{"_id":"668da0390b76658b4c233174","title":"Is it halal to fight someone who is provoking you?","question":"Is it ever halal to fight somebody on sight? Are there examples in the seerah or any of the Prophets of taking the offensive and starting violence due to being provoked?","answer":"Short answer is no. There are no examples of the prophets (anbiya) engaging in violence because they were provoked. How can the prophets, who are the most complete human beings, be provoked when even the regular believers are expected by Allah to not allow themselves to be provoked?\nAnd the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, \"Peace!\" [25:63]\nThose who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon people;- for Allah loves those who do good. [31:34]\nThis is how Allah describes the believers and the people of taqwa. They are people who do not allow themselves to be provoked and also forgive the foolishness of others. They are too humble and too pious to be dragged into a brawl by an ignoramus. This also includes verbal brawls as well like the ones that go on in social media. The prophet (ﷺ) said in a famous hadith,  \"The strong person is not the one who is able to knock people down, rather the strong person is the one who restrains himself when in a state of anger.\"\nFundamentally, Islam imparts the profound wisdom that individuals who avoid conflicts and possess the capacity to forgive others are not weak; rather, they exemplify strength. As exemplified by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), true strength lies in exercising restraint and self-control rather than retaliating when provoked—something any animal can do. Despite being endowed with the strength of forty men, the Prophet (peace be upon him) exhibited self-restraint in the face of provocation from ignorant individuals. Instances such as when a Jewish man aggressively seized him by the collar, demanding repayment, or when camel guts were dumped on him while he was in prayer serve as illustrations of his forbearance. However, when war became necessary, the Prophet (peace be upon him) valiantly took to the battlefield alongside believers, in contrast to leaders of today who send others to fight their battles. In summary, a Muslim is permitted to employ physical force only as a last resort to protect life and property.\nThe books of fiqh stipulate that physical force may only be used when other non-violent methods fail, and even when physical force has to be used, it cannot be excessive, meaning, one may only use enough physical force to neutralize the threat.  Therefore, if someone physically attacks you for example, you're obviously permitted to use force to defend yourself since they've left you no option to de-escalate. However, if you knock the person out and they are now laying on the ground, not attacking you, it is haram for you to use any more physical force.","tags":[{"_id":"668da0390b76658b4c233170","tag":"Seerah: The Sahabah","count":17},{"_id":"668d9ff30b76658b4c232a04","tag":"Justice","count":4}],"createdOn":"2024-07-09T20:40:25.604Z"}