16
The verse itself corroborates this view. Allah commanded him to repudiate every pact except the one concluded for a set term whose partners had fulfilled its requirements—omitting none of the covenantal obligations, violating nothing therein, and lending no aid to an enemy (1).
As for His statement, “And if you fear treachery from any people, then throw their treaty back to them on equal terms” (Q 8:58), that occurs in Surah al-Anfal, which was revealed earlier. The same ruling applies to open-ended treaties: whenever betrayal is feared, the pact must be returned to them openly and fairly (2). It is impermissible to strike them without warning, for they assume themselves to be secure.
(1) Ibn al-Qayyim, Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma, 2/882: “The point is that Allah, exalted be He, divides the polytheists in this surah into three categories. The first are those who hold a time-limited treaty; they continue to honor its terms, have not failed the Muslims in anything they pledged, and have not aided anyone against them. Allah therefore commands that their treaty be respected for as long as they remain in that condition …”
(2) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya, Majmu al-Fatawa, 29/140: “Revoking the treaty is permitted only when clear signs of treachery appear, for that is the harm feared from their side.”
وَالآَيَةُ تَدُلُّ عَلَى هَذَا القَولِ.
فَإِنَّ اللهَ أَمَرَهُ بِنَبْذِ العُهُودِ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ عَهْدٌ إِلَى مُدَّةٍ، ثُمَّ وَفَّى بِمُوجَبِه، فَلَمْ يَتْرُكْ مَا أَوجَبَهُ العَهْدُ، فَلَمْ يَنْقُضْهُ شيئًا وَلَا أَعَانَ عَدُوًّا (١).
وَأَمَّا قَولُهُ: ﴿وَإِمَّا تَخَافَنَّ مِنْ قَومٍ خِيَانَةً فَانْبِذْ إِلَيهِمْ عَلَى سَوَاءٍ﴾. فَتِلْكَ فِي سُورَةِ الأَنْفَالِ، وَهِي مُتَقَدِّمَةٌ، وَنَحْوَ ذَلِكَ فِي العُهُودِ المُطْلَقَةِ مَتَى خَافَ مِنْهُمْ خِيَانَةً، فَإِنَّهُ يَنْبِذ إِلَيهِمْ عَلَى سَوَاءٍ (٢)، وَلَا يَجُوزُ أَخْذُهُمْ بَغْتَةً، فَإِنَّهُمْ يَعْتَقِدُونَ أَنَّهُمْ آمِنُونَ.
(١) قال ابن القيم في أحكام أهل الذمة (٢/ ٨٨٢): (والمقصود: أن الله سبحانه قسّم المشركين في هذه السورة إلى ثلاثة أقسام الأول: أهل عهد مؤقت لهم مدة، وهم مقيمون على الوفاء بعهدهم لم ينقصوا المسلمين شيئًا مما شرطوا لهم، ولم يظاهروا عليهم أحدًا، فأمرهم بأن يوفوا لهم بعهدهم ما داموا كذلك .. الخ)
(٢) قال شيخ الإسلام في الفتاوى (٢٩/ ١٤٠): (فإنما أباح النبذ عند ظهور أمارات الخيانة؛ لأنه المحذور من جهتهم).