This has not been the only incident
of Fidayee action in Islamic history. Indeed, these activities have been in
such large numbers that these Fidayee became the hallmark of Mujahideen’s
bravery.
Imam Bukhari has recorded on the
authority of Baraa bin Aazib that Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s Prophet deputed Abdullah bin Atik
to kill Jew chieftain Abu Rafeh. (The valour shown by Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم bin Muslimah
assigned to kill another Jew notable Ka’ab bin Ashraf, furnishes another
golden example of Fidayee activity. It is recorded that Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s Prophet once
gave the call
“من لي للكعب “ Who will kill Ka’ab
bin Ashraf for my sake”. Ka’ab bin Ashraf had continuously been passing
indecent remarks about Muslim women and using dirty language about them in
his poems. This greatly annoyed the Companions who however felt themselves
helpless in this regard. Finally, Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s Prophet deputed Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم bin Salma
for this mission. Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم bin Salma launched a Fidayee activity, sneaked
into the enemy fortress, pulled out Ka’b bin Ashraf from the midst of dozens
of guards, and killed him there and this settled the whole affair.
A Fidayee activity means attacking
the enemy risking one’s life, without taking necessary precautions, pouncing
upon the enemy in the face of sure death, completing one’s mission at every
cost; if one embraces martyrdom in this course one feels it a divine
blessing and if returns alive successfully one is jubilant over Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s
bounty.
The battle of Uhad also offers an
instance of the same type. The infidels laid a blockade around Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s
Prophet and intensified their pressure. They thought they would be able to
overpower the Prophet and that would finish the matter (God forbid). As
their advance continued, the Prophet gave a loud call-“
من يردهم عنا وله الجنة او هو رفيقى فى
الجنة
Who would push back the unbelieves
and polytheists away from us in this difficult hour and win Paradise”. The
Fidayeen rushed forward, several of them embraced martyrdom, yet they
protected Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s Prophet. In the battle of Jassar, Abu Abaidullah Thaqfi,
pounced upon the leader of the elephants. After all his attempts failed, he
stepped forward and chopped off the animal’s trunk. He achieved martyrdom in
this attempt. In the Battle of Qadisiya, as the horses under the Muslim army
got nervous on seeing enemy elephants, Saad bin Abi Waqas called for
assistance from the Banu Zubaid. Amr bin Maad Yakrah of the Banu Zubaid
attacked the enemy elephants along with the other Fidayeen, thrust spears
into both eyes of the animal and struck swords on its trunk. Thus, three of
the volunteers were attacking each elephant. The enemy soldiers seated in
the elephant canopy above rained arrows on the Fidayeen who however
succeeded in their mission. Maddened by the chopping of their trunks and the
severe injuries, the elephants overran their own army, trampling hundreds of
them under their feet. The rest fled from the battlefield and the Muslim
army emerged triumphant.
This Fidayee activity shines as the
golden chapter of the Muslim history. In every event of Jihad, the Fidayeen
had been spearheading the Muslim forces. This is true of the period of the
companions and also their successors. Laying down their lives for the cause
of Islam and the Muslims, these volunteers accepted the challenge, risking
their lives to achieve the most difficult targets where death was a
certainty. What is important, however is that no Fidayee ever killed
himself, or jumped into fire or gun powder. There have however been numerous
instances of volunteers attacking the enemy hideouts, ransacking their camps
and ranks, attacking and sneaking into enemy fortresses or castles, all
through the Islamic history. None of the Muslim scholars, historians or the
Ulema have ever equated such adventures with suicide. The Muhaditheen, on
the other hand, have lauded such adventures and set separate chapters on
this type of actions quoting relevant traditions. Imam Baihaqi in his Sunan
Al-Kubra 99/9 writes:
Chapter justification for attack by
one or a few men on enemy inside the enemy territory despite fear of sure
death.
Under this chapter, Imam Baihaqi
has recorded a Tradition on the authority of Mujahid, which reads:
Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s Prophet dispatched Abdullah
bin Masood and a companion from ansar, on an expedition. Besides, the
Prophet sent Dahya bin Khalifa Al-Kalabi and Abdullah bin Anees on two other
expeditions separately.
Dispatching Abdullah bin Anees for
the assassination of an infidel leader Khalid bin Safyan bin Nabeeh, Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s
Prophet said, I have received information that Khalid bin Safyan is amassing
force to fight with me. Find him and kill him”فاته ما قلله Abdullah bin
Anees was required to penetrate into enemy army to accomplish his mission.
Imam Ahmad has categorized this Tradition as Sahih.
Imam Hakam in his Mustadrak
275-276, writes on the authority of Bara bin Aazab,
A man asked Bara bin Aazab “ if I,
all alone, attack the enemy host and get killed, will it be killing myself.”
Bara replied no. In support of his argument, Bara quoted the Quranic verse
in which Allaah سبحانه وتعالى enjoins His Prophet to wage ‘Qital’ in the way of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى as at
least he himself was under Divine obligation to wage Jihad. Another
narration by Hakam in his collection reads.
A man asked Bara bin Aazab, if a
volunteer attacks a one thousand strong enemy host with a sword in his hand,
would it amount to throwing himself into sure death. Bara said: “No!”
Imam Baihaqi referring to the
similar incident of Baraa bin Malik, says: Bara bin Malik took part in the
battle of Yamama and joined the host in the attack on the fruit garden
wherein Musailma the Liar was taking shelter. An intense fight took place
around this garden. Imam Baihaqi writes:
“Bara’ bin Malik said to his
companions: I am going to squat over a shield and you should raise the
shield with the help of your spears up to the height of the outer wall of
the garden and then drop me inside. Thus, Bara managed to go amidst the
enemy all alone and there he displayed marvelous deeds of bravery slaying
ten enemy men, but succeeded in opening the door of the defense wall. He
received around 80 wounds on his person. None of the companions disapproved
this planning and action as suicide attempt. The Forerunners in Islam, the
Ulema, and also the common masses, had no confusion in their mind about such
voluntary actions and they never condemned these as suicidal. To the
contrary, the Ulema and leaders always motivated the Believers for such
adventures and issued decrees in their support of such marvelous deeds of
valour. Accordingly, Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, in his celebrated work
Ahya-ul-Uloom ud Din, writes,
There is no dispute that it is
permissible for a single Muslim to launch an attack on a whole battalion of
the enemy and fight with them even though he may be certain of his death in
the attempt.
Al-Ghazali says further:
And it is permissible for a single
Muslim to launch an attack (on the enemy) all alone even though he may be
sure that he would not be able to kill (the enemy) unless he himself gets
killed. In other words, if he makes an attack, he himself would be killed,
or if he believes that his attack would demoralise the enemy and shatter its
rank and file, it is permissible to attempt such an adventure, as such
voluntary activity should break the enemy strength. On witnessing such an
extraordinary deed of bravery by a single Muslim pouncing upon a whole host,
the enemy would be forced to form an opinion that each one of the Muslim
warriors is imbued with the love for Martyrdom, and that they are least
afraid of Jihad and death in the way of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى , then such an adventure is
allowed.”
Ibne An-Nahas Ad-Damishqi, writes
in support of Fidayee action!
“That Imam Nawavi has quoted the
agreed-upon-verdict of the Ulema, that if a Mujahid rushes into the enemy
hosts and strikes them in the sole desire for martyrdom, this is
permissible, and not disapproved on any count.
And Imam Shafai, says:
A fight took place before the eyes
of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s Prophet, as warriors from both the sides threw challenges to each
other. And in the battle of Badr, a companion from the Ansaar launched an
attack on the enemy host without wearing a shield, in the love for
martyrdom. The life of the Sahaba provides numerous instances when a single
man attacked the enemy host with different objective in view, and the
Iranians and the Turk hosts dreaded such voluntary actions. There had been
several instances in which some of the companion, through individual
adventure, shattered the enemy ranks before the war actually started and
such deeds of valour were never taken as suicidal.
Ibn-e- Abi Shaiba, in his book at page
5/3030 writes:
“ An Ansari Muslim came upon a
battalion of the enemy troops advancing from the East. He pounced upon the
battalion, and ransacked its troops fought in all directions, through the
enemy ranks up to the other ends of the enemy’s strength.
Tirmazi, Abu Daud, Hakam have
quoted on the autority of Aslam bin Yazeed Al-Naijbee, “While we were
camping outside a Turkish city, the Turks sent a large enemy to fight us.
The Muslim host also advanced to confront the enemy. Aqba bin Aamir was
leading the Egyptian troops while Fazal bin Ubaid headed the rest of the
Islamic host. One of the Muslim Mujahideen attacked the enemy troops, and
advanced deep into their host. Some people from the Muslim army shouted at
him and disapproved his action of risking his life. Upon this, Abu Ayyub
Ansari rose up and defended the adventurer saying “O people, you
misinterpret the verse, indeed death lies in giving up Jihad.”
Imam Abu Abdullah Al-Qartabi writes in his
interpretation:
“Ulema differ on the point whether
a single individual should jump into the war and launch an attack on the
enemy all alone. Quoting the views of the Ulema, Al-Qartabi writes:
“Qasim bin Mukhaimarah, Qasim bin
Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and other Ulema are of the view that there is nothing objectionable
to an individual attacking a large enemy host all alone if his sole
intention is to earn Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s blessings and he also is strong enough to make
such an attack.”
“And it is said that if his sole
intention is to achieve martyrdom in the way of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى , be should launch the
offensive to attain his ambition.”
“If a situation arises in which an
individual attacks one hundred men or a gang of robbers or a large enemy
army, and he is confident of killing his target and returning safe, this is
something better. If on the other hand, he believes that he would inflict
huge damage to the enemy at the cost of his life, or leave far-reaching
effects for the good of the Muslims and adversly affect the enemy, such an
exercise is also permissible.
Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم bin Hassan (Sheibani) writes:
“There is no harm if a Muslim all
alone attacks a one-thousand-strong enemy provided he is confident of his
salvation and hopes to cause heavy damage to the enemy.”
If he believes that his individual
attack would boost the morale of the Muslim army and motivate them to launch
a vigorous offensive against the enemy, there is no bar on such an activity
as the collective good of the Muslims lies in it. Similarly, if the motive
of the Fidayee is to convince the enemy of the immense love and dedication
of the Muslim for their religion or to terrify the enemy, such an adventure
is equally permissible. Undoubtedly, sacrificing one’s life for the cause of
glory of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى ’s Deen and inflicting damage on the enemy of Islam, is highly
praiseworthy in the eyes of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى , and Allaah سبحانه وتعالى has commended and praised the
Muslim for such bold endeavours.
Allaah سبحانه وتعالى says:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنْ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ الْجَنَّةَ
Allaah سبحانه وتعالى hath purchased of the
Believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the
Garden
(of Paradise) (At-Tauba: 111)
The instances quoted above along
with the opinion of the Ulema would help us read the mind of the Mujahideen,
the Fidayee. The Fidayee activities are continuing even today and we hear
reports of their adventures every day. A comparison of such adventures
during the days of the Sahaba with the deeds of the Lashker-e-Taiba Fidayee
would show a great deal of similarity in the two. Such is the case of
Lashker-e-Taiba’s Fidayee attack on the Delhi Red Fort, the Corps
Headquarter in Srinagar the Srinagar airport, police headquarters. All these
daring plans were carried out by Fidayeen in two or four in number who acted
with remarkable speed and courage, putting Hindu officers to death in no
time. These heroes, occupied the office of an Indian Major and contacted the
BBC from the telephone set installed there, disclosing their identity to the
world media. Such has been the commitment of these brave warriors for the
cause of Jihad and their longing for martyrdom and Paradise.
Ibne-Seeren narrates: Baraa bin
Malik was sick and was crying while lying up side down. Anas bin Malik saw
him in this condition and thinking that Baraa was about to die, advised him
to remember Allaah سبحانه وتعالى .
Baraa’ rose with a jerk and said in
a spirited voice “Anas, my brother! I would not die while in bed. I have
already killed one hundred unbelievers in different wars.” And Allaah سبحانه وتعالى granted
his wish, giving him the death of a martyr as he embraced martyrdom in the
Iranian town of Tastar after putting several infidels to death.
Another valiant soldier, Suleman bin Rabia
Al-Bahli had said:
“I have slain with my sword one
hundred enemy men who were wearing head wear and shield. They all were
polytheists and worshipped others than Allaah سبحانه وتعالى , I killed them all after a
tough fight not after tying up any of them.” To be
continued…