“RULES OF WAR”

Patriot shishaniyyah

t.me/qawdicar

For a long time, an inaccurate portrayal has been circulating on the internet, frequently used to
depict Islam as a religion of "peace" and Jihad as something "cute" and "harmless."Jihad al-qital is
not meant to be a harmless war against disbelievers. On the contrary, Jihad is waged to strike terror
into the hearts of the kuffar; it's to instill fear in them, and we have been ordered to terrorize them
with whatever power we are capable of.
Allah ‫ عز وج ل‬says in the Qur’an:

‫َو َأ ِع ُّد و۟ا َلُه م َّم ا ٱْس َتَط ْع ُت م ِّم ُق َّو ٍۢة َو ِم ِّر َباِط ٱْلَخ ْيِل ُتْر ِه ُب وَن ِب ۦِه َع ُد َّو ٱلَّل ِه َو َع ُد َّو ُك ْم َو َء اَخ ِر ي ِم ُد وِنِه ْم اَل َتْع َل ُم وَنُه ُم ٱلَّل ُه َيْع َل ُم ُه ْم ۚ َو َم ا‬
‫َن ن‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ن‬
‫و‬ ‫َل‬ ‫اَل‬ ‫َأ‬ ‫ُك‬ ‫ِإَل‬ ‫َّف‬ ‫ِه‬ ‫َّل‬‫ل‬‫ٱ‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ِب‬ ‫ى‬ ‫ِف‬ ‫َش‬ ‫ِم‬ ‫۟ا‬‫و‬ ‫ِف‬
‫ْي ْم َو نُت ْم ُتْظ ُم َن‬ ‫ُيَو‬ ‫ْى ٍۢء َس ِل‬
‫ن‬
‫ُتن ُق‬

"And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may
terrorize the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but]
whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the way of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will
not be wronged."

[Al-Anfal:60]

‫ِإْذ ُيوِح ى َر ُّبَك ِإَلى ٱْلَم َل ٰٓـِئَك ِة َأ ِّن ى َم َع ُك ْم َف َثِّبُت و۟ا ٱَّلِذ ي َء اَم ُن و۟ا ۚ َس ُأ ْلِق ى ِف ى ُق ُل وِب ٱَّلِذ ي َك َف ُر و۟ا ٱلُّر ْع َب َف ٱ ْض ِر ُبو۟ا َف ْو َق ٱَأْلْع َناِق َو ٱْض ِر ُبو۟ا‬
‫َن‬ ‫َن‬
‫ا‬ ‫َّلُك‬ ‫ِم‬
‫َبَن ٍۢن‬ ‫ْنُه ْم‬

“[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have
believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and
strike from them every fingertip."

[Al-Anfal:12]

‫َق ٰـِتُل وُه ْم ُيَع ِّذ ْبُه ُم ٱلَّل ُه ِبَأ ْيِد يُك ْم َو ُيْخ ِز ِه ْم َو َينُص ُك ْم َع َل ِه ْم َو َيْش ِف ُص ُد وَر َق ْو ٍۢم ُّم ْؤ ِم ِني‬
‫َن‬ ‫ْي‬ ‫ْر‬

“˹So˺ fight them and Allah will punish them at your hands, put them to shame, help you overcome them,
and soothe the hearts of the believers—”

[At-Tawbah:14]

‫َف ِإَذ ا ٱنَس َل َخ ٱَأْلْش ُه ُر ٱْلُح ُر ُم َف ٱ ْق ُت ُل و۟ا ٱْلُم ْش ِرِك ي َح ْيُث َو َج دُّتُم وُه ْم َو ُخ ُذ وُه ْم َو ٱْح ُص ُر وُه ْم َو ٱْق ُع ُد و۟ا َلُه ْم َّلُك َم ْر َص ٍۢد ۚ َف ِإ ن َتاُبو۟ا َو َأ َق اُم و۟ا‬
‫َن‬
‫ي‬ ‫ِح‬ ‫ٌۭر‬ ‫َّل‬ ‫ِإ‬ ‫َل‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ِب‬ ‫۟ا‬‫و‬ ‫ُّل‬
‫ٱلَّص َل ٰو َة َو َء َتُو َّز َك ٰو َة َخ َس ُه ْم َّن َه َغ ُف َّر ٌۭم‬
‫و‬ ‫ل‬‫ٱ‬ ۚ ‫َف‬ ‫ل‬‫ٱ‬ ‫۟ا‬ ‫ا‬

“And when the inviolable months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and
capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should
repent, establish prayer, and give zakāh, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and
Merciful.”

[At-Tawbah:5]

And in a sahih Hadith, reported by Abu huraira, The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said:
 “I have been helped by terror (in the heart of the enemy) ; I have been given words which are concise
but comprehensive in meaning; and while I was asleep I was brought the keys of the treasures of the
earth which were placed in my hand.”

[Sahih Muslim 523]

We do not reject the concept of there actually being rules in Islamic warfare. However, today we
intend to focus on debunking the misleading picture that has been circulating. InshaAllah, we will
provide scholarly opinions and evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. We have also prepared
evidence regarding the "rules" depicted in the picture, showing certain occasions where these "rules"
can be broken.

May Allah keep our intentions sincere and pure. Ameen.

1.”Don’t cut a tree”

Cutting down trees and destroying buildings is permissible according to the shari’ah.

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬burned the palm trees of Banu'n-Nadir, Khaybar, and at-Ta'if, and bombarded at-
Ta'if with large catapults.

Imam Ash-Shafi'i said:

"There is nothing wrong with cutting down fruitful trees and destroying homes, and burning them in the
lands of the enemy. There is also nothing wrong with burning what is seized from the enemy, such as
possessions and food that do not contain life, because the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬burned the palm trees
of Banu'n-Nadir, Khaybar, and at-Ta'if. And Allah revealed regarding Banu'n-Nadir: (Whatever you
have cut down of the palm trees or left standing on their trunks, it was by permission of Allah and so
He would disgrace the defiantly disobedient.) [Al-Hashr 59:5]"

[al-'Umm (2/114)]

2.“Don’t kill a child”

Although we agree on this, there’s certain occasions where it becomes lawful to kill a child such as
when they engages in warfare.

These exceptions are:

- If they engage in combat, it's permissible to kill them during the fight if they haven't been
subdued. It's also allowed to execute them after capture, according to the majority opinion.

- Indiscriminate warfare methods or weapons make casualties excusable. This includes tactics like
night raids, arrow showers, catapult bombardments, and sieges cutting off food and water.

- Those contributing to the war effort in non-combat roles, such as leaders or advisors, are also
subject to permissible action.

In he Book of Jihad and Expeditions, Chapter: Permissibility of killing women and children in
night raids, so long as it is not done deliberately.

It is reported on the authority of Sa'b b. Jaththama that the Prophet of Allah ‫ﷺ‬, when asked about
the women and children of the polytheists being killed during the night raid, said:

“They are from them.”

[Sahih Muslim 1745]

3.“Don’t kill old people”

Imam Ash-Shafi'i, in one of his opinions, and Ibn Mundhir stated:

"It is permissible to kill elderly men," based on the Prophet's saying: "Kill the elderly of the
polytheists and spare their young ones."

This was narrated by Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhi, who commented: "This Hadith is good and
authentic." Additionally, because Allah Almighty said: "Kill the polytheists" [Quran 9:5], and this
is a general command encompassing elderly men.

Ibn Mundhir remarked:

"I do not know of any evidence to exempt elderly men from the general command of killing
polytheists." Also, since they are disbelievers and their lives hold no benefit, they are to be killed like
young men.
 [Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudamah]

4.“Don’t destroy a temple or a church”

Temples and churches (i.e. buildings of idolatry) may even be demolished outside of war let alone
during war, according to the shari’ah.

With the exception: when Muslims take over a land of Christians based on a treaty (not through
warfare) and the Christians stipulate that they can keep their churches.

Abu Bakr at-Tartushi al-Maliki said:

"Umar ibn al- Khattab ordered the demolition of all churches that did not exist before Islam, and he
prohibited the construction of new churches. He also ordered that no cross should be visible outside the
church, except that it would be broken over the head of the one carrying it. [...] And Umar ibn Abd al-
Aziz was stricter in this matter: he ordered that no old or new church should remain in the Islamic state.
This is also what al- Hasan al-Basri said: 'The Sunnah is that the churches in the regions should be
demolished, whether they are old or new churches, and that Ahl adh-Dhimmah are prohibited from
rebuilding the destroyed churches.'"

[ Siraj al-Muluk (383)]

5.“Don’t destroy a building”

Refer back to point 1.

6.“Don’t kill those who surrounded”

Any man capable of fighting may be killed according to the shari’ah, even if he does not actually
fight, let alone if he is someone who fights and then runs away. This is by consensus.

Ibn Rushd said:

"It is permissible to kill male, adult Mushrikun who are capable of fighting. There is no difference of
opinion among the scholars on this matter."
 [Bidayat al-Mujtahid (1/386)]

Ibn Abd al-Barr said:

"Men who fight and men who do not fight may be killed, if they are adults."

[al-Kafı (1/466)]

And ibn taymiyyah said:

"The state of disbelief coupled with belligerence is present in every disbeliever, so it is permissible to
enslave him just as it is permissible to kill him."

[Majmoo' al-Fatawa 31/380]

7.“Don’t kill who ran away”

Refer back to point 6.

8.“Don’t kill a woman”

Same conclusion as point 2,

Additionally, Ibn taymiyyah said:

“It is not permissible to kill a ‘house’ woman (at home) unless she takes an active part in the war.
Because during a battle the Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬witnessed the killing of a woman. So he said, she
did not fight this war, then he forbade killing women and children”

[Al-Saarim Al-Maslul Pg. 154, publishers of Quran Lahore in Urdu Bazaar edition]

Women and children generally may not be killed.

Ibn Rushd said:

"There is no difference of opinion among Muslims that it is not permissible to kill their (i.e. the
unbelieving enemy's) women and children, as long as the child or the woman is not fighting."

[Bidayat al-Mujtahid (1/386)]

9.“Don’t kill a sick person”

Sick men are allowed to be killed according to the shari’ah, unless it concerns az-zamin, i.e.
someone suffering from a long-term (such as a chronic) illness, or someone missing arms and legs,
as they cannot fight; and there is a difference of opinion about this, as some scholars (Shafi'is) are of
the opinion that they may be killed according to Islamic law.

[al-Ma'unah (1/624)]

10.“Don’t kill a monk or a priest”

Monks may not be killed according to most scholars but according to a group of scholars (Shafi'is)
they may. The same applies to ash-shaykh al-fani, i.e. the very old man who is unable to fight, shout
during battle, and impregnate a woman.

11.“Don’t disfigure the dead”

Mutilating the dead (al-muthlah) is essentially prohibited, but is allowed as retaliation if the enemy
has done this to the Muslims.

[Majmu' al-Fatawa (28/314),Ibn Taymiyyah]

12.“Don’t kill an animal except for eating”

All animals on which the enemy fights may be killed during war.

[al-Umm (4/259), ash-Shafi'i]

 [al-Mughni (13/144) Ibn Qudamah]

13.“Be good to the prisoners and feed them”

Refer to point 6.

14.“Don’t enforce Islam”

The enemy is given the choice between Islam, jizyah, or war if they are Jews, Christians, or Magians
(which is already a form of imposition of Islam), and only the choice between Islam or war if they
are unbelievers outside of these three groups, which is a clear imposition of Islam.

[Sahih Muslim 1731]

.‫‏الله اعلم‬