{"_id":"6a78f495fa23c569ba914a8a","title":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"Who is at fault when one Muslim army fights another in the name of unification?\\n\"}]}","question":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"If two Muslim armies are fighting, with one attempting to conquer the other in order to unify them under a single state or political authority and the other resisting that conquest, which side is at fault from an Islamic perspective?\\n\"}]}","answer":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"This may be an oversimplification of the reality. Throughout history, noble-sounding slogans, such as \\\"unification\\\" or \\\"liberation,\\\" have often served as political pretexts for unjust wars. From an Islamic legal and ethical perspective, determining fault requires examining both the legitimacy of the cause and the rulings on fighting between Muslims.\\n\\nMuslims today are fragmented into a plethora of nation-states, which does not represent the spiritual or political unity envisioned by Islam. Therefore, if two contemporary Muslim armies engage in warfare simply to merge under a single state or political faction, this is not an Islamically sanctioned war. In classical Islamic jurisprudence, the shedding of blood (safk al-dimāʾ) is inviolable, and engaging in armed conflict purely for nationalistic, tribal, or political supremacy is forbidden.\\n\\nWhen there is a conflict between two Muslim factions, there is a clear framework for remediation:\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"\\\"And if two factions among the believers fight, then make peace between them. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the command of Allah...\\\" \"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"https://quran.com/49/9\",\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"(49:9)\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\nBased on this principle, the aggressor or transgressor is the faction that rejects peaceful reconciliation, initiates unprovoked aggression, or commits oppression and atrocities against the other; the defender is the faction resisting unjust aggression against itself, provided all non-violent diplomatic avenues have failed.\\n\\nNeither army is automatically in the right simply by claiming the goal of unification. If one faction uses force to conquer another under the guise of unity, without legitimate Islamic authority, it acts as the aggressor. Fault lies with whichever faction initiates unjust violence or commits oppression.\\n\"}]}","tags":[{"_id":"668d9fde0b76658b4c23277c","tag":"Contemporary Life: Politics","count":39},{"_id":"668d9fe70b76658b4c2328a0","tag":"Quran: Tafseer","count":37}],"createdOn":"2026-08-09T21:43:49.725Z"}