The body of scholars have said that jihad is forbidden if the parents, or one of them, prohibit it, provided they are both Muslims, since devotion to them is one’s individual obligation [fard ‘ain], while jihad is a collective obligation [fard kifaya]. But whenever jihad is determined as one’s duty, permission need not be considered. The separate narration recorded by Ibn Hibban as related by Abdullah ibn ‘Amr testifies to this: A certain man came to the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and asked him about the best of deeds. He said: Prayer. The man said: And then what? He said: Jihad. The man said: But indeed I have parents. He said: I order you to be good to your parents. And the man said: I swear by Him who sent you forth with the truth as a prophet, surely I will wage jihad, and surely I will leave them. He said: You know best. And so this implies a jihad of personal duty, reconciling both hadiths.