it is established that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded that they be fought and foretold that his community would fight them. It is well known that fighting them effectively requires Persian bows. Were they fought with Arab bows resembling cotton-carding bows, these would be of no avail; rather, they would overpower the Muslims through the strength of their archery. They must therefore be fought with weapons that will overcome them.

Some Muslims said to ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, “When we see the enemy wearing silk, we feel intimidated.” He replied, “Then you too should wear what they wear.” Furthermore, “the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed his Companions during the compensatory ʿumrah to walk briskly and uncover their right shoulders,” to show the polytheists their strength, even if this had not previously been prescribed. Thus, for the sake of jihad, he did what would not otherwise have been prescribed.

Likewise, curing a possessed person and driving the jinn away from him may require beating. He may be beaten very many times, but the blows fall only upon the jinn, and the possessed person does not feel them. When he regains consciousness, he reports that he felt none of it, and it leaves no effect on his body. He may have been struck on his legs with a stout stick some three hundred or four hundred times, or more or fewer—blows that would have killed the human being had they fallen upon him. Instead, they fall upon the jinn, who cries out, screams, and speaks to those present about various matters. We ourselves have done this and tried it many times, in the presence of large numbers of people; describing these occasions would take a long time.