al-Ash'arī, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about a man who fights out of bravery, another who fights out of partisan zeal, and another who fights for show: ‘Which of these is fighting in Allah’s cause?’ He replied: ‘Whoever fights so that Allah’s word is supreme is fighting in Allah’s cause.’”

The welfare of all the children of Adam, both in this world and in the Hereafter, can only be secured through association, cooperation, and mutual support. They cooperate and support one another in securing benefits, and support one another in warding off harms. Hence the saying: “Man is by nature a social being.”

When people come together, they must undertake certain actions to secure their welfare and avoid others because of the harm they entail. They must obey whoever commands them to pursue those aims and forbids those harmful things. Thus, all the children of Adam must obey someone who issues commands and prohibitions. Those who follow neither revealed scriptures nor any religion obey their kings in whatever they believe will serve their worldly interests, sometimes judging correctly and sometimes incorrectly.

The followers of corrupt religions—among the polytheists and the People of the Book who continue to adhere to their scripture after its alteration, or after its abrogation and alteration—obey in whatever they believe will serve their religious and worldly interests. Among those who are not People of the Book, some believe in recompense after death, while others do not. As for the People of the Book, they all agree that there is recompense after death. Yet all the peoples of the earth agree on recompense in this world, for people have never disagreed about