A Medieval Derelict Jihad Canon: Ibn Taymiyya’s Qā'ida muḫtaṣara fī qitāl al-kuffār on Combating Non-Believers

The Qā'ida muḫtaṣara fī qitāl al-kuffār: Hal sababuhu l-muqātala aw l-kufr? (QM), one of the less known epitomes of Ibn Taymiyya’s treatises, is notably important as a summarized gloss of his take on unbelief (kufr) as the mere ratio legis to fight or kill non-Muslims. Though its authenticity can be claimed, the disagreements are less about its attribution to Ibn Taymiyya and more about its content that sparked controversy about a crucial issue at the core of the jihad discourse. Examples of the challenging discrepancies of contested texts on the issue of offensive/initiatory jihad (ǧihād al-ṭalab/al-ibtidā'), spread over Ibn Taymiyya’s large corpus, may offer contradictive perspectives. The analysis and discussion of this treatise, compared to his extant legacy, shows how Ibn Taymiyya does not categorically refute initiating jihad against non-Muslims. He rather stresses a conceptualization of defensive jihad (ǧihād al-daf') as the basic legitimate rule, even when initiating (ibtidā') a fight is necessary as a preventive anticipatory measure.