20.4 Guarding The Frontiers (ar-ribat)
The Ribat is among what follows jihad, and it is to position at the frontiers to strengthen the Muslims. The frontier is every place at the borders with the enemy whose people are frightened by the enemy and they frighten the enemy. In other words, it is the place beyond which there is no Islam. The meaning of ribat is to stay at the frontiers to honour the deen and repel the evil of the disbelievers from Muslims. Staying at any place where the attack of the enemy is expected with the intention to prevent it is considered ribat because the ribat of tethered horses in Allah’s statement:
“Prepare for them as much as you can of ribat of horses so as to terrorise the enemy of Allah and your enemy” [TMQ 8:60]
because these (people) tether their horses and those (also) tether, each one preparing for his master; so the established residence was called a frontier and there is ribat in the home even if there are no fighting horses. Accordingly whoever stays in the frontier with the intention to repel the enemy is considered one guarding the frontier whether it is the place of his residence i.e. his home where he normally resides or not, as the understanding is not whether the place is his residence or not but rather the intention is to repel the enemy and frighten him. The virtue of ribat is great and its reward is large since ribat is the defending of Muslims and their honour, and strength to the people of the frontier and those fighting. Ribat is the origin of jihad and its branch, and there came numerous texts on the virtue of ribat. It came in Sahih Muslim from Salman (ra) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw):
“The ribat of a day and night in the way of Allah is better than fasting and praying for a month. And if he dies, the actions he performed would continue for him, and his sustenance would flow upon him and he would be safe from afflictions and he would be raised as a martyr on the day of judgement”
At-Tabarani narrated with a chain of trustworthy people a marfu’ hadith:
“And the one who dies as a murabit in the way of Allah is safe from the great terror.”
And from ‘Umamah from him (saw) who said:
“The prayer of the murabit is counted as five hundred prayers and his spending a dinar and dirham upon is better than seven hundred dinars that he spends in anything else.”
It is narrated from Fudhala bin ‘Ubayd who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying:
“The actions of all dead persons cease except the one who dies a murabit in the way of Allah. His actions increase until the Day of Judgement and he is safe from the affliction of the grave.”
Ribat can be short or long. Any period that one stayed with the intention of ribat is ribat, whether long or short. That is why the Prophet (saw) said:
“Ribat of a day and night.”
It is better for the murabit to travel to the frontiers to live there so that he becomes a murabit. This is why many of the predecessors lived in the frontiers in order to be murabitun. The people of the frontiers are alone considered murabitun if their intention in residing is repelling the enemy and frightening them, and if sufficiency is achieved by them alone. If it is not achieved except with the frontiers which are before these, then they are also (part of) ribat.. What is considered ribat is the murabit residents in their land by whom repelling the enemy and their terrifying is achieved, and they are considered murabit.
Similar to the guarding - murabatah in the way of Allah (swt) is the guarding in the way of Allah (swt) for which there is great virtue. It has been narrated from ibn Abbas (ra) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying:
“Two eyes will never be touched by the fire of Hell; an eye which weeps out of Fear of Allah and an eye which spends the night in guarding in the Cause of Allah.”
It has been narrated from Uthman (ra) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying:
“Guarding one night in the way of Allah is better than praying one thousand night and fasting their days.”