The Constitution of the Caliphate State, Article 190:All military treaties and pacts (with other States) are completely prohibited, along with anything of their type, or connected to them such as political treaties and agreements covering the leasing of military bases and airfields. It is permitted to conclude good neighbour relations, economic, commercial, financial, cultural and armistice treaties.

 

The definition of: “treaties” is that they are agreements that States conclude between themselves with the goal of organising a specific relationship and defining the rules and conditions which that relationship submits to. The Islamic jurists used the term: “Al-Muwada’at”, and the evidence for the permissibility of concluding treaties between the Muslims and disbelievers are the words of Allah (swt):

((إلاَ الَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ إِلَى قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ مِيثَاقٌ)) [النساء 90] وقوله: ((وَإِنْ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ مِيثَاقٌ فَدِيَةٌ مُسَلَّمَةٌ إِلَى أَهْلِه)) [النساء 92] وقوله: ((وَإِنِ اسْتَنْصَرُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ فَعَلَيْكُمُ النَّصْرُ إِلَّا عَلَى قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ مِيثَاقٌ))

Except for those who take refuge with a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty. (TMQ 4:90) and: “And if he was from a people with whom you have a treaty - then a compensation payment presented to his family.” (TMQ 4:92), and: “And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help, except against a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty.” (TMQ 8:72), and the word Al-Mithaq used in the verses means treaties. The Messenger  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم concluded several treaties with the disbelievers, however it is a precondition for the validity of the contracting of the treaty that the subject that the contract was upon was something that the Shari’ah had permitted. There are various types of treaties, such as non-political and political treaties.

Non-political treaties are the agreements which specify the manner of the relationship between the two States with respect to a particular issue between the two of them such as financial, economic, commercial, industrial and cultural relationships, and anything else similar, and so these are considered in the light of the Shari’ah according to their subject, and the Shari’ah rules connected to that subject are applicable. That is why economic treaties are permitted, since the rules regarding renting and international commerce are applicable, and commercial treaties are also permitted, since the rules regarding selling and international commerce are applicable, and financial treaties are permitted, since the rules of exchange apply, and cultural treaties are permitted since the rules regarding education and teaching apply from the angle of scientific material, and from the angle of definite and speculative results which are produced by learning and teaching them.

There are three categories of political treaties:

Firstly, those that are permitted, which are those that do not affect the nature of the State, and do not decrease its domestic and international authority, and do not give the disbeliever any authority over it, such as peace and armistice treaties - the Messenger  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم concluded an armistice treaty with the Quraysh in the armistice treaty of Hudaybiyah.

Also permitted are treaties to not commit acts of aggression against one another; the Messenger  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم concluded treaties to not commit acts of aggression with Bani Damra and Bani Mudlij. In the same manner, treaties upon friendly relations are permitted since the Messenger  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم concluded a treaty upon friendly relations with the Jews and so on.

The second category of treaties are those which are necessary for the State if it is in a position of difficulty and constraint, and these are permitted, such as a treaty to take Jizya from a State while it remains ruled by a Kufr system, or a treaty with a State giving it money in exchange for its neutrality with us.

The third category are those treaties which are prohibited, such as treaties of protection, or permanent neutrality and treaties which delineate permanent borders, and those for leasing airfields and military bases and anything else similar. These treaties are not permitted, because the subject of the treaty is not permitted, since protection gives the disbeliever authority over the Muslims, and makes the security of the Muslims the security of disbelief (Kufr). Permanent neutrality is not permitted, because it reduces the authority of the Muslims. Delineating permanent borders is not permitted because it means not carrying the call to Islam and the suspension of the rules of Jihad. Leasing airfields is not permitted because it gives the disbelievers authority over Dar Al-Islam and the same applies to military bases.

As for military treaties, they are forbidden due to the words of the Prophet  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم :

«لا تَسْتَضِيئُوا بِنَارِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ»

Do not take light from the fire of the polytheists (the Mushrikin)” (reported by Ahmad and Al-Nasa’i), and the fire of a people is a metaphor for their structure in war. It is also forbidden due to his  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم words :

«فَلَنْ أَسْتَعِينَ بِمُشْرِكٍ»

I do not seek help from a polytheist (Mushrik)” (reported by Muslim from Aisha(ra)). And from Aisha(ra) in Abu Dawud and Ibn Maja:

«إِنَّا لا نَسْتَعِينُ بِمُشْرِكٍ»

We do not want any help from a polytheist (Mushrik)” and his  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم words:

«لاَ نَسْتَعِينُ بِالْكُفَّارِ عَلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ»

We do not seek help from the disbelievers against the polytheists” (reported by Ibn Abi Shayba from Sa’id b. Al-Mundhir).

With regard to what is reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud from Dhi Makhmar who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم say:

«تُصَالِحُونَ الرُّومَ صُلْحًا آمِنًا، وَتَغْزُونَ أَنْتُمْ وَهُمْ عَدُوًّا مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ»

You will make a secure peace with the Byzantines, then you and they will fight an enemy behind them.” – his  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم words:

«تَغْزُونَ أَنْتُمْ وَهُمْ عَدُوًّا مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ»

and you and they will fight an enemy behind them” is taken to mean individual Romans, and not their State, and that is because he  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم said:

«تُصَالِحُونَ الرُّومَ صُلْحًا آمِنًا، وَتَغْزُونَ»

You will make a secure peace with the Byzantines, and you will fight” and the treaty between the Muslims and disbelievers is only when they accept the Jizya and to enter under the rule of the Muslims, since Islam ordered the Muslims to give the disbelievers they fight the choice between three: Islam, Jizya or war. If the treaty occurred and they were disbelievers, this could not happen except in the situation they were paying Jizya and their falling under the Islamic flag. So, therefore, his  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم words: “you will make a treaty” is an indication that they were under the flag of the Muslims, and so they would be individuals at that time, and this is supported by what happened with the Romans. The Muslims fought and defeated them, and occupied their lands, and the Romans fought with the Muslims as individuals, but the Roman State did not fight alongside the Islamic State against another enemy behind them. This confirms that what is meant by the narration is individual Romans, and not as a State, and it is obligatory to interpret it in this way in order to reconcile and use all of the evidences – as is well known in Usul Al-Fiqh,using the two evidences is better than voiding one of them, and there is no recourse to weighing the evidences unless reconciling them is not possible. Accordingly it is clear that there is no evidence which permits seeking the help of the polytheists as a State; rather the evidences are explicit against that without any restriction.

These are the evidences for this article.