Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (34/241)

Chapter: The Prescribed Punishment for Highway Robbers

Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah sanctify his soul—was asked:

Some people waylay Muslims, kill anyone who resists their attempts to take his property, violate Muslim women, and torture every Muslim they capture, male or female, until they disclose the whereabouts of some Muslim property. News of them reached the imam, and the ruler ordered some men to go and prevent them from killing Muslims and taking their property. They then rose against him, addressed those dispatched against them, and refused to obey the ruler. Is it lawful to fight them? If the ruler seizes some of their property and sells it to Muslims, is anyone permitted to buy it?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah. Yes, fighting these people is lawful; indeed, it is obligatory. If the ruler takes from their property an amount corresponding to what they took from the Muslims’ property, and does not know who is entitled to it, it is permissible to purchase it from him. If they have taken some of the Muslims’ property, the jurists differ concerning the seizure of their property. If the ruler follows either of the two opinions as his course of action, he is permitted to do so.

بَابُ حَدِّ قُطَّاعِ الطَّرِيقِ وَسُئِلَ شَيْخُ الْإِسْلَامِ - قَدَّسَ اللَّهُ رُوحَهُ -: عَنْ أَقْوَامٍ يَقْطَعُونَ الطَّرِيقَ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَيَقْتُلُونَ مَنْ يُمَانَعُهُمْ عَنْ مَالِهِ وَيَفْجُرُونَ بِحَرِيمِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَيُعَذِّبُونَ كُلَّ مَنْ يَمْسِكُونَهُ مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى حَتَّى يَدُلَّهُمْ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْ أَمْوَالِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ؛ ثُمَّ الْإِمَامُ بَلَغَهُ خَبَرُهُمْ؛ فَأَمَرَ السُّلْطَانُ بَعْضَ النَّاسِ أَنْ يَرُوحَ إلَيْهِمْ وَيَمْنَعَهُمْ مِنْ قَتْلِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَأَخْذِ أَمْوَالِهِمْ؛ فَخَرَجُوا عَلَيْهِ وَقَالُوا الْمُسَيَّرِينَ إلَيْهِمْ؛ وَامْتَنَعُوا مِنْ طَاعَةِ السُّلْطَانِ فَهَلْ يَحِلُّ قِتَالُهُمْ أَمْ لَا؟ وَهَلْ إذَا أَخَذَ السُّلْطَانُ مِنْ مَالِهِمْ شَيْئًا وَبَاعَهُ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَحِلُّ لِأَحَدِ أَنْ يَشْتَرِيَهُ؟ فَأَجَابَ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، نَعَمْ يَحِلُّ قِتَالُ هَؤُلَاءِ بَلْ يَجِبُ؛ وَإِذَا أَخَذَ السُّلْطَانُ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ بِإِزَاءِ مَا أَخَذُوهُ مِنْ أَمْوَالِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَلَمْ يَعْرِفْ مُسْتَحِقَّهُ جَازَ الشِّرَاءُ مِنْهُ وَإِنْ كَانُوا أَخَذُوا شَيْئًا مِنْ أَمْوَالِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَفِي أَخْذِ أَمْوَالِهِمْ خِلَافٌ بَيْنَ الْفُقَهَاءِ. وَإِذَا قَلَّدَ السُّلْطَانُ أَحَدَ الْقَوْلَيْنِ بِطَرِيقَةِ سَاغَ لَهُ ذَلِكَ.