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The jurists hold three opinions on the matter:
- Some say that an open-ended treaty is not permissible. This is one of the opinions reported from al-Shāfiʿī and is likewise adopted by a group of Imam Aḥmad’s followers. They argue that the Prophet ﷺ only told the Jews, “We will let you remain for as long as Allah lets you remain” (1) because revelation was still descending at the time.
The jurists of our school and others maintain that a truce (hudna) is valid only when time-limited. His opinion, besides conflicting with the principles of Ahmad, is refuted by the Quran and by the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, for with most of those to whom he granted protection the Prophet did not fix a term. When the treaty was in fact time-bound, he never considered it permissible to break it.
He likewise states in Al-Safadiyya (2/320): “A group of jurists imagined that it is unlawful to conclude a treaty with the unbelievers unless it has a specified term. They then fell into confusion: some said it may be revoked and is therefore not binding; others said it is binding and never lapses. They were similarly perplexed about the Prophet’s public withdrawal from a treaty. The correct view is that a treaty may be concluded either without a term or with one. If it is time-limited, it is binding and may not be broken … but if it is open-ended, it is not binding, because binding contracts are never perpetual, just like partnership (sharika), agency (wakala), and the like.”
(1) Reported by al-Bukhari, no. 2213, and Muslim, no. 1551, from Ibn ʿUmar.
وَهُنَا لِلْفُقَهَاءِ ثَلَاثَةُ أَقْوَالٍ:
قِيلَ: لا يَجُوزُ العَهْدُ المُطْلَقُ، كَمَا يَقُولُهُ الشَّافِعِيُّ فِي قَولٍ، وَطَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ أَحْمَدَ، وَهَؤُلاءِ يَقُولونَ: إِنَّمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ لِلْيَهُودِ: "نُقِرُّكُمْ مَا أَقَرَّكَم اللهُ" (١)؛ لأَنَّ الوَحَيَّ كَانَ يَنْزِلُ.
= الفقهاء من أصحابنا وغيرهم: إن الهدنة لا تصلح إلا مؤقتة. فقوله مع أنه مخالف لأصول أحمد يرده القرآن وترده سنة رسول الله ﷺ في أكثر المعاهدين، فإنه لم يوقت معهم وقتًا، فأما من كان من عهده موقتًا فلم يبح له نقضه)، وقال أيضًا في الصفدية (٢/ ٣٢٠): (وقد ظن طائفة من الفقهاء أنه لا يجوز أن يعاهد الكفار إلا إلى أجل مسمى، ثم اضطربوا، فقال: بعضهم يجوز نقضه ولا يكون لازمًا. وقال بعضهم: بل يكون لازمًا لا ينقضي، واضطربوا في نبذ النبي ﷺ العهد، والصحيح: أنه يجوز العهد مطلقًا ومؤجلًا، فإن كان مؤجلًا كان لازمًا لا يجوز نقضه ... وإن كان مطلقًا لم يكن لازمًا، فإن العقود اللازمة لا تكون مؤبدة، كالشركة والوكالة، وغير ذلك).
(١) أخرجه البخاري (ح/ ٢٢١٣)، ومسلم (ح/ ١٥٥١) عن ابن عن عمر ﵄.