykum

brothers and sisters i hear that abdullah azzam brought a fatwa which he had shaykh muhammad salih al uthaymeen and shaykh ibn baz rahimullah ta ala alayh to check and they agreed to it. The issue was of jihad being fard ayn. Now this is something that can be easily seen in fiqh books as explanations. However what im curious is did they agree with abdullah azzam in his manhaj and was he of those who made takfir of rulers? And was he of one who promoted breaking of covenants.

[Abuz Zubair]

There was a link here somewhere about Abu Qutayba's blog concerning the topic... if someone provide it for us again?

And no, Abdullah Azzam was never on that tip.

[Abu Sabaya]

'Alaykum as-Salam;

And was he of one who promoted breaking of covenants.Far from it.

To give you an idea, he even said in a recorded lecture that if you happened to be a Mujahid who was let out of a Russian prison on the condition that you would not raise arms against Russia, you would not even be allowed to kill Gorbachev if you saw him walking down the street, due to your obligation to abide by your agreement.

Also, read this: http://forums.islamicawakening.com/showthread.php?p=19317#post19317

[Madarijas-Salikeen]

mashaallaah my dear brother jazakallaah khayr this is the balanced view!

[Madarijas-Salikeen]

as salaamu alaykum

also what is shaykh hamood ibn uqla ash shuayb rahimullah stance on ruling by other than what Allaah revealed. I hear he has same stance as shaykh ibraheem rahimullah and shaykh ahmad shakir rahimullah.

[knowrass]

as salaamu alaykum

also what is shaykh hamood ibn uqla ash shuayb rahimullah stance on ruling by other than what Allaah revealed. I hear he has same stance as shaykh ibraheem rahimullah and shaykh ahmad shakir rahimullah.

and what's their stance?

[Suhaib Jobst]

and what's their stance?

Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Aal Ash-Shaykh (d. 1389H):

"….The fifth, and it is the greatest and the most encompassing and the clearest opposition of the Sharee'ah and stubbornness in the face of its laws and insulting to Allah and His Messenger and opposing the courts of the Sharee'ah on their roots and branches and their types and their appearances and judgements and implementations the references and their applications. So just like the courts of the Sharee'ah there are references, all of them returning back to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger like that, these courts have references, which are laws that are assembled from many legislations and laws like the laws of France and America and England and other laws and from the Madhhab of some of the innovators who claim to be under the Sharee'ah.

"And these courts are now fully operational in the settlements of Islam, people entering them one after another, their rulers judge upon them with what opposes the Sunnah and the Book with the rules of that law and they impose that on them and approve it for them. So what Kufr is there beyond this Kufr and what nullification of the Shahaadah of Muhammadar Rasool-Allah is there beyond this nullification?!" – Risalat Tahkeem Al-Qawaneen.

"As for that which is described as kufr doona kufr, it is when he refers the dispute to other than the Book of Allah knowing that he is disobeying Allah by doing so, and that the ruling of Allah is the truth, and He does it once. Such a person would not be committing major infidelity. As for those who legislate laws and make others obey them, this constitutes kufr, even if they claim that they made a mistake, and that the laws of Allah are more just; such is considered as the kufr which entails riddah (i.e. kufrul-akbar)." - Al-Fataawa, Vol. 12/280.

"Verily from the greater and clear kufr is giving the accursed man-made laws, the position of that which the faithful spirit descended upon the heart of Muhammad, sallallahu 'alayhi wa salam, so that he may be from the warners in the clear Arabic tongue, and judging between the nations, and referring back to it, is in contradiction of, and an obstinate rejection of Allah, ta'ala saying: '(And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu 'alayhi wa salam, if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination.'(4:59).
"Allah the Most Perfect and High has negated the belief of those who do not make the Prophet the judge in that about which they differ - strengthening the negation by repeating it and swearing upon it. He says: 'But no, by your Lord, they can have no belief, until they make you a judge in all disputes between them, and find no resistance in themselves against your judgments, and instead submit wholeheartedly.'(4:65)." - Al-Fataawa, Vol. 12/284; and Risalat Tahkeem Al-Qawaneen.

Shaykh Ahmad Shaakir (d. 1377H):

"So look, O Muslims, in all of the Islamic countries or the ones which claim to be Islamic, in all the parts of the Earth, to what your enemies from the missionaries and colonists have done to you! They have put upon the Muslims, laws of misguidance, which destroy the etiquettes and the Deen. European laws, which are idols, which were never based upon any Sharee'ah or Deen, rather they were based upon rules that were made by the Kuffar who refused to believe in the Messenger of their era, Isa, alayhi sallam.

"And he remained upon his paganism with with what he had from Fisq and Fujoor (i.e. oppression). This person was Justinian, the father of the laws and the one who established the basis - so they claim - and an important man from Egypt who - due to oppression - attributes himself to Islam, and who did not feel too ashamed to translate the laws of that transgressing pagan and he called it 'The Code of Justinian,' insulting 'The code of Maalik,' one of the encyclopedias of Islamic Jurisprudence, which was based upon the Book and the Sunnah, and which is attributed to the Imam of Dar Al-Hijjrah (i.e. Madinah)! So look at the level of absurdity and shamefulness and recklessness of that man!

"These laws, which the enemies of Islam imposed upon the Muslims due to enmity; in reality it is another religion and they made it a Deen for the Muslims in replacement of their pure Deen because they made it obligatory upon them to follow it and obey it. And they put into the hearts, love and adoration for it to the point where you see upon the tongues and the pens, words like, 'The holiness of the judgments,' or 'The holiness of the courts,' or 'The holiness of the laws,' and words like these, which they refuse to describe the Islamic Sharee'ah or the opinions of the Jurists of Islam with! Instead, they describe it (i.e. the Sharee'ah) with words such as, 'Reactionism,' or 'Stagnant,' or 'Priesthood,' or 'the Sharee'ah of the Jungle,' or other than that from the evils that you see in the newspapers or the magazines or modern books, which are written by the followers of those pagans.

"Then they started to label these (fabricated) laws and the studies of those (fabricated) laws with the word, 'Al-Fiqh,' and 'Al-Faqee,' and 'At-Tashree,' and 'Al-Mushaara,' and other words that the 'Ulama of Islam used to describe the Sharee'ah and its 'Ulama. Then they go further and to the degree where they compare the Deen of Islam and its Sharee'ah with their modern Deen, and this modern Deen became the basis which the Muslims take their Hukm to and they judge with it, in most of the Islamic countries whether it is in something that complied with it coincidentally and not out of due to following it and not out of obedience to the command of Allah or the command of His Messenger.

"So whatever complies and whatever contradicts; both are stuck in the mud of misguidance and it leads the one who follows it to the Fire and it is not allowed for a Muslim to be submissive to it or be pleased with it." - Umdaat At-Tafseer Mukhtaasir Tafseer Ibn Katheer of Ahmad Shaakir, Vol. 3/214-215.

"Have you seen this strong description by Al-Haafidh Ibn Katheer - in the eighth century - about that man-made law, which was fabricated by the enemy of Islam, Genghis Khan? Do you not see that it describes the situation of the Muslims at present, in the fourteenth century? Except for one difference that we pointed out before, which was that it was within a particular group of rulers, who were destroyed so quickly. Then they were mingled within the Islamic ummah, and the effect of that which they did was removed. Then the Muslims are now in a worse situation and severer in oppression and darkness than them. This is because most of the Islamic ummah are now about to be mingled within the laws which are opposed to the Sharee'ah, and which are similar to that 'Yasiq'.

"The matter in these fabricated laws is clear with the clearness of the sun. It is clear Kufr and there is nothing hidden about it and there is no excuse for anyone who attributes themselves to Islam, whoever they may be, to act according to it or to submit to it or to approve of it. So each person should beware and every person is responsible for himself. So the 'Ulama should make the truth clear and tell what they have been ordered to tell without concealing anything." – Umdaat At-Tafseer Mukhtaasir Tafseer Ibn Katheer of Ahmad Shakir, Vol. 4/173-174.

As for the position of Shaykh Hamud ibn 'Uqla (rahimahullah), then he had the same position as the rest of the contemporary scholars, i.e. that ruling by other than Shari'ah is Kufr al-Akbar, although unfortunately I do not have the relevant documented statements. And Allah knows best.

[justabro]

ٌSomething related to the question:

http://alhawali.com/index.cfm?method=home.SubContent&contentID=1181&keywords=%D8%B9%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%85

[Abuz Zubair]

lol... Sh Safar's tape. I heard it years ago, I remember being disappointed by it. More than half of the tape (>30 mins) was just about the title of the book: Defence of Muslim Lands, the most important obligation. True, the first obligation upon a person is Tawheed and Iman, but I don't think Sh Abdullah Azzam disagreed with that either. His book was after all directed to the Muslims. He was only paraphrasing Ibn Taymiyya's statement: There is no obligation more important - after faith - than to repel the enemy. So I felt it was a bit unjust of Sh Safar to criticise him for that, and moreover spend 30 minutes criticising just that. There may be other statements of Sh Abdullah Azzam, not present in the book but in his tapes that are more worthy of criticism. But the book was not a good target.

But the rest of what Sh Safar said is valid, i.e. even if we say Jihad is Fard 'Ayn, what does it exactly mean? Does everyone get up and leave? And to be honest, even Sh Abdullah Azzam's opinion was not clear on this issue. In many of his fatwa sessions he allowed people to stay back in their countries on the condition that they come to Jihad every now and then. Going by the book, something like that shouldn't be allowed when Jihad is Fard Ayn. He allowed many other things, too.

May Allah forgive us all.

[Shaghuri]

Do you remember back in the day, when this came out, it was responded to by Abdul Qadir Abdul Aziz, upon which, Shaikh Salah al-Sawi responded to him, defending Safar?

[Abuz Zubair]

Do you remember back in the day, when this came out, it was responded to by Abdul Qadir Abdul Aziz, upon which, Shaikh Salah al-Sawi responded to him, defending Safar?
Nope.... I don't recall any of that, but please enlighten us. Abd al-Qadir Abd al-Aziz isn't exactly the best person to defend Sh Abdullah Azzam.

[Shaghuri]

Well, Im sure his article against al-Hawali is somewhere on the net these days. I'm not sure if Shaikh Salah's refutation is found (but who knows, it might be on his site, I haven't searched).

Whats funny is that Shaikh Salah knew Abdul Qadir Abdul Aziz (who Ive heard is really a Doctor named Subhi) in Egypt and came out of the ranks of his group. Its not like some say, that scholars like him are not aware of the details of these groups and their arguments.

[justabro]

lol... Sh Safar's tape. I heard it years ago, I remember being disappointed by it. More than half of the tape (>30 mins) was just about the title of the book: Defence of Muslim Lands, the most important obligation. True, the first obligation upon a person is Tawheed and Iman, but I don't think Sh Abdullah Azzam disagreed with that either. His book was after all directed to the Muslims. He was only paraphrasing Ibn Taymiyya's statement: There is no obligation more important - after faith - than to repel the enemy. So I felt it was a bit unjust of Sh Safar to criticise him for that, and moreover spend 30 minutes criticising just that. There may be other statements of Sh Abdullah Azzam, not present in the book but in his tapes that are more worthy of criticism. But the book was not a good target.

But the rest of what Sh Safar said is valid, i.e. even if we say Jihad is Fard 'Ayn, what does it exactly mean? Does everyone get up and leave? And to be honest, even Sh Abdullah Azzam's opinion was not clear on this issue. In many of his fatwa sessions he allowed people to stay back in their countries on the condition that they come to Jihad every now and then. Going by the book, something like that shouldn't be allowed when Jihad is Fard Ayn. He allowed many other things, too.

May Allah forgive us all.

Yeah, I agree that his opinion on the issue was not clear... for some time I was under the impression everyone (present party included) really had to get up and go as soon as possible, and at the time I was not aware of any responses or clarifications concerning this matter such as this one by Sh. Safar.

[Abu Sabaya]

Nope.... I don't recall any of that, but please enlighten us. Abd al-Qadir Abd al-Aziz isn't exactly the best person to defend Sh Abdullah Azzam.Right here:

http://anonymouse.org/cgi-bin/anon-www.cgi/http://www.tawhed.ws/r?i=703&PHPSESSID=e7ed929cfc7b2424535b509d72b19334

[Abu_Abdillah2000]

I have read on some Arabic news websites that Abdul-Qadir Abdul-Aziz has recently publically recanted from his jihadi ideology. Does anyone have any reliable info about this? Is it the same Abdul-Qadir Abdul-Aziz that is being talked about here?

[Abu Sabaya]

I read the same thing today, and this is what is on the Arabic forums:

من «الدكتور فضل»، وهو السيد إمام بن عبدالعزيز الشريف المعروف بعبدالقادر بن عبدالعزيز:

أدعو كل الحركات الجهادية والإسلامية في العالم أجمع إلى ترشيد عملياتها الجهادية وفق الضوابط الشرعية، خصوصاً بعد ظهور صورمستحدثة من القتل والقتال باسم الجهاد، انطوت على مخالفات شرعية في كثير من البلدان، كالقتل على الجنسية وبسبب لون البشرة أو الشعر والقتل على المذهب، وقتل من لا يجوز قتله من المسلمين ومن غير المسلمين، والإسراف فيالاحتجاج بمسألة التترس لتوسيع دائرة القتل، واستحلال أموال المعصومين وتخريب الممتلكات، وهذا كله من العدوان الذي نهى الله عنه حتى في حال الجهاد بقوله تعالى: «وقاتلوا في سبيل الله الذين يقاتلونكم ولا تعتدوا ان الله لا يحب المعتدين» (البقرة 190)، فلا يحل لنا العدوان، حتى وان كان أعداء الإسلام يفعلون كما وصفهم الله تعالى بقوله «لا يرقبون في مؤمن إلاً ولا ذمة، وأولئك هم المعتدون» (التوبة).

كان لوقوع صدامات كثيرة في بلاد المسلمين وبلاد غير المسلمين، اعتماداً على كتاباتي في فقه الجهاد (العمدة في اعداد العدة - الجامع في طلب العلم الشريف)، على رغم أنها تخلو من التحريض على شيء، دافعاً لأن نكتب مذكرةتوضيحية حول هذه الأمور، وسميناها «وثيقة ترشيد العمل الجهادي في مصر والعالم». ولقد استحسنت غالبية الفصائل الجهادية في مصر هذه الوثيقة، وتبنتها أساساً للتوجه السلمي لوقف الصدام مع الحكومة، حقناً للدماء وتوقيفاً لمصالح شرعية معتبرة، ولقد وقع عليها مئات منهم حتى الآن.

وهذه الوثيقة ليست لجماعة بعينها، ولم تتناول أحداً بعينه بالنقد، وانما هي مجموعة من المسائل الفقهية تعني كل مسلم، خصوصاً الجماعات الجهادية، لاجتناب المخالفات الشرعية في الجهاد. ولم نذكر فيها قولاً إلا بحكمه الشرعي الذي لا يسع المسلم إلا الامتثال له بالسمع والطاعة كما قال الله عز وجل «انما كان قول المؤمنين إذا دعوا إلى الله ورسوله ليحكم بينهم أن يقولوا سمعنا وأطعنا وأولئك هم المفلحون» (النور 51)، وقال تعالى: «وما كان لمؤمن ولا مؤمنة إذا قضى الله ورسوله أمراً أن يكون لهم الخيرة من أمرهم، ومن يعصى الله ورسوله فقد ضل ضلالاً مبيناً» (الأحزاب 36). هذا مع تقديرنا وإقرارنا بأن الاخوة المجاهدين في كل مكان هم في الجملة أصحاب قضية نبيلة ورسالة سامية، وليس صحيحاً أنهم طلاب منافع دنيوية، بل أن كثيرين منهم يضحون بالنفس والنفيس من أجل إعزاز الإسلام والمسلمين. إلا أنهم وقعوا في بعض الأخطاء الشرعية.

لا يجوز الرفض المسبق لما ورد في هذه الوثيقة بحجة أنها كتبت في السجن، أو بدعوى أنه (لا ولاية للأسير)، فأنا لم أدع الولاية على أحد ولا ألزم أحداً برأيي باسم طاعة القيادة، فهذا شيء لا وجود له، ولا أدعي أهلية الفتوى ولاالاجتهاد، وإنما أنا مجرد ناقل علم. وهناك طاعة أولى وأعظم من طاعة القيادات، ألا وهي طاعة الله فهو يقول «يا أيها الذين آمنوا أطيعوا الله وأطيعوا الرسول وأولي الأمر منكم، فإن تنازعتم في شيء فردوه إلى الله والرسول إن كنتم تؤمنون بالله واليوم الآخر ذلك خيرٌ وأحسن تأويلا» (النساء 59). وما يجب بالشرع مقدم على ما يجب بالعقد. ونحن لم نذكر قولاً إلا بدليله الشرعي، وليست العبرة بمكان الكتابة من سجن أو غيره، وإنما العبرة بدليل الكتابة. ولقد وعظ نبي الله يوسف عليه السلام وهو في السجن كما في قوله تعالى: «يا صاحبي السجن أأرباب متفرقون خيرٌ أم الله الواحد القهار» (يوسف 39)، كما كتب شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية كثيراً من كتاباته وهو مسجون في قلعة دمشق، ومن قبله كتب شمس الأئمة السرخسي كتابه «المبسوط» في فقه الأحناف وهو مسجون في أوزجند، رحمهم الله، فهل كان سجنهم مدعاة لرفض قولهم؟ لا يقول مسلم ذلك، والعبرة بدليل الكتابة لا بمكانها. وأي شيء في كتاباتي يخالف الدليل الشرعي الصحيح السالم من المعارضة، فأنا راجع عنه وأقول بما دل عليه الدليل. ولا يجوز أن ينسب أحد إليّ قولاً إلا ما ذكرته في هذه الوثيقة، كما لا يجوز أن يحكم عليها أحد حتى يطلع عليها لقوله تعالى: «ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علمٌ» (الاسراء 36)، ولا يجوز الانسياق وراء الشائعات لقوله تعالى: «يا أيها الذين آمنوا إن جاءكم فاسق بنبأ فتبينواأن تصيبوا قوماً بجهالة فتصبحوا على ما فعلتم نادمين» (الحجرات 6).

[Abuz Zubair]

He's been broken.

[Madarijas-Salikeen]

hmm repented from going to extremes in jihad or jihad all together?

please show some information and what was his enlightenment.

[abu_ibrahim]

He had been living a quiet life for a decade in Yemen working as a Doctor, until Egypt wanted him extradited from Yemen.

[abu_ibrahim]

Human Rights Watch Report on Imam Abdul Qadir Abdul Aziz:

Sometime at the end of February 2004, six Egyptians, alleged militants who had spent several years in exile in Yemen, the last several in official custody, were surreptitiously ferried from Sanaa to Cairo, very much against their will. Among them was Sayyid Imam `Abd al-`Aziz al-Sharif.

The rendition of al-Sharif and the five others was most likely set in motion at the beginning of the month, on February 7, 2004, when Yemeni President `Ali `Abdullah Saleh visited Cairo.

Sayyid Imam al-Sharif: Al-Sharif’s case is perhaps the most typical. He had been living without incident in Yemen for some time, and was not taken into custody there until after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

[Abu wakee]

'Salafi Burn Out'. The inevitable result.

[Abuz Zubair]

This has nothing to do with burn out. I am sure you can find many other examples for that. This is the result of Egyptian torture.

Besides, isn't it better to burn out than to fade away?

[Abu wakee]

Besides, isn't it better to burn out than to fade away?

Either way extremists are bound to be destroyed.

[Madarijas-Salikeen]

Either way extremists are bound to be destroyed.

Indeed,

The true path is the middle path. This is ahlus sunnah, this is true dawah as salafiyyah. We believe in offensive and defensive jihad. Taking jizya in offensive jihad. Defensive jihad we believe in removing harm from muslim lands. However we do not believe that we can break covenants and slaughter people and even muslims claiming (there is greater benefit in harming the kuffar with muslims amongst them) as this excuse is used a lot yet we see their is greater harm! When referring to such affairs as important as this we should turn towards the Major Ulama who are known for their excellence in islaamic knowledge and follow their opinion.

[Abu wakee]

Indeed,

The true path is the middle path. This is ahlus sunnah, this is true dawah as salafiyyah. We believe in offensive and defensive jihad. Taking jizya in offensive jihad. Defensive jihad we believe in removing harm from muslim lands. However we do not believe that we can break covenants and slaughter people and even muslims claiming (there is greater benefit in harming the kuffar with muslims amongst them) as this excuse is used a lot yet we see their is greater harm! When referring to such affairs as important as this we should turn towards the Major Ulama who are known for their excellence in islaamic knowledge and follow their opinion.

What are you talking about akhi ?

[Madarijas-Salikeen]

that islaam is between two extremes.

So we are not of those who deny jihad and wish to throw away the ayahs from the quran concerning it. etc..

Nor are we of those who go to extremes and call to breaking covenants and bloodshed. Such as bombings in the muslim world that kills muslims. and inciting youth in western countries to fight in that country thus breaking their covenants.

we are the middle path between two extremes.

[Abu wakee]

that islaam is between two extremes.

So we are not of those who deny jihad and wish to throw away the ayahs from the quran concerning it. etc..

Nor are we of those who go to extremes and call to breaking covenants and bloodshed. Such as bombings in the muslim world that kills muslims. and inciting youth in western countries to fight in that country thus breaking their covenants.

we are the middle path between two extremes.

You still don't make sense. I was talking in general. It doesn't matter what kinds of extremists there are, and what kind of ideologies they espouse, they are bound to be destroyed.

[ykhan]

'Salafi Burn Out'. The inevitable result.

As salamu alaykum akhi,

What do you mean by "salafi burn out".?

.

[Intoodeep]

Abu wakee,

Given a few weeks in those Egyptian Jails im sure you would turn evangelical christian.

[Abu wakee]

Abu wakee,

Given a few weeks in those Egyptian Jails im sure you would turn evangelical christian.

Salafi Burn Out is a 'gradual' process.

[Mustafa al-Muhaajir]

May Allah keep well our Shaykh and may Allah help you, Abu Wacky.

[Abu wakee]

may Allah help you, Abu Wacky.

Yes Allah's Help is always sought.

So, where did you make hijrah to mr. muhajir?

[Brother_Mujahid]

'Asharq al-'Aswat (a paper I loath by the way) has an article about 'Abdul-Qadir bin 'Abdul-Aziz: http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=8894

Take it for what you will.

[Madarijas-Salikeen]

as salaamu alaykum

I think shaykh abdul qadir ibn abdul aziz has some interesting writings they are well researched however i disapprove of his harshness with shaykh nasir ud deen al albaani rahimullah but then again im just a laymen whoes words mean nothing when Ulama speak.

[umm lina]

Azzam said:"…Every Moslem on earth should unsheathe his sword and fight to liberate Palestine. The Jihad is not limited to Afghanistan. Jihad means fighting. You must fight in any place you can get. Whenever Jihad is mentioned in the Holy Book, it means the obligation to fight. It does not mean to fight with the pen or to write books or articles in the press or to fight by holding lectures."

Jihad is not perpetual war against non-Muslims, but the struggle to do good on earth for the sake of Allah. Jihad literally means “struggle,” or “striving.” It is not, as some have claimed, the “sixth pillar” of Islam. Jihad is a very broad concept in Islam; it is an activist principle: the struggle to do good on earth for the sake of Allah. In the Qur’an it is a word that is distinct from qital, which means armed conflict. In some instances, as a last resort, jihad can and does encompass armed conflict. Yet armed jihad has very strict rules and regulations,. When used in the Qur’an, jihad is very general in nature, while the verses that speak about qital are very specific and have a number of qualifiers. For example, verse 2:190, of which we spoke earlier in detail, has very specific parameters: fighting is allowed only against those who fight the Muslims. Jihad, on the other hand, is much broader:
“O you who have attained to faith! Shall I point to you a bargain that will save you from grievous suffering [in this world and in the life to come]? You are to believe in God and His Apostle, and to strive
hard in God’s cause with your possessions and your lives: this is for your own good—if you but knew it!
[If you do so,] He will forgive you your sins, and will admit you into gardens through which running waters flow, and into goodly mansions in [those] gardens of perpetual bliss: that [will be] the triumph supreme!
And [withal, He will grant you] yet another thing that you dearly love: succour from God [in this world], and a victory soon to come: and [thereof, O Prophet,] give you a glad tiding to all who believe." (61:11-13)
So, what is jihad really? Is it a tangible process that can be grasped every single day? Absolutely.
One day, during the time when the early Muslim community was struggling for its very existence, the Prophet and his Companions had just returned from a particularly difficult battle. As they were beginning to relax, he turned to his beloved Companions and said, “We have just returned from the lesser jihad, but now we are entering the greater jihad.”

[Abu_Abdillah2000]

Umm Lina: Quit talking about these issues which you have no knowledge about. The "hadith" at the end of what you have quoted is well-known to be mawdhu' (fabricated), and it is a dead give-away that you, or whoever the writer of that article was, is an ignoramus when it comes to shar'i knowledge.

What you have said is not at all the ahl as-sunnah understanding of the concept of jihad. It is the misunderstanding of the contemporary modernist people of bid'ah and zandaqah.

[umm lina]

Abu Abdilllah2000: First of all I’d like you to always remember what the prophet (SAW) said: The believer is not given to cursing, slandering or obscene and foul speech.”

Secondly I don’t want you to be like those about whom Allah says:

“Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do”
Yes, indeed the Hadith I mentioned last time apparently its attributability to the prophet, (SAW), is weak, but the meaning may be inferred from other Hadith and Quran. Notably like Imam Nawawi: [The scholars from the muhaddiths, the fuqahaa and others said: it is permissible and recommended to act upon the weak hadeeth, which is not fabricated, with regard to excellent and virtuous actions, encouragements and warnings. but as for ruling like halaal and haraam, buying and selling, marriage and divorce, and other than that, then nothing unless it is with regard to taking the safest course in any of that]
Allah said: "Those who have striven for our sake, we guide them to our ways" (29:96).
He has thereby made guidance dependent on jihad. Therefore, the most perfect of people are those of them who struggle the most for His sake, and the most obligatory of jihads (afrad al-jihad) are the jihad against the ego, the jihad against desires, the jihad against the devil, and the jihad against the lower world (jihad al-nafs wa jihad al-hawa wa jihad al-shaytan wa jihad al-dunya). Whoever struggles against these four, Allah will guide them to the ways of His good pleasure which lead to His Paradise, and whoever leaves jihad, then he leaves guidance in proportion to his leaving jihad
And Allah Wa Rassuluh (SAW) Allam. May Allah forgive us all?

[MosDef]

Whether he allowed a few people to stay behind is irrelevant: there are exceptions to all rules - i.e. they could slow down the unit.!?

Like what happened in Chechnya when people went without basic training and no knowledge of warfare - thus just passengers.

What we can however take from Sheikh Azzam is that he overall wanted people to go.

Great man