Is it necessary to avoid self-defense, to leave arms and act like Qabil (Cain) during the times of mischief (fitnah)? How should the hadith of mischief be understood?

When Hz. Uthman was martyred, Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas said, "I witness that Hz. Prophet said, 'Such a mischief (fitnah) will come that the one sitting will be better than the one standing, the one standing will be better than the one walking and the one walking will be better than the one running.' I said, "What shall I do if it enters my house and tries to kill me?" The Prophet said, 'Be like Hz. Adam's son.'" (Ahmad b. Hanbal, I/185). Will we not defend ourselves according to the expression "Be like Hz. Adam's son" in the hadith?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Hz. Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a narration from Ibn Umar:

"Is any of you too weak to become the better one of Hz. Adam's two sons when somebody - from Ahl al-Qiblah - comes to kill you to tell him what Abel (Habil) said to Cain (Qabil) by putting one of his hands on the other? If he does so, he is a person of Paradise. If he does not so and if he kills the person he comes, he is of Hell."

The Messenger of Allah gave the following advice to another Companion in order to prevent him from killing in mischief:

"When you see people pay allegiance to two different leaders, take the sword that you used with me in jihad and hit it on Mount Uhud until your sword is broken. Then, go and sit at home. Do not leave your home until a sinful hand or death comes to you."

In the following advice of the Prophet (pbuh) to Abu Dharr, it is seen that an order that has not been seen in the narrations above is given:

"To cover one's face against the person who enters your house during the time of mischief."

The part of the narration that interests us is as follows:

"... I said, "O Messenger of Allah! What if he enters my house?" Hz. Prophet (pbuh) said,

"If you fear that the glowing of the sword will be superior to you (that is, if you fear to counteract the enemy), cover your face with part of your garment (do not counteract even if he kills you). Thus, he will return with both his own sins and your sin and he will be a person of fire (Hell)."

In the same narration, we see that Abu Dharr, who asks about counteracting the enemy with one's weapon, is given the following answer:

"In that case, you will take part in the thing which he is in (that is, mischief)." As a matter of fact, it is reported that Abu Bakra said, "If enemies come to me, I will not hold my weapon to counteract them."

As Ayyub as-Sahtiyani states, Hz. Uthman did not counteract the killers who came to kill him. The following verse states that Hz. Adam's son, Habil, is the first person to act like that by addressing his brother as follows: 

"If thou dost stretch thy hand against me, to slay me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against thee to slay thee."

Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas, Abdullah Ibn Umar, Muhammad Ibn Maslama, Abu Bakra and other Companions, who adopted it as a principle to obey exactly the advice of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) about keeping away from mischief so much as to prefer being killed rather than killing during mischief, avoided joining Hz. Ali though they accepted that Hz. Ali was right and that his opponents were wrong during the chain of mischief that started with the martyrdom of Hz. Uthman and stated the following view:

"It is a necessity to keep away from mischief. If a person comes to kill you, you cannot defend yourself." (Ibn Hajar, Fathu'l-Bari 16, 142)

* SELF-DEFENSE DURING MISCHIEF:

Since a person is prohibited from counteracting even the enemy that comes to his house, we face a controversial situation. For, in Islam, transgressing is haram but self-defense is halal and it is even encouraged. It is stated that a person who is killed while defending his wealth, life and chastity will be regarded a martyr spiritually. Hz. Prophet (pbuh) said, 

"A person who is killed while fighting to protect his wealth is a martyr spiritually. A person who is killed while fighting to protect his blood (life) is a martyr spiritually. A person who is killed while fighting to protect his family is a martyr spiritually. A person who is killed while fighting to protect his religion is a martyr."

Once, a man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and asked him how he should treat a person who grabs his wealth. The conversation between them is remarkable in terms of seeing the legitimacy of defending one's wealth and life:

"O Messenger of Allah! What do you advise me to do if somebody comes and attacks my wealth?"
"Remind him of Allah." In the hadith that comes after it, the following is stated: "Remind him of Allah three times."
"What if he does not fear Allah?"
"Ask the help of the Muslims around you against him."
"What if there are no Muslims around?"
" Ask the help of the Sultan against him."
"What if the Sultan is away from me?"
"Fight him until you become a martyr of the hereafter or protect your wealth."

In another version of the narration, the following is stated: "...Fight. If you are killed, you will be a person of Paradise. If you kill him, he will be a person of Hell." It is allowed in the Quran to retaliate against a person by a bad deed in the same way -without going beyond limits:

"The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree): but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due, from Allah: for (Allah) loveth not those who do wrong. But indeed if any do help and defend himself after a wrong (done) to them against such there is no cause of blame." (ash-Shura, 42/40-41).

This right of self-defense, which originates from verses and hadiths, and the prohibition we have mentioned above has been an issue of debate among scholars. Imam Nawawi summarizes this debate as follows: 

"This hadith and similar ones are the evidence used by the scholars who do not regard killing permissible during mischief under any circumstances. Scholars have put forward different views about killing during mischief. Some of them say,

"When mischief occurs among Muslims, a Muslim cannot fight his enemy even if he has entered his house and has tried to kill him; it is not permissible to defend one's life against him. For, the enemy that has come into his house is not an unbeliever but a Muslim who interprets verses in a way that is not accepted by everybody; he does not deny verses. This view is supported by Abu Bakra and some other Companions. According to the view of Ibn Umar, Imran Ibnul-Husayn and some others, "A Muslim must not be involved in mischief but if he faces the risk of death, he can defend his life."

(Prof. Dr. İbrahim CANAN, Kütüb-ü Sitte)

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