Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (14/402)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

the call to prayer in a village of one hundred and fifty people, and even if the imam were able to wipe them all out within a quarter of an hour, it would not be permissible for him to kill them. Rather, he should fight them, meaning that he compels them to give the call to prayer, even if this leads to fighting.

This demonstrates the wisdom behind Allah’s saying:

“Do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque unless they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them.” [al-Baqarah 2:191]

He did not say, “Then fight them.” This may bear two meanings:

The first is: if they fight you, Allah will grant you the power to overcome them until you kill them. This is like Allah’s saying:

“Whoever is killed wrongfully, We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed the limits in killing.” [al-Isra’ 17:33]

This indicates that whoever is killed wrongfully, Allah will bring his killer to light and have him killed. This is why He said, “but let him not exceed the limits in killing.” Thus, the meaning would be: if they fight you, you will prevail over them, so kill them.

The second is: if they fight you, then kill them even if they lay down their weapons, because by violating the sanctity of the Sacred Mosque, they have rendered themselves deserving of death.

The point is that there is a difference between fighting and killing. If these rebels do not desist, the imam must fight them, and his subjects must assist him in fighting them. If the subjects say, “We will not fight a people who are Muslims. How can we fight them and bear arms against them?” We say: Because they are rebels, and fighting them falls under the heading of reconciliation. If reconciliation cannot be achieved except by fighting them, then fighting them becomes obligatory. Therefore, the subjects must obey the imam if he commands them to go out with him to fight these people.

It remains to be said that there is a third case, for the author mentioned two cases:

The first is that these people cease fighting once the matter has been clarified to them, in which case we cease fighting them.

الأذان في قرية فيها مائة وخمسون نفراً، والإمام باستطاعته أن يبيدهم في ربع ساعة؛ فإنه لا يجوز أن يقتلهم، لكن يقاتلهم بمعنى يلزمهم بالأذان، وإن أدى إلى المقاتلة، ومن هنا يظهر السر في قوله تعالى: ﴿وَلَا تُقَاتِلُوهُمْ عِنْدَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ حَتَّى يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِيهِ فَإِنْ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ﴾ [البقرة: ١٩١]، لم يقل: فقاتلوهم، وهذا يحتمل معنيين: أحدهما: إن قاتلوكم فسيجعل الله لكم التمكين حتى تقتلوهم، فهو كقوله تعالى: ﴿وَمَنْ قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًا فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِ سُلْطَاناً فَلَا يُسْرِفْ فِي الْقَتْلِ﴾ [الإسراء: ٣٣]، فإن هذا فيه إشارة إلى أن من قتل مظلوماً فسوف يظهر الله قاتله ويقتل، ولهذا قال: ﴿فَلَا يُسْرِفْ فِي الْقَتْلِ﴾، فيكون المعنى إن قاتلوكم فستكون الدولة لكم عليهم، فاقتلوهم. الثاني: إن قاتلوكم فاقتلوهم وإن وضعوا السلاح؛ لأنهم بانتهاكهم حرمة المسجد الحرام كانوا مستحقين للقتل. فالمهم أن هناك فرقاً بين القتال وبين القتل، فهؤلاء البغاة إذا لم يرجعوا فإن الإمام يجب عليه أن يقاتلهم، ويجب على رعيته أن يعينوه على قتالهم، فإن قالت الرعية: نحن لا نقاتل قوماً مسلمين، كيف نقاتلهم، وكيف نحمل السلاح عليهم؟! قلنا: لأنهم بغاة، فقتالهم من باب الإصلاح، وإذا لم يمكن الإصلاح إلا بقتالهم وجب، فيجب على الرعية طاعة الإمام إذا أمر بالخروج معه لقتال هؤلاء. بقي أن يقال: هنا حال ثالثة؛ لأن المؤلف ذكر حالين: الأولى: أن يكف هؤلاء عن القتال إذا بُيِّن لهم الأمر فنكف عنهم.