Is Fighting (Qitāl) Permissible Without a Caliphate? Explanation in Light of Qur’an and Hadith
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil, Issues of Jihād & Leadership, Vol. 1, Page 453
❖ Question
Regarding the Qur’ānic verse:
﴿أَلَمۡ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمۡ كُفُّوٓاْ أَيۡدِيَكُمۡ﴾
(“Have you not seen those to whom it was said: Restrain your hands.” – Al-Nisāʾ: 77)
The following questions are asked:
① Does this verse command that until an Islamic state is established, there should be no fighting in the path of Allah? Meaning, is fighting conditional upon the presence of a Caliph or Imām, and only under his leadership is jihād permissible?
② If a Caliphate does not exist on earth, should Muslims only focus on daʿwah and tablīgh (calling to Islam), or when necessary should they also engage in fighting?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
① The verse you have cited:
﴿أَلَمۡ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمۡ كُفُّوٓاْ أَيۡدِيَكُمۡ﴾ (Al-Nisāʾ: 77)
(“Have you not seen those to whom it was said: Restrain your hands.”)
You asked whether this verse means that until an Islamic state is established, fighting in the path of Allah is prohibited.
The clear answer is: No.
This verse does not give such a ruling, nor does it make fighting conditional upon the existence of a Caliphate or an Imām. Neither its context nor its background suggests that fighting is only permissible under the leadership of a Caliph or Imām.
② The Qur’ānic verses and aḥādīth concerning daʿwah, jihād, and qitāl are general in nature. They apply both when there is a Caliphate and when there is none.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«مَنْ رَأی مِنْکُمْ مُنْکَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِه فَإِنْ لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِه»
(Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; and if he cannot, then with his heart. – Muslim, Mishkāt, Bāb al-Amr bil-Maʿrūf)
And Allah Almighty has said:
﴿يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ قَٰتِلُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ يَلُونَكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡكُفَّارِ﴾ (Al-Tawbah: 123)
(“O you who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you.”)
❖ Conclusion
Therefore, even if there is no established Caliphate, along with daʿwah and tablīgh, the command for jihād and qitāl remains in effect as required by the situation.
هٰذَا مَا عِنْدِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
