Qāʿidah fī al-Inghimās fī al-ʿAdū - Ibn Taimiya - (67)

The fighter who confronts the enemy while being almost certain that he will be killed falls into two categories.

118 – The first category is the one who actively goes out in search of the enemy; this is the situation we have just described.

The second category is the one whom the enemy has come to attack, so his fighting is compelled and defensive; this case is even more deserving and more emphatically sanctioned.

119 – Such a person may fight in order to repel harm from himself, his property, his family, or his religion.

120 – The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever is killed defending his property is a martyr; whoever is killed defending his blood is a martyr; and whoever is killed defending his honor is a martyr.”1 Al-Tirmidhī remarked, “His fighting is undertaken to ward off the aggression from himself or from his honor.”2

121 – Even if he is almost sure that he will be killed, as long as the fighting secures the intended objective—or at the very least represents all that he is able to contribute to jihad—it is permissible, just as we mentioned concerning ʿĀṣim ibn Thābit and his companions.3

(1) The first sentence is reported by al-Bukhari, no. 2480, and Muslim, no. 641 (226), on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr. The same wording appears in Ahmad, 1/190; Abu Dawud, no. 4772; and al-Tirmidhi, no. 1421, who graded it hasan sahih (good and sound), narrated from Said ibn Zayd. (2) Al-Tirmidhi, 3/88, records: “Some scholars permit a man to fight in defense of himself and his property.” Ibn al-Mubarak commented: “He may fight for his property even if it is worth only two dirhams.” (3) For the full account, see the earlier discussion on pp. 47–54.

الذي يقاتل العدو مع غلبة ظنه أنه يقتل قسمان ١١٨- وهذا الذي يقاتل العدو مع غلبة ظنه أنه يقتل قسمان: أحدهما: أن يكون هو طالب للعدو. فهذا الذي ذكرناه والثاني: أن يكون العدو قد طلبه، وقتاله قتال اضطرار. فهذا أولى وأوكد. ١١٩- ويكون قتال هذا: إما دفعا عن نفسه وماله وأهله ودينه. ١٢٠- كما قال النبي ﷺ: "من قتل دون ماله فهو شهيد، ومن قتل دون دمه فهو شهيد، ومن قتل دون حرمته فهو شهيد" ١. قال الترمذي: "يكون قتاله دفعا للأمر عن نفسه أو عن حرمته"٢. ١٢١- وإن غلب على ظنه أنه يقتل إذا كان القتال يحصل المقصود وإما فعلا لما يقدر عليه من الجهاد، كما ذكرناه عن عاصم بن ثابت وأصحابه٣.

١ الجملة الأولى عند البخاري (٢٤٨٠) ومسلم (٦٤١) (٢٢٦) من حديث عبد الله بن عمرو ﵄ والحديث بهذا اللفظ أخرجه أحمد (١/١٩٠) وأبو داود (٤٧٧٢) والترمذي (١٤٢١) وقال: حسن صحيح من حديث سعيد بن زيد. ٢ الذي في الترمذي (٣/٨٨) : وقد رخص بعض أهل العلم للرجل: أن يقاتل عن نفسه وماله، قال ابن المبارك: يقاتل عن ماله ولو درهمين. ٣ راجع القصة: فيما تقدم ص (٤٧-٥٤) .