—exalted is He—and that of His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, concerning people such as these. Allah facilitates all good through His power and mercy. He has power over all things; He is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.

He replied:

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Yes, fighting these people is obligatory according to the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and the agreement of the imams of the Muslims.

This rests upon two foundations: first, knowledge of their circumstances; and second, knowledge of Allah’s ruling concerning people such as these. As for the first, everyone who has dealt with these people directly knows their circumstances. Those who have not dealt with them directly know this through the mass-transmitted reports and the accounts of truthful people that have reached them.

We shall describe the main aspects of their conduct after explaining the other foundation, knowledge of which belongs specifically to scholars of Islamic law. We therefore say:

Any group that departs from any of Islam’s manifest ordinances established through mass transmission must be fought, by agreement of the imams of the Muslims, even if it pronounces the two testimonies of faith. Thus, if they affirm the two testimonies but refuse to perform the five daily prayers, they must be fought until they pray. If they refuse to pay zakat, they must be fought until they pay it. The same applies if they refuse to fast the month of Ramadan or perform pilgrimage to the Ancient House.

The same applies if they refuse to abide by the prohibition of indecencies, unlawful sexual intercourse, gambling, intoxicants, or other things forbidden by Islamic law. Likewise, if they refuse to adjudicate matters involving bloodshed, property, honour, sexual relations, and the like according to the rulings of the Quran and Sunnah. Likewise,