Must Muslims Avoid Resistance When Weak? Quranic Analysis

Is it Obligatory to Refrain from Resistance in Times of Weakness and Imbalance, as Implied in the Verse: (أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمْ كُفُّوا أَيْدِيَكُمْ…) and are the Events of the Meccan Period a proof for this?

1. The Prophet’s ﷺ migration and his departure from Makkah occurred because fighting had not yet been commanded at that stage. Hence, Allah instructed him to be patient. This is evident from the narration in which ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf and a group of companions came to the Prophet ﷺ in Makkah and said: "O Messenger of Allah, we used to be held in honor when we were idolaters, but now that we have believed, we have become weak." The Prophet ﷺ responded: "I have been commanded to forgive, so do not fight." Then Allah revealed:

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمْ كُفُّوا أَيْدِيَكُمْ…
“Have you not seen those who were told, ‘Restrain your hands…’” (Surah al-Nisāʾ: 77)

 So, they refrained. But once Prophet ﷺ moved to Madinah, Allah commanded him to fight. This is also indicated by the event of the Second Pledge of al-ʿAqabah, after which Quraysh sought to pursue and punish the people of Yathrib. The Anṣār sought permission from the Prophet ﷺ to confront the aggressors at al-ʿAqabah, but he did not grant them permission.

Even if we accept the obligation to refrain, such restraint cannot be absolute or pacifist in nature, especially when a colonial force continues its aggression, seizing Muslim lands, killing innocent civilians, and violating sanctities, as is happening in the West Bank. This type of restraint, which some people advocate, has only increased the occupier’s brutality and strength, as seen clearly on the ground.

2. Once the command to fight was revealed in Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ returned and fought his people, liberating Makkah and bringing it under the rule of Islam.
3. During the Battle of the Confederates (al-Aḥzāb), ten thousand pagans and Jews united against the Muslims. Yet the Prophet ﷺ did not capitulate & stop; rather, he remained firm, fought, and Allah granted him victory.
4. Allah revealed after the Battle of Badr: 

الآنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفًا ۚ فَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُم مِّائَةٌ صَابِرَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا مِائَتَيْنِ…
“Now Allah has lightened [the burden] for you, and He knows that there is weakness in you. So if there are among you a hundred steadfast, they will overcome two hundred…”
(Surah al-Anfāl: 66)

 This means that even in weakness, the command to fight was not revoked, only its burden was lightened.

5. In the Battle of Muʾtah (though it was an offensive expedition), the Muslims numbered three thousand—or six thousand according to some reports—while their enemies, the Romans and the Ghassānids, were two hundred thousand. When the Muslims learned of the enemy’s numbers, they considered informing the Prophet ﷺ, but ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah encouraged them by saying: “O people! What you dislike is exactly what you set out for—martyrdom. We do not fight people by numbers, strength, or abundance. We fight them with this religion which Allah has honored us with. March forth, for it is either victory or martyrdom!”
6. Weakness and lack of parity are not excuses to abandon jihad and defending one's land. Nor are they prerequisites for victory. The Muslims were rarely ever greater in number than their enemies, except in the Battle of Ḥunayn and the conquest of Makkah. Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) stated:

 "Defensive jihad (qitāl al-dafʿ) is broader and more universally obligatory than offensive jihad (qitāl al-ṭalab); thus, it becomes an individual duty (farḍ ʿayn) on everyone… Just as in the battles of Uḥud and the Trench. For this type of jihad, it is not a condition that the enemy be only twice the number of Muslims or less. On the contrary, they were many times greater in those battles, yet jihad was obligatory—because it was jihad of necessity and defense, not choice."

7. There are two divine wisdoms in having to resist against an army larger in number:

• First: So that victory may be attributed solely to Allah and not to numbers or military might. This does not negate the obligation of preparation, which remains within one's capability, as Allah said: 

وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ…
“And prepare against them whatever you are able of power…”
(Surah al-Anfāl: 60)

• Second: The Muslims possess spiritual strength that only sincere believers can feel on the battlefield. This doctrinal power has no counterpart among the enemy, and it is what enables the mujahidīn to remain steadfast despite being outnumbered and under-equipped. This reality is manifest today in the steadfastness of our brothers in Palestine, who stand firm against the fiercest military alliances, drawing strength from their faith in the justice of their cause and their trust in Allah’s promise.

8. The disparity between the Libyan resistance led by ʿUmar al-Mukhtār and the Italian colonial army was vast, yet they resisted and achieved victory. The same is true for the Afghan people, who defeated the Soviet Union and later Western occupation. Similarly, Algeria fought French occupation, sacrificing over five million martyrs until it gained independence. In Palestine, the blood of the defenders continues to flow—it is a land reserved for breaking the backs of tyrants.

This is also seen in the battle of the people of Dammāj against the Rāfiḍah in Yemen, during which scholars like Shaykh Sālim al-Tawīl and ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Rayyis issued fatwas endorsing jihad—unlike the hesitation we hear today despite similar circumstances.

Add to that the recent victories of the Syrian people against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who, despite years of siege and harsh conditions, have shown extraordinary resilience and strategic successes against one of the most brutal regimes of the modern era. No reliable scholar ever ruled against the legitimacy of jihad or condemned the resistance in any of these cases. This is the nature of all nations under occupation—resistance will never equal the strength of the occupier, but victory is for the patient and persevering. Allah says: 

كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ
“How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient.”
(Surah al-Baqarah: 249)

Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn commented similarly when speaking about the Chechen resistance against Russia:

“Their continued resistance for this long period—despite their few numbers and limited resources—against Russia, one of the world's superpowers in army and weaponry, is nothing but a sign from Allah and one of His miracles.”
(Chechen casualties: 100,000 killed, 200,000 injured, 500,000 displaced)

9. Some may misjudge the situation, but is a mistake a justification for surrendering to the Zionists? Are not the people of the land most aware of its conditions?

Those who live the reality and feel its pressures are the most capable of assessing its needs. Scholars distinguish between “the fiqh of textual evidence” and “the fiqh of context and application,” which addresses unfolding events in real-time and responds to pressing necessities accordingly.

Contemplate the words of Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn (رحمه الله) again regarding the Chechen resistance:

“Even if it were true that they erred in initiating the fight despite their weakness and the strength of the enemy, and even if their decision was mistaken—should we just abandon them and let the birds eat their corpses?!”

We ask: If resistance factions made a mistake, should we abandon them to be devoured by the Zionists?

10. Finally, let us reflect on the words of Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله), and two of his statements suffice:

(1) He said in al-Fatāwā al-Miṣriyyah (4/509):

“Defensive fighting (qitāl al-dafʿ) includes cases where the enemy is numerous and Muslims cannot withstand them, but fear that if they retreat, the enemy will attack those they leave behind. In such cases, our scholars explicitly stated that Muslims must sacrifice their lives and the lives of those at risk to protect others. A similar case is when the enemy attacks Muslim lands and the fighters are fewer than half of the enemy. If they retreat, the enemy will overrun and violate the sanctities. This and similar scenarios constitute defensive jihad, not offensive, and retreat is never permissible in such cases.”

(2) In al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā (5/538), he stated:

“As for defensive jihad, it is the most intense form of repelling a transgressor against honor and religion. It is obligatory by consensus. The transgressing enemy who corrupts religion and worldly affairs—nothing after faith is more obligatory than repelling him. No condition is required for this; he is repelled according to capacity. Scholars from our school and others have explicitly stated this. There must be a distinction between repelling a transgressing disbeliever and attacking him in his own land. Jihad can be with the hand, heart, daʿwah, proof, tongue, strategy, and technology. One must engage to the fullest extent of ability. And those unable to fight must support the warriors by caring for their families and property…”

It is crucial to recognize that what is occurring today is not offensive jihad—it is among the clearest examples of defensive jihad.

Imagine someone invades your home and locks you in a room. Would your attempt to escape and repel the attacker be considered offensive aggression? Or is it self-defence for your life, family, and dignity?

This is exactly the case in Gaza. The people there did not attack or initiate aggression outside their borders. Rather, they defend themselves, their land, and their families against a colonial occupier who has besieged them in a tiny strip, denied them basic life necessities, and kills them whether they act or remain still.

It must be known this is one of the clearest forms of jihad al-dafʿ, for which no condition is required—it is obligatory to the extent of one’s capacity, as affirmed by the verified scholars.

                                                                And Allah knows best.