1107 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) related: “The Prophet ﷺ said to a man who followed him on the Day of Badr, ‘Turn back, for I will never seek the help of a polytheist.’” Reported by Muslim (1).
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Points derived from the ḥadīth:
1 – The ḥadīth shows that it is not permissible to enlist polytheists in combat. The reason is plain: an unbeliever does not fight out of faith or conviction, so his deception is feared and one cannot be confident about the purity of his intention.
2 – Nevertheless, when there is a genuine need and the likelihood of safety from treachery outweighs the risk, it is permissible to seek his assistance; the Prophet ﷺ accepted the help of Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah on the Day of Ḥunayn.
3 – He ﷺ also accepted the support of the tribe of Khuzaʿah because, even in the pre-Islamic era, they were loyal to the Prophet ﷺ and to his grandfather ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. Thus, whenever need arises and betrayal is not feared, seeking their aid is allowed, reconciling all the proofs. This is the view of Abū Ḥanīfah.
4 – The other three imams, however, hold that it is impermissible, and this was also the position preferred by Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn, based on this ḥadīth and the concern that the unbeliever’s deceit and treachery cannot be trusted.
5 – As for purchasing weapons from them, exchanging military expertise, and similar martial sciences, this should not be a point of dispute among scholars; the Prophet ﷺ borrowed suits of armor from Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah while he was still a disbeliever, and he set the ransom for the captives of Badr as teaching Muslim children to read and write.