From `Abdul`Aziz ibn `Abdullah ibn Baz to our brothers, scholars of the Afghan Mujahideen (those striving/fighting in the Cause of Allah), may Allah grant them success and enforce religion with them!
You know, may Allah grant you and me success, that Allah honored you with knowledge, adorned you with it, raised your status and degrees, and made you witnesses over people. They follow you and know the rulings on what is lawful and what is unlawful from you. Allah (Exalted be He) took the promise and covenant from scholars, who are the inheritors of the prophets, to explain the truth to people and not to conceal it. It is a covenant that must be fulfilled and must not be broken. Whoever violates or neglects keeping the promise is exposed to the true threat and severe punishment. By these qualities, virtue is ascertained and the duty of scholars wins union even though they come from different countries. Belief and searching for the truth based on evidence from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace be upon him) as well as guidance of scholars have united them.
It is no secret that scholars are the people who remember Allah (Exalted be He). The masses are followers. A scholar is asked about himself as well as others.
His guidance is for him and others, because scholars are the people of deep insight, wisdom and fearing Allah (Exalted be He). People follow them and are guided by their words and actions. Allah (Exalted be He) guided you to fight in His Cause against His enemies; in this way you are more entitled with the knowledge which Allah (Exalted be He) granted you and fulfilled His promise to you that He would support you. We praise Allah (Exalted be He), Who honored us by giving a Fatwa on the obligation of Jihad (fighting in the cause of Allah) by your side, provide aid and support to you in order to strengthen the ties of brotherhood. Thus, Muslims have flocked from all around the world for the sake of reward, seeking Paradise and supporting their weak fellow Muslims. Thus, Jihad took on an international form and the reality of Muslim brotherhood has been reinforced inside Muslims. However, this brotherhood, consequentially, has irritated unbelievers all over the world. Allah (Exalted be He) made their plots fail to divide Muslims or inflict them with loss; rather, He made the Mujahideen victorious. The enemies of religion are now resorting to another means to spread difference and animosity among Muslims through doctrinal disputes that exist among Muslims since ancient times. They lit turmoil and aroused the masses to spoil the relation between the Afghan Mujahideen and their fellow Muslims and no one is able to put off this turmoil but you, scholars.
You know May Allah save you that the doctrinal disagreement in branches has taken place throughout time but it did not cause hatred, enmity or disputes because the Islamic nation agreed on constants and fundamentals. Juristic disagreement took place among the Four Imams (Abu Hanifah, Malik, AlShafi`y, and Ahmad) starting from Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah be Merciful with him), Imam Malik (may Allah be merciful with him), then Imam AlShafi`y (may Allah be merciful with him) and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah be merciful with him) but no sedition or hatred took place among them, although they disagreed in understanding and Ijtihad (juristic effort to infer expert legal rulings). They respected one another; each praised his brother, and gave others preference to himself. This spirit must prevail among today's scholars even if they differ in the branches of religion.
You, dear scholars in Afghanistan, know that Muslims left their countries for the sake of Jihad while they hold different Fiqhi views i.e. Hanafy, Maliky, Shafi`y and Hanbaly. You may Allah grant you and us success are more entitled to explain this to the masses and warn them against the danger of following disbelievers in the turmoil and seditions. They spread among the masses that the Mujahideen, especially the Arabs, have come to undermine the Hanafy Madhhab. You know that this turmoil is caused by the unbelievers with the purpose of sowing the seeds of enmity and turmoil among the Muslims. It is no secret that the followers of the Mujtahids (scholars qualified to exercise juristic effort to infer expert legal rulings) do not call those who disagree with them as Fasiq (someone flagrantly violating Islamic law) or nonMuslims. They do not consider following other than their Imam (initiator of a School of Jurisprudence) a deniable act that must be resisted and stopped. This is the `Aqidah (creed)