Question:
Is it permissible to seek help from disbelievers and polytheists in the battlefield of Jihad? Some people say that in the Battle of Badr, a polytheist came to help you, and you said: ارجع فإنا لا نستعين بمشرك “Go back, I will never seek help from a polytheist.” Please clarify according to the Book and Sunnah.
Answer:
Scholars and hadith experts, may Allah have mercy on them, agree that when Muslims are not satisfied with the disbelievers and fear that these people will disclose our secrets to our enemies and weaken our strength, then in such a situation, assistance should not be sought from disbelievers and polytheists, because in such a state, seeking help would be contrary to the intended purpose. Such disbelievers, who cannot be trusted, especially in preparing armies, digging trenches and tunnels, building forts and bunkers, smoothing roads, and repairing war equipment, cooperating with them is tantamount to inviting death. However, if a disbeliever or polytheist is trustworthy, is an ally in war, and there is a need for their help against the enemies of the religion, then according to the preferred opinion, it is correct to cooperate with them at that time. This cooperation may be in the form of war equipment, supplies, manpower, or guides for making roads; there is no harm in this. Those who study the blessed life of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم know that Allah Almighty helped him on many occasions through disbelievers, some of which are as follows:
① When the Quraysh saw the increasing influence of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم and felt that people were joining his circle day by day, they boycotted him, and he was forced to remain confined in the valley of Abu Talib. At that time, Banu Hashim and Banu Abdul Muttalib supported him and stayed with him in the valley of Abu Talib.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not say at that time, “O Banu Hashim and Banu Abdul Muttalib! Go away, I do not need your support and help.”
② Then, when the siege of the valley of Abu Talib ended, and Abu Talib and your wife Khadijah al-Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her) passed away, the foolish people of that nation intensified their afflictions and calamities upon the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, causing him hardships and suffering. He then went to the disbelievers of Ta’if, hoping they would support and protect him.
③ When no help was received there and he returned sorrowfully to Mecca and stayed a few days in Nakhlah, Zaid bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: “How will you enter among the disbelievers of Mecca? They have expelled you.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم replied: “O Zaid! The conditions you see, Allah will make a way out of them, support His religion, and grant victory to His Prophet.” Then, when he approached Mecca, he sent a message to Mut’im bin Adi, a disbeliever from the Banu Khuz’a tribe, asking: “May I enter your neighborhood?” He gave a positive answer, called his sons and people, and said: “Arm yourselves and gather near the corners of the Kaaba.” He himself said: “I have granted refuge to Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم!” The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم entered Mecca with Zaid bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him), and when they reached near the Masjid al-Haram, Mut’im bin Adi stood on his mount and loudly said: “O people of Quraysh! I have granted refuge to Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), so no one among you should harm him.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم approached the corner, touched it, prayed two rak’ahs, and under the protection of Mut’im and his sons’ weapons, entered his house.
Therefore, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said about the prisoners of Badr: “If Mut’im were alive and he had told me about these foul-smelling people, I would have released them on his word.”
④ When the Quraysh severely persecuted the companions of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, he ordered them to migrate to Abyssinia so that they might receive support from that government; at that time, the Negus had not yet embraced Islam.
⑤ Similarly, your polytheist uncle Abu Talib, who did not recite the pure declaration of faith until his death, supported and protected you.
⑥ Before the migration to Medina, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) took refuge with the disbeliever Ibn al-Dughna during the days of hardship.
⑦ When you migrated from Mecca to Medina, Abdullah bin Uraiqit al-Daili, who was a polytheist but an expert in routes, was hired for payment to guide the way.
This also proves that when a polytheist is trustworthy and will not deceive, cooperation with him is permissible, and he can be made a guide. The disbelievers had planned to kill the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. If they had met him on the way and helped him, would the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم have said to them: “You are polytheists; do not help us”?
⑧ Similarly, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم took help from Suraqa bin Malik during the migration to Medina; Suraqa was also a polytheist at that time. He embraced Islam on the day of the conquest of Mecca.
You gave Suraqa a safe-conduct letter; he told everyone he met on the way that they were safe and not present, and he returned anyone he encountered.
These are some incidents that show that during the Meccan period, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم cooperated with disbelievers as needed. From Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), it is known through hadiths in Muslim
and Musnad al-Darimi
that the Prophet said to a polytheist who came to the battlefield of Badr: “Go back! We will never seek help from a polytheist.” This might suggest that seeking help from polytheists in Medina was impermissible. We mention the evidences that indicate cooperation with polytheists and disbelievers as needed in the Medinan period:
① To go to the Battle of Hunayn, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم borrowed money from Safwan bin Umayyah.
The Battle of Hunayn took place in 8 AH after the conquest of Mecca; Safwan had not yet become Muslim and participated in the Battle of Ta’if as a disbeliever.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made a treaty with the disbelievers of Quraysh called the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. One of the conditions of this treaty was that whoever wanted to ally with Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) could do so, and whoever wanted to ally with Quraysh could also do so. Banu Khuz’a allied with the Muslims, and Banu Bakr allied with Quraysh.
This treaty was between the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the polytheists of Mecca. The polytheists of Banu Khuz’a chose to ally with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, which meant they would assist Muslims in battle, and when their enemies attacked Banu Khuz’a, Muslims would help them. Then Banu Bakr attacked Banu Khuz’a with the support of Quraysh, so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم launched a campaign against them in retaliation, which eventually led to the conquest of Mecca. For details, see Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum on the Battle of the Conquest of Mecca
. This incident also shows that as needed, agreements can be made with disbelievers to fight against common enemies.
③ Mawlana Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “Among the martyrs at the Battle of Uhud was a Jew from Banu Tha’labah. When the clouds of war gathered, he said to his people: ‘O Jews! By God, you know that helping Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is obligatory upon you.’ The Jews replied: ‘But today is the Sabbath.’ He said: ‘There is no Sabbath for you.’ Then he took his sword, gathered his equipment, and said: ‘If I am killed, my wealth is for Muhammad; he may do with it as he wishes.’ Then he went to the battlefield and was killed fighting. The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: ‘Mukhariq was the best Jew.'”
After his death, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم took possession of his wealth, and the public charity of Medina was distributed from that wealth.
This also shows that if a disbeliever is good for Muslims, he can be involved in battle as needed, and his wealth and property can be used for Islam.
④ It is narrated from Dhi Makhmar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say: “You will make a peace treaty with the Romans, then you and they will fight a common enemy, and you will be victorious and safely obtain the spoils of war. Then you will return until you reach the pasture with the blue color, where a Christian will raise the cross and say: ‘The cross has prevailed.’ Then a Muslim will angrily break it. At that time, the Christians of Rome will betray, break the treaty, gather for war, and come under 80 banners, each with ten thousand men, and Allah will honor the Muslim group with martyrdom.”
This authentic hadith also shows that peace treaties can be made with polytheists and disbelievers to fight a common enemy.
⑤ Allah Almighty, whenever He wills, supports His religion through a sinful, wicked Christian disbeliever, as in Sahih Bukhari
, where the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said about a man: “He is a denizen of Hell.” Then during the battle, he fought fiercely and was wounded. It was said to the Prophet: “O Messenger of Allah! The one you said was a denizen of Hell fought fiercely and died.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then said: “He went to Hell.” Some people began to doubt, saying: “He has not died yet; he is severely wounded.” Eventually, at night, he could not bear his wounds and killed himself. When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was informed, he said: الله أكبر أشهد أني عبد الله ورسوله “Allah is the Greatest! I bear witness that I am the servant of Allah and His Messenger.” Then he ordered Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) to announce among the people: “No one except a Muslim will enter Paradise, and indeed Allah supports this religion even through wicked people.” Several hadiths with this meaning are found in Majma’ al-Zawa’id
.
⑥ Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If I had not heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say: ‘Indeed, Allah will support this religion on the banks of the Euphrates through the Christians of the Rabi’ah tribe,’ I would not have left any Bedouin alive; they would either have become Muslim or I would have killed them.”
From the above evidences, it becomes clear that if a Muslim needs help from a disbeliever in necessity, help can be taken. Imam Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) also adopted almost the same position in
, and Allama Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) considered it sound in
.
. Imam Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
وقال الشافعي وآخرون إن كان الكافر حسن الر أى فى المسلمين و دعت الحاجة إلى الاستعانة به استعين به وإلا فيكره و حمل الحديثين على هذين الحاليي وإذا حضر الكافر بالإذن رضخ له ولا يسهم له، هذا مذهب مالك والشافعي وأبي حنيفة والحمهور
“Imam Shafi’i and other jurists and hadith scholars have said that if a disbeliever has a good opinion about Muslims and there is a need for his help, then help should be taken from him; otherwise, it is disliked. Both types of hadiths are applied to these situations. When a disbeliever is present in the battlefield with permission, he will be given some share from the spoils of war. His share will not be formally deducted. This is the doctrine of Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, Imam Abu Hanifa, and the majority of hadith scholars.”
