And if two factions fight out of tribalism or for leadership, both are wrongdoers, and each is liable for what it destroyed of the other’s property.
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The Shaykh : Then the author said “And if two factions fight out of tribalism or for leadership, both are wrongdoers”. Two factions fighting—of whom? Of the believers. If two factions of believers fight out of tribalism or for leadership, the difference between them is that the cause of tribalism is boasting; no one wants to be superior to the other, but they quarreled among themselves. Yes, so each faction says to the other, “You are such-and-such a tribe, and you have such-and-such, and you have such-and-such.” So the matter heated up between the two factions and they fought. Why is this? It is for tribalism. There is cursing and insulting between tribes, as in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance and also after it. With the cursing and insulting, and each one disparaging the other, the matter heats up between them, and then they fight. Do you understand? We say, what is this fighting for?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : For tribalism or for leadership. Each faction wants to have leadership over the other, meaning they want to wipe them out and incorporate them into themselves. This is what we call for leadership. Both are wrongdoers; each one of them is a wrongdoer. But do they become disbelievers? Hmm?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : No, because fighting a believer is not disbelief that expels one from the religion, and killing him is also not disbelief that expels one from the religion. So what do we do? Allah the Exalted said[Al-Hujurat 49:9-10] Both are wrongdoers, meaning neither is one of the just; rather, each one is a wrongdoer. And each is liable for what it destroyed of the other’s property, unlike what came before. Fighting between the rebels and the imam has no liability, but this has liability. Each is liable for what it destroyed of the other’s property. If the destroyed property is equal, hmm?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : They are mutually discharged. And if one of them destroyed more, then what was increased is liable to be compensated for it. An example of this: two factions fought out of tribalism. This one destroyed cars, yes, and livestock and tents, and the other did the same. When the fighting ended and we assessed what was destroyed, we found that this one destroyed of the other’s property what was worth one hundred thousand, and the second destroyed of the other’s property what was worth one hundred thousand. Hmm? What do we do?
The questioner : They are mutually discharged.
The Shaykh : They are mutually discharged. So each one has nothing due from the other. We found that one of the factions destroyed of the other’s property what was worth one hundred thousand, and the second destroyed of the other’s property what was worth five hundred thousand. Hmm?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Five hundred thousand, and that one is one hundred thousand.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Four hundred thousand is liable. Which one is liable?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Hmm, the one that is in excess, or not?
The questioner : No, the one that is deficient.
The Shaykh : The one that is deficient. The one that is deficient is liable, meaning the one that destroyed one hundred thousand is liable for four hundred thousand to the one whose five hundred thousand was destroyed. Is that clear? Good. Here is a known issue: it is known that not every individual in this faction destroyed this specific thing. That is, this man might destroy twenty cars, and he is one man, or not? And some of them might not have destroyed anything at all, and some might have destroyed less than that. So how is the liability on everyone? We say that because the one who did not destroy is a specific helper and supporter of the one who destroyed, the scholars made the liability obligatory here on the group of the two factions, even if the specific destroyer is not known, because some of them are the awliya (close friends of Allah) of others. And you see the address of Allah the Exalted; Allah addresses the Children of Israel in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding what the Children of Israel did in the time of whom? In the time of Moses. Because when a tribe or faction of people does an act and the others agree with it and do not deny it, it is valid to attribute it to everyone. So in this case, the liability is on the entire faction, even if some individuals may have destroyed a lot and some individuals did not destroy anything. And how is this value distributed?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : It is distributed by the number of individuals. So, for example, if we estimate that the loss is one hundred thousand and the number of the tribe is one thousand, hmm? How much is on each person? Hmm?
The questioner : Ten.
The Shaykh : Ten riyals?
The questioner : ... One hundred.
Another questioner: One hundred.
The Shaykh : We estimated that the losses are one hundred thousand and the tribe is one thousand. How much is on each person?
The questioner : One hundred.
The Shaykh : One hundred riyals. One hundred riyals on each person equally. So if one comes and says, “By Allah, I did not kill or destroy anything,” we say, but you are a partner and a helper to the one who destroyed. And each one of you strengthens and supports the other. Therefore, the liability is obligatory on everyone.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? Everyone who helped from among the fighters. As for the one who is not from among the fighters, no.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : For tribalism or for leadership. Each faction wants to have leadership over the other, meaning they want to wipe them out and incorporate them into themselves. This is what we call for leadership. Both are wrongdoers; each one of them is a wrongdoer. But do they become disbelievers? Hmm?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : No, because fighting a believer is not disbelief that expels one from the religion, and killing him is also not disbelief that expels one from the religion. So what do we do? Allah the Exalted said
(9) And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah. And if it returns, then make settlement between them in justice and act justly. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly. (10) The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers. And fear Allah that you may receive mercy.
وإن طائفتان من المؤمنين اقتتلوا فأصلحوا بينهما فإن بغت إحداهما على الأخرى فقاتلوا التي تبغي حتى تفيء إلى أمر الله فإن فاءت فأصلحوا بينهما بالعدل وأقسطوا إن الله يحب المقسطين * إنما المؤمنون إخوة فأصلحوا بين أخويكمThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : They are mutually discharged. And if one of them destroyed more, then what was increased is liable to be compensated for it. An example of this: two factions fought out of tribalism. This one destroyed cars, yes, and livestock and tents, and the other did the same. When the fighting ended and we assessed what was destroyed, we found that this one destroyed of the other’s property what was worth one hundred thousand, and the second destroyed of the other’s property what was worth one hundred thousand. Hmm? What do we do?
The questioner : They are mutually discharged.
The Shaykh : They are mutually discharged. So each one has nothing due from the other. We found that one of the factions destroyed of the other’s property what was worth one hundred thousand, and the second destroyed of the other’s property what was worth five hundred thousand. Hmm?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Five hundred thousand, and that one is one hundred thousand.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Four hundred thousand is liable. Which one is liable?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Hmm, the one that is in excess, or not?
The questioner : No, the one that is deficient.
The Shaykh : The one that is deficient. The one that is deficient is liable, meaning the one that destroyed one hundred thousand is liable for four hundred thousand to the one whose five hundred thousand was destroyed. Is that clear? Good. Here is a known issue: it is known that not every individual in this faction destroyed this specific thing. That is, this man might destroy twenty cars, and he is one man, or not? And some of them might not have destroyed anything at all, and some might have destroyed less than that. So how is the liability on everyone? We say that because the one who did not destroy is a specific helper and supporter of the one who destroyed, the scholars made the liability obligatory here on the group of the two factions, even if the specific destroyer is not known, because some of them are the awliya (close friends of Allah) of others. And you see the address of Allah the Exalted; Allah addresses the Children of Israel in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding what the Children of Israel did in the time of whom? In the time of Moses. Because when a tribe or faction of people does an act and the others agree with it and do not deny it, it is valid to attribute it to everyone. So in this case, the liability is on the entire faction, even if some individuals may have destroyed a lot and some individuals did not destroy anything. And how is this value distributed?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : It is distributed by the number of individuals. So, for example, if we estimate that the loss is one hundred thousand and the number of the tribe is one thousand, hmm? How much is on each person? Hmm?
The questioner : Ten.
The Shaykh : Ten riyals?
The questioner : ... One hundred.
Another questioner: One hundred.
The Shaykh : We estimated that the losses are one hundred thousand and the tribe is one thousand. How much is on each person?
The questioner : One hundred.
The Shaykh : One hundred riyals. One hundred riyals on each person equally. So if one comes and says, “By Allah, I did not kill or destroy anything,” we say, but you are a partner and a helper to the one who destroyed. And each one of you strengthens and supports the other. Therefore, the liability is obligatory on everyone.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? Everyone who helped from among the fighters. As for the one who is not from among the fighters, no.