The Second Matter: The seminar discussed the topic of seeking assistance from polytheists (non-Muslims). Some of the questioners asked how to reconcile the Prophet’s ﷺ prohibition against seeking help from polytheists during the Battle of Badr with other narrations that indicate its permissibility. Sheikh Saud answered this as you heard, and by way of clarification, I would like to add:
It is authentically established from the Prophet ﷺ regarding the Battle of Badr—in the narration of Aisha—that when a man came to him wishing to assist him, fight alongside him, and support him, the Prophet ﷺ asked him, “Have you accepted Islam?” The man replied, “No.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Go back, for I will not seek the help of a polytheist.” He then approached him again at another place, and the Prophet asked, “Have you accepted Islam?” He replied, “No.” The Prophet said, “Go back, for I will not seek the help of a polytheist.” Later on, the man came back and said, “I have accepted Islam.” Thereupon, the Prophet ﷺ approved of him and kept him in the military expedition.
This provides explicit proof that a polytheist is not to be enlisted for help in fighting enemies. Why? Because it cannot be trusted that he will not communicate with them during combat, or turn against the Muslims during the battle while remaining a polytheist. Therefore, he is not to be enlisted to fight the polytheists, whether he is an idolater, a Jew, a Christian, or otherwise.
The rationale behind this—and Allah knows best—is that he cannot be trusted because they are all enemies to the Muslims. Thus, if he is with us, and battle commences and the two ranks meet, it cannot be trusted that he will not turn against us, fight us alongside them, join them, or turn upon us first—fighting the Muslims around him to aid the polytheists.
For this reason, it is not permissible to seek assistance in Jihad from the enemies of Allah. Rather, they must be treated with caution, and none of them should remain among the Muslims, lest they harm the Muslims, communicate with the enemy against the Muslims, or strive to defeat the Muslims out of assistance to their disbelieving brethren.
As for the instances where the Prophet ﷺ sought assistance [from non-Muslims] in other matters that were unrelated to this matter—where such risks are feared—they instead pertained to other types [of tasks]. A distinction must be made between a person or persons who are with the Muslims in the army for fighting while they are disbelievers, which carries immense danger, and other forms of assistance that we will explain, God willing, where that danger is absent.
For example, the Prophet ﷺ sought the guidance of Abdullah ibn Urayqit al-Dyli to show him the route to Medina when he set out migrating, peace and blessings be upon him. Ibn Urayqit was known for his sincerity toward the Muslims, and there was no danger from him to the Muslims. Guiding the way like this poses no danger to the Muslims; the Messenger ﷺ knew him, and Abu Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—knew him. Therefore, [the Prophet] brought him as a guide and they sought his help with the road until they reached Medina, while he was still upon the religion of his people. There is no harm in something like this: having someone guide the people or a traveler along the road, provided it is known that he is secure and that there is no danger from him.
Another example is his seeking assistance from Safwan ibn Umayyah on the Day of Hunayn. He did not seek his help to fight the polytheists; rather, he took armor from Safwan. When Allah granted victory over Mecca, Safwan had not yet embraced Islam, and he asked the Prophet ﷺ to grant him a respite for a period so that he could consider his situation. The Prophet ﷺ granted him respite for a period and did not force Islam upon him. Instead, he granted him respite and gave him a quantity of camels to reconcile and win over his heart, because he was one of the senior figures and nobles of Quraysh. His conversion to Islam would bring strength to the Muslims and serve as an invitation for others to Islam—just as [the Prophet] gave generous amounts of wealth to those whose hearts were newly reconciled to Islam. Allah has designated a portion in Zakat and the Public Treasury (Bayt al-Mal) for “those whose hearts are to be reconciled”—people who embraced Islam while newly converted so that their faith might be strengthened, or so that others like them might accept Islam, or influential and powerful people who are disbelievers who are given wealth so that they might embrace Islam, thereby strengthening the Muslims, bringing about the conversion of their peers, and neutralizing their evil.
Safwan ibn Umayyah belonged to this category of influential leaders who had not yet Islamized. The Prophet ﷺ permitted him to remain for a period and gave him a hundred camels on the Day of Hunayn to reconcile his heart to Islam. He continued to give to him until Allah guided him and he accepted Islam. Safwan later said, “There was no one more hateful to me than the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, but he kept giving me and giving me until he became the most beloved of people to me.” Thus, he accepted Islam—may Allah be pleased with him and make him pleased.
On the Day of Hunayn, [the Prophet] sought assistance by borrowing armor. He did not seek his help in fighting, nor did he take him out to fight the polytheists. Rather, he asked him for borrowed armor to use as assistance in the combat. Safwan said, “Is this by force, O Muhammad?” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “No, rather it is a guaranteed loan [to be returned].” The Prophet ﷺ assured him, “No, it is not an appropriation by force, but rather a guaranteed loan.” So Safwan handed the armor over to him as a loan, and afterward he accepted Islam, and [the Prophet] did not demand it back thereafter.
This kind of assistance is not of the same category as that of the polytheist in the narration of Aisha. That man came to assist in fighting the people of Mecca at Badr among the polytheists, so the Prophet ﷺ neither trusted him nor accepted him until he embraced Islam. Here, however, [the Prophet] sought the help of a man to guide him along the road, and borrowed armor from a polytheist man, taking it as a loan and later returning it—or rather, [Safwan] did not ask for it back after he accepted Islam.
The point is that seeking assistance differs depending on the context. If the assistance involves no danger—such as borrowing armor, artillery, tanks, ammunition, or other things that benefit the military campaign—there is no harm in seeking help from a polytheist in this manner, provided that a benefit and need are seen in doing so. This is because he remains separate from the Muslims, and his existence does not harm them. The equipment taken from him—such as armor, cannons, aircraft, and the like—benefits the Muslims and aids them against their enemy. Similarly, if they send someone known for reliability and trustworthiness to guide them along the road or to certain fortresses or cities, where no danger from him is feared by the Muslims, then this is a completely different matter and does not contradict this authentic Hadith.
See also: