Islam
submit to the authority of Islam. Treaties (`ahd) may be established, subject to payment of
the kharaj, although jurists differ over its permitted longevity. Most Muslims today interpret
Jihad as only a defensive form of warfare: the external Jihad includes a struggle to make the
Islamic societies conform to the Islamic norms of justice.
Under most circumstances and for most Muslims, jihad is a collective duty (fard kifaya): its
performance by some individuals exempts the others. Only for those vested with authority,
especially the sovereign (imam), does jihad become an individual duty. For the rest of the
populace, this happens only in the case of a general mobilization. For most Shias, offensive
jihad can only be declared by a divinely appointed leader of the Muslim community, and as
such is suspended since Muhammad alMahdi's occultation in 868 AD.
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