Islamic scholars explain Chechen theologian's statement about wajib

The words of Asvad Kharekhanov, a Chechen theologian, about the special operation in Ukraine are an explanation of the Mufti's statement about jihad and point to the mandatory participation of Chechen militaries therein, Islamic scholars have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 28, Salakh Mezhiev, the Mufti of Chechnya, announced that the Chechen fighters who left for Ukraine "went to jihad", and are fighting there for the sake of Allah.

Asvad Kharekhanov, a Deputy Minister of Education and Sciences of Chechnya, who is also Imam of the central mosque of Gudermes, has commented on the participation of residents of Chechnya in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine from the Sharia viewpoint, as follows from the video on the Instagram "Grozny Inform" dated March 2.

"We see what is happening in the world, what NATO is doing, and what the European Union (EU) is doing. It is our duty to prevent this disaster from coming to us. Protecting our country from the West is our wajib," the "Caucasian Knot" has translated Kharekhanov's words.

In his turn, Dmitry Mikulsky, a leading researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), is sure that jihad and wajib are completely different things. "According to the Muslim doctrine, jihad is of three types. Jihad of the soul: when a person corrects himself; jihad of property: when a person donates part of his property for the sake of the community; and jihad of the sword: when a Muslim participates in the war against infidels. And wajib is a kind of commitment that a Muslim must perform," Mr Mikulsky has explained.

According to his version, in his speech, the Chechen theologian has justified what the Mufti of Chechnya had said earlier, treating the participation of Chechens in the special operation in Ukraine as "jihad".

Asvad Kharekhanov has tried to explain the Mufti's words, Professor Leonid Syukiyainen, an Islamic scholar from the Higher School of Economics, has agreed. "Wajib" in Arabic means "mandatory". It is not a term that can be compared with jihad. As far as I understand, the theologian said that Chechens' jihad is a wajib, that is, mandatory," Mr Syukiyainen told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 4, 2022 at 10:34 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.