1622 - Issue; He said: (And one may fight (1) alongside every righteous or wicked person).
This means alongside every imam. Abu Abd Allah was asked about a man who says: "I will not engage in combat, and the son of al-Abbas takes him, [saying] that the spoils are merely being reserved for them!" He replied: "Subhan Allah, these are evil people; these are the 'sitters' (qai'dah) who discourage others (2) and are ignorant. One might say to them: Consider, if all people sat as you have sat, who would be fighting? Would Islam not have vanished? What would the Romans have done?" Abu Dawud (3) narrated with his isnad from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Jihad is an obligation upon you alongside every commander, whether he is righteous or wicked." And with his isnad (4) from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Three things are from the foundation of faith: Withholding from [judging] whoever says 'There is no god but Allah'—we do not declare him a disbeliever for a sin, nor do we expel him from Islam for a deed; Jihad continues from the time Allah sent me until the last of my ummah fights the Dajjal; and faith in divine decree (qadar)" (5). This is because abandoning Jihad with the wicked one leads to the cessation of Jihad, the triumph of the disbelievers over the Muslims and their annihilation, and the prominence of the word of disbelief (6), all of which involve great corruption. Allah the Exalted said: {And were it not for Allah checking [the aggression of] one people by another, the earth would have been corrupted} (7).
Section: Ahmad said: It does not please me for one to go out with an imam or a commander if he is known for defeat and wasting the Muslims. One should only fight alongside someone who has compassion and caution for the Muslims. However, if the commander is known for drinking alcohol and embezzling (ghulul), one may still fight alongside him, as that is [a sin] regarding his own soul. It is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Verily, Allah strengthens this religion even with a wicked man" (8).
(1) In [A]: "And one fights". (2) In the original and [A]: "Those who discourage others" (muthabbitin). (3) In [the chapter on]: Regarding combat alongside wicked imams, from the Book of Jihad. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/17, 18. (4) In [the chapter on]: Regarding combat alongside wicked imams, from the Book of Jihad. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/17. (5) In the original, there is an addition: "Narrated by Abu Dawud", and it was mentioned previously in his statement: "And with his isnad". (6) In [A]: "The disbelievers". (7) Surah al-Baqarah 251. (8) Recorded by al-Bukhari in: The chapter that Allah strengthens the religion with the wicked man, from the Book of Jihad; in: The chapter on the expedition of Khaybar, from the Book of Military Expeditions (Maghazi); and in: The chapter on acting according to final outcomes, from the Book of Decree (Qadar). Sahih al-Bukhari 4/88, 5/169, 8/155. And [also by] Muslim in: The chapter on the severe prohibition of a human killing himself, from the Book of Faith. Sahih Muslim 1/105, 106. And al-Darimi in: The chapter that Allah strengthens this religion with the wicked man, from the Book of Biography (Siyar). Sunan al-Darimi 2/241. And Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 2/309.
