The jurists have differed concerning a resistant group that abandons an established Sunnah, such as the two units of prayer before dawn: may it be fought? There are two views.

As for manifest and widely established obligations and prohibitions, there is consensus that such a group must be fought over them until its members commit to establishing the prescribed prayers (1), paying zakat, fasting the month of Ramadan, making pilgrimage to the House, and abstaining from prohibited acts, such as marrying women forbidden to them (2), consuming foul things, and transgressing against Muslims’ lives and property, among other things.

Fighting such people is obligatory from the outset once the call of the Prophet [أ/ق 53] (peace and blessings be upon him) has reached them concerning the matters for which they are to be fought. If, however, they initiate aggression against the Muslims, fighting them becomes all the more imperative, as we have explained regarding aggressors who resist, such as highway robbers; indeed, this case is even more compelling (3).

Jihad (4), which is required against disbelievers and those who refuse to observe some of the prescriptions of Islam—such as those who withhold zakat, the Kharijites, and the like—is obligatory both offensively and defensively. When it is offensive, it is a communal obligation: if a sufficient number undertake it, the obligation falls from the rest, while those who undertake it possess the greater merit. Allah Most High says:

“Those believers who remain behind—except those with disabilities—are not equal to those who strive in the way of Allah” (5) [al-Nisā: 95].