Haqiqat al-Jihad fi Sabil Allah wa-Muharramat al-Khuruj 'ala Hakim al-Muslimin
- Author died
- 1439 AH
- Editions
- Maṭābi‘ al-Rushd
Haqiqat al-Jihad fi Sabil Allah wa-Muharramat al-Khuruj 'ala Hakim al-Muslimin (The Reality of Jihad in the Cause of Allah and the Prohibition of Rebelling against the Muslim Ruler) is a treatise by Abu Bakr al-Jazairi (d. 1439 AH / 2018 CE) examining the legitimate scope and conditions of jihad while condemning insurgent rebellion (khuruj) and takfir .
Structure and Scope
The treatise comprises an introduction, four thematic chapters, and a conclusion :
- Introduction: Opens with Quranic verses and prophetic traditions affirming the obligation and spiritual virtues of striving in God's cause .
- Chapter One (Fi man Yujahad fi Sabil Allah): Details the four categories of adversaries against whom jihad is waged:
- The soul (al-nafs): Striving to learn religious doctrines, acts of worship, rulings, and ethics, and restraining oneself from vain desires and sinful inclinations; this is characterized as the greatest jihad (al-jihad al-akbar) .
- Satan (al-shaytan): Resisting demonic whisperings and temptations through obedience to divine commands and seeking refuge in God .
- Transgressors (al-fussaq): Rectifying persistent open sinners through admonition, physical prevention if possible, or inward denunciation .
- Disbelievers and combatants (al-kuffar wa-l-muharibun): Striving against them using one's hands, wealth, tongue, and heart .
- Chapter Two (Kayfa Nad'u wa-Nuqatil): Explains the legitimate protocol and rules of engagement for armed military combat .
- Chapter Three (Fi Hurmat al-Khuruj 'an al-Hakim): Discusses the prohibition of rebelling against Muslim rulers .
- Chapter Four (Fi Bayan al-Badil 'an Jama'at al-Takfir): Outlines a grassroots educational, social, and economic reform program as the constructive alternative to extremist groups .
- Conclusion: Calls on scholars and Muslims to adopt this reformative approach .
Conditions and Rules of Armed Combat
The work stipulates two essential pillars without which military combat against hostile disbelievers is deemed null and invalid (batil):
- Sincere intention (al-niyyah al-sadiqah) solely to obey God and attain His reward, free from desire for fame, status, or material gain .
- Operating strictly under the leadership and banner of the recognized Muslim ruler (imam al-muslimin)—or his designated commanders—to whom the community has pledged allegiance through the electors (ahl al-hall wa-l-'aqd) .
In the second chapter, the author sets out the standard procedure for an offensive expedition led by the ruler against an adjacent hostile state with which no peace treaty exists: emissaries must first offer the opposing leadership three successive options—embracing Islam, agreeing to pay annual tribute (jizyah) under Muslim protection, or engaging in armed confrontation .
Prohibition of Rebellion and Takfir
The treatise argues that armed rebellion against a Muslim ruler is strictly prohibited by the Quran, the prophetic Sunnah, and scholarly consensus (ijma'), citing scriptural commands to preserve communal unity and hadiths commanding patience and prohibiting the renunciation of allegiance .
The author condemns extremist factions operating in the Arab lands and Saudi Arabia that declare rulers, scholars, and ordinary Muslims to be apostates (takfir) and carry out bombings, assassinations, and violent acts . He describes these groups as deviant and destructive to Islamic reform, stating that aiding or endorsing them—financially or verbally—is unlawful .
Proposed Reform Program
In the final chapter, the work sets forth a community-based alternative (al-badil) to violent insurgencies, structured around four primary mechanisms :
- Nightly mosque lessons: Local community members gather with their families at the neighborhood mosque after the sunset prayer (Maghrib) to learn and memorize one Quranic verse and one prophetic hadith each evening under the instruction of a qualified scholar .
- Mosque reform committees: Forming a local administrative committee in every congregational mosque—consisting of the imam, the instructor, the muezzin, the local elder or mayor, and righteous residents—to oversee community affairs .
- Welfare and private counsel: Managing central charity funds from obligatory alms (zakat), voluntary donations (sadaqat), and expiations (kaffarat) to eliminate local poverty, while privately advising and rectifying individuals who deviate before referring uncooperative cases to state authorities .
- Cooperative community funds: Establishing an interest-free cooperative fund (sanduq ta'awuni) within the mosque, where residents pool surplus financial resources for productive local investments (such as trade, agriculture, and manufacturing) and disburse interest-free loans, thus offering an alternative to usurious banking systems .
The author notes that within Saudi Arabia and similar states, such grassroots efforts must be coordinated directly with official governmental and charitable institutions .
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