ﷺ She reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out toward Badr. When he reached Harrat al-Wabra, a man caught up with him who was known for his boldness and bravery. The companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were delighted when they saw him.When he reached him, the man said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, "I have come to follow you and share in the spoils with you."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked him, "Do you believe in Allah and His Messenger?"He replied, "No."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Then go back, for I will never seek the help of a polytheist."She continued, Then he went on until, when we reached the tree, the man caught up with him again and said to him what he had said the first time. The Prophet ﷺ answered him as he had answered the first time, saying, "Go back, for I will never seek the help of a polytheist."So the man went back, then caught up with him again at al-Bayda. The Prophet ﷺ said to him as before, "Do you believe in Allah and His Messenger?"He replied, "Yes."So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, "Then come along."
ﷺ أنها قالت: خرج رسول الله ﷺ قبل بدر فلما كان بحرة الوبرة أدركه رجل، قد كان يذكر منه جرأة ونجدة، ففرح أصحاب رسول الله ﷺ حين رأوه، فلما أدركه قال لرسول الله ﷺ جئت لأتبعك، وأصيب معك، قال له رسول الله ﷺ: تؤمن بالله ورسوله؟ قال: لا. قال: فارجع، فلن أستعين بمشرك. قالت: ثم مضى حتى إذا كنا بالشجرة أدركه الرجل فقال له كما قال أول مرة، فقال له النبي ﷺ كما قال أول مرة، قال: فارجع فلن أستعين بمشرك، قال: ثم رجع فأدركه بالبيداء، فقال له كما قال أول مرة تؤمن بالله ورسوله؟ قال: نعم فقال له رسول الله ﷺ: فانطلق.
Muslim narrated it in the Book of Leadership (1817) through Malik bin Anas, from Fudayl bin Abu Abdullah, from Abdullah bin Niyar Aslami, from Urwa bin Zubayr, from Ayesha, and he mentioned it.This hadith should be understood as applying to a specific time and a specific person, not as a general rule. The Prophet ﷺ knew about this man that if he turned him away, he would enter Islam, whereas if he had accepted him into the Muslim army, he would have remained in his disbelief. And this is what happened, and this points to a miracle of the Prophet ﷺ.Malik and his companions said, it is permissible to seek the help of a disbeliever in certain cases, but they did not specify the cases, leaving that instead to the judgment of the ruler.Shafii said, if the Muslims are in need and this disbeliever is known for good conduct toward the Muslims, then there is no harm in seeking his help. The Prophet ﷺ sought the help of Safwan bin Umaya while he was still a disbeliever.I say, the hadith of this chapter was not acted upon according to its apparent meaning throughout the history of Islam. During the Abbasid state, the caliphs sought the help of their non-Muslim allies in wars. Likewise, in the Mughal state in India, some army commanders were non-Muslims. And today, in Islamic states that have a non-Muslim minority, there are non-Muslims serving in their armies.On this topic there is a narration from Khubayb bin Abdul-Rahman, from his father, from his grandfather, who said, "I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when he intended to go on a raid, myself and a man from my people, and we had not yet accepted Islam. We said, 'We are ashamed that our people should witness a battle that we do not witness with them.' He said, 'Have you two accepted Islam?' We said, 'No.' He said, 'We do not seek the help of polytheists against polytheists.'" He said, "So we accepted Islam, and we witnessed the battle with him. I killed a man, and I was struck a blow, and I later married that man's daughter." She used to say, "May you never lack a man to whom this sash belongs," and I would say, "May you never lack a man who hastened your father to the Fire."Ahmad narrated it (15762), and Tabarani in Al-Kabir (4/264), and Hakim (2/121–122), all of them through Yazid bin Harun, who said, Mustalim bin Saeed Thaqafi informed us, from Khubayb bin Abdul-Rahman, with this chain.Khubayb's father is Abdul-Rahman bin Asaf, about whom no criticism or endorsement is known, so he is counted among the unknown narrators. As for Hakim, he said, the chain is sahih, and Khubayb bin Abdul-Rahman bin Aswad bin Haritha, his grandfather is a well-known Companion.Regarding his statement, "We do not seek the help of a polytheist," the scholars said, that applies when there is no need for him, but when there is a need, there is no harm in it.