"Suffering total annihilation at the hands of one’s enemies—or taking one’s own life to achieve victory—is not something to celebrate, especially when the believer’s mandate is to worship God and spread his word."
Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali Tweet
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There’s nothing greater than a martyr’s death. But martyrdom is not a legitimate goal of military engagement. The goal is to win. This was understood by all great Muslim jurists in Islamic history. It’s why they allowed for one to flee the battlefield when the enemy outnumbers us by more than twice our size. It’s why scholars like Al-‘Izz Ibn ‘Abd al-Salam—upon him Allah’s mercy—stated that accepting defeat is required when it proves impossible to score a major blow against the enemy. It is also why when asked if a religious man placed over the army who lacks knowledge of military strategy is better than one who does know strategy but is impious, Imam Ahmad—upon him Allah’s mercy—responded that the latter is better. Why? Because the goal in war is to win. His lack of piety is not an obstacle to that, while the other’s lack of expertise exposes the army and Ummah to great loss.
The goal is to win. This was understood by all great Muslim jurists in Islamic history. It’s why they allowed for one to flee the battlefield when the enemy outnumbers us by more than twice our size. It’s why scholars like Al-‘Izz Ibn ‘Abd al-Salam—upon him Allah’s mercy—stated that accepting defeat is required when it proves impossible to score a major blow against the enemy. It is also why when asked if a religious man placed over the army who lacks knowledge of military strategy is better than one who does know strategy but is impious, Imam Ahmad—upon him Allah’s mercy—responded that the latter is better. Why? Because the goal in war is to win. His lack of piety is not an obstacle to that, while the other’s lack of expertise exposes the army and Ummah to great loss.
Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali
He holds a Ph.D. in Cultural and Historical Studies in Religion (2016) and an M.A. in Ethics and Social Theory (2012) from the Graduate Theological Union. He obtained his B.A. (ijaza ‘ulya) in Islamic Law (Shariah) from the prestigious Al-Qarawiyin University of Fes, Morocco in 2001. He served as full time Islamic chaplain at the State Correctional Institute of Chester, PA from 2002-2007, and is the founding director of the Lamppost Education Initiative. He currently serves as an Associate Professor of Islamic law and Prophetic Tradition at Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California. His research interests include the interconnection between law and identity formation, comparative Islamic law, and Islam’s role in the modern world.
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