when a nation abandons the duty of jihad and defense and...

when a nation abandons the duty of jihad and defense and does not care to protect its frontiers from the attacks of the enemy, it will become humble and degraded, and will suffer affliction and abjectness even though its Prophet may be the last of the Prophets and its Imam may be Imam Ali. Its people will lose wisdom and intelligence. As a result of the abandonment of the duty of jihad and defense they forfeit their right, and authority is transferred to others.

Such a nation is branded with disgrace and no one deals justly and equitably with it. It appears that considering that the people could not be prompted to perform jihad by rousing their religious sentiments, Imam Ali appealed to their national sentiments and said to them that if they did not perform jihad to earn spiritual reward and did not fear the punishment to be awarded in the Hereafter on account of giving up jihad they should at least fear its evil effects on their present life and should beware of the Divine laws which are unalterable.

In other words he said to them: 'Even if you are not desirous of spiritual reward in the Hereafter you should at least get up to preserve your honor and independence and should protect the frontiers of your country from the attacks of the enemy. You should not jeopardize your position and honor amidst the various nations and should not make yourselves afflicted and helpless by remaining confined to your homes and providing an opportunity to the enemy'.

Then Imam Ali says: "I have been telling you openly and in private during day and night to fight against the people of Syria and your enemies and to attack those rebels, and advance before they invade you and come upon you unawares, because there has never been a nation which sits in its house till the enemy makes a rush on it and plunders its frontiers one after the other and then fighting takes place in the center of the country of that nation and it is not humiliated and defeated.

However, you ignored what I said, on one pretext or another, and discouraged one another in the matter of jihad. Consequently, according to the Divine system, the enemy crossed your frontiers and plundered and snatched away a region from you every day". (Nahjul Balagha) The Holy Qur'an has said repeatedly that Allah does not alter His system for anyone and there are many verses in it which make this fact clear.