Al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya - Ibn Taimiya - (الكتاب/159)

Al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyyaIbn Taimiya

their lives are greater in rank before Allah. It is they who are triumphant. (20) Their Lord gives them glad tidings of mercy from Him, His good pleasure, and gardens in which they shall enjoy lasting bliss. (21) They will abide there forever. Indeed, with Allah is a tremendous reward.” [al-Tawba: 19–22]

And His words:

“Believers, whoever among you turns back from his faith, Allah will bring forth a people whom He loves and who love Him, humble toward the believers and mighty against the disbelievers. They wage jihad in the cause of Allah and fear no critic’s censure. That is Allah’s grace, which He grants to whomever He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing (1).” [al-Mā'ida: 54]

And He, exalted is He, said:

“That is because neither thirst, fatigue, nor hunger afflicts them in the cause of Allah; nor do they tread any ground that enrages the disbelievers or inflict any injury upon an enemy, without a righteous deed being recorded to their credit thereby. Indeed, Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost. (120) Nor do they spend any sum, small or large, or cross any valley, without it being recorded to their credit, so that Allah may reward them according to the best of what they used to do.” [al-Tawba: 120–121]

Thus He mentioned both what results from (2) their deeds and the deeds they perform directly.

The command (3) to wage jihad and the mention of its virtues in the Book and the Sunnah are too extensive to enumerate. For this reason, jihad is the best voluntary act a person can undertake. By scholarly consensus, it is superior to Hajj and Umrah, and to voluntary prayer and fasting, as indicated by the Book and the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ even said: “The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and its pinnacle is jihad.” (4)

(1) The original and manuscripts B, Y, and Zā’ read: “And Allah is the Possessor of tremendous bounty.” This is a slip of the pen. (2) This is the reading in the original and manuscripts Zāy and L. Manuscript Y reads: “what their deeds produce”; B: “what among their deeds confirms it”; and F and Zā’: “what it produces from their deeds.” (3) The original reads: “with the command.” (4) Its source was cited above (p. 98).

وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةً عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ (٢٠) يُبَشِّرُهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنْهُ وَرِضْوَانٍ وَجَنَّاتٍ لَهُمْ فِيهَا نَعِيمٌ مُقِيمٌ (٢١) خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ﴾ [التوبة: ١٩ - ٢٢]، وقوله: ﴿آمَنُوا مَنْ يَرْتَدَّ مِنْكُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ (١)﴾ [المائدة: ٥٤]، وقال ﷾: ﴿ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُصِيبُهُمْ ظَمَأٌ وَلَا نَصَبٌ وَلَا مَخْمَصَةٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَطَئُونَ مَوْطِئًا يَغِيظُ الْكُفَّارَ وَلَا يَنَالُونَ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ نَيْلًا إِلَّا كُتِبَ لَهُمْ بِهِ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ (١٢٠) وَلَا يُنْفِقُونَ نَفَقَةً صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً وَلَا يَقْطَعُونَ وَادِيًا إِلَّا كُتِبَ لَهُمْ لِيَجْزِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾ [التوبة: ١٢٠ - ١٢١]. فذكر ما يولده عن (٢) أعمالهم وما يباشرونه من الأعمال. والأمرُ (٣) بالجهاد وذِكر فضائله في الكتاب والسنة أكثر من أن تُحْصر؛ ولهذا كان أفضلَ ما تطوع به الإنسان، وكان باتفاق العلماء أفضل من الحجِّ والعمرة، ومن الصلاة التطوع والصوم التطوع، كما دل عليه الكتاب والسنة، حتى قال النبي ﷺ: «رأسُ الأمر الإسلام، وعمودُه الصلاة، وذِروةُ سنامه الجهاد» (٤).

(١) وقع في الأصل و (ب، ي، ظ): «والله ذو الفضل العظيم» وهو سبق قلم. (٢) كذا في الأصل و (ز، ل)، و (ي): «تولده أعمالهم»، و (ب): «يؤكده من»، و (ف، ظ): «يولده من». (٣) الأصل: «بالأمر». (٤) تقدم تخريجه (ص ٩٨).