Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (8/510)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

[Surah al-Fath: 16] as meaning “until they embrace Islam,” nor did He say: “Fight them until they embrace Islam.” Rather, He described them as either fighting or embracing Islam. If they are fought, however, the fighting proceeds as Allah commanded, until they pay the jizyah tribute in submission, humbled.

Thus, His words, “You will fight them,” do not preclude fighting until they embrace Islam or pay the jizyah. However, it may be said that His words:

“You will be called to confront a people of great fighting strength” [Surah al-Fath: 16]

form a statement in which the agent is omitted: the one calling them to fight is not specified. The Quran therefore indicates the obligation to obey whoever calls them to fight a people of great fighting strength whom they will fight or who will embrace Islam.

There is no doubt that Abū Bakr called them to fight the apostates, then the Persians and the Byzantines. Likewise, ʿUmar called them to fight the Persians and the Byzantines, and ʿUthmān called them to fight the Berbers and others like them. The verse encompasses all these calls.

Restricting it to those who called them after the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—as asserted (1) by some who cite it as evidence for Abū Bakr’s caliphate—is mistaken. Rather, to say that it encompasses both cases is a permissible interpretation: this may be intended by the verse (2), and the verse may be cited as evidence for it. Hence, it is obligatory to fight the disbelievers alongside every commander who calls for fighting them.

This is the most evident interpretation of the verse: its meaning is that you will be called to fight people of great fighting strength, greater than that of the Arabs, with whom one of two things must occur: either they embrace Islam or they are fought. This contrasts with those whom they were called to confront in the year of al-Hudaybiyyah, whose fighting strength was not as great as that of these peoples. When they were called to confront them, the latter neither embraced Islam nor were fought.

(1) س، ب: kamā qāla (“as stated”). (2) م: yurādu bihi al-āyah (“the verse is meant by it”).

[سُورَةُ الْفَتْحِ: ١٦] إِلَى أَنْ يُسْلِمُوا، وَلَا قَالَ: قَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّى يُسْلِمُوا، بَلْ وَصَفَهُمْ بِأَنَّهُمْ يُقَاتِلُونَ، أَوْ يُسْلِمُونَ، ثُمَّ إِذَا قُوتِلُوا فَإِنَّهُمْ يُقَاتَلُونَ كَمَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ حَتَّى يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَنْ يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ. فَلَيْسَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: {تُقَاتِلُونَهُمْ} مَا يَمْنَعُ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْقِتَالُ إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ وَأَدَاءِ الْجِزْيَةِ، لَكِنْ يُقَالُ قَوْلُهُ: {سَتُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى قَوْمٍ أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ} [سُورَةُ الْفَتْحِ: ١٦] كَلَامٌ حُذِفَ فَاعِلُهُ فَلَمْ يُعَيَّنِ الْفَاعِلُ الدَّاعِي لَهُمْ إِلَى الْقِتَالِ، فَدَلَّ الْقُرْآنُ عَلَى وُجُوبِ الطَّاعَةِ لِكُلِّ مَنْ دَعَاهُمْ إِلَى قِتَالِ قَوْمٍ أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ يُقَاتِلُونَهُمْ، أَوْ يُسْلِمُونَ. وَلَا رَيْبَ أَنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ دَعَاهُمْ إِلَى قِتَالِ الْمُرْتَدِّينَ، ثُمَّ قِتَالِ فَارِسَ وَالرُّومِ، وَكَذَلِكَ عُمَرُ دَعَاهُمْ إِلَى قِتَالِ فَارِسَ وَالرُّومِ، وَعُثْمَانُ دَعَاهُمْ إِلَى قِتَالِ الْبَرْبَرِ وَنَحْوِهِمْ، وَالْآيَةُ تَتَنَاوَلُ هَذَا الدُّعَاءَ كُلَّهُ. أَمَّا تَخْصِيصُهَا بِمَنْ دَعَاهُمْ بَعْدَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَمَا قَالَهُ (١) طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الْمُحْتَجِّينَ بِهَا عَلَى خِلَافَةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ فَخَطَأٌ، بَلْ إِذَا قِيلَ: تَتَنَاوَلُ هَذَا وَهَذَا كَانَ هَذَا مِمَّا يُسَوَّغُ، وَيُمْكِنُ أَنْ يُرَادَ بِالْآيَةِ (٢) وَيُسْتَدَلُّ عَلَيْهِ بِهَا، وَلِهَذَا وَجَبَ قِتَالُ الْكُفَّارِ مَعَ كُلِّ أَمِيرٍ دَعَا إِلَى قِتَالِهِمْ، وَهَذَا أَظْهَرُ الْأَقْوَالِ فِي الْآيَةِ وَهُوَ أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ تُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى قِتَالِ أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الْعَرَبِ لَا بُدَّ فِيهِمْ مِنْ أَحَدِ أَمْرَيْنِ: إِمَّا أَنْ يُسْلِمُوا، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يُقَاتَلُوا بِخِلَافِ مَنْ دُعُوا إِلَيْهِ عَامَ الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ، فَإِنَّ بَأْسَهُمْ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَدِيدًا مِثْلَ هَؤُلَاءِ وَدُعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ فَفِي ذَلِكَ لَمْ يُسْلِمُوا وَلَمْ يُقَاتَلُوا.

(١) س، ب: كَمَا قَالَ. (٢) م: يُرَادُ بِهِ الْآيَةُ.