Ta'assus (leƙen asiri) shi ne bincikar labari. Ana cewa a harshen Larabci: "ta'assasa al-khabar" da "ta'assasa fihi", ma'ana ya bincika labarin. Daga nan ne kuma ake kiran mai leƙen asiri da "jasus". Idan mutum ya bincika labari, to ya yi leƙen asiri a kansa, kuma shi ɗan leƙen asiri ne, ko ya bincika labari a bayyane ko a ɓoye. Ba sharaɗi ba ne a cikin bincikar labari cewa ya zama a ɓoye, wato sirri, domin ya zama leƙen asiri. Maimakon haka, leƙen asiri shi ne bincikar labari, ko na sirri ko na bayyane, wato a ɓoye da kuma a fili. Amma idan mutum yana kallon abubuwa a yadda suke ba tare da bincike ba, kuma aikinsa ba bincikar labari ba ne, ko tara bayanai don bugawa ga mutane, ko kuma yana da alaƙa da labarai, to duk wannan ba leƙen asiri ba ne, muddin ba bincikar labari yake yi ba, kuma bincikar labari ba ya cikin ayyukansa. Ko da ya bi labarai a irin waɗannan yanayi, ba leƙen asiri ba ne, domin bincikar labari wanda shi ne leƙen asiri yana kasancewa ne kawai idan bibiya da nazari a kansa na nufin a bincike shi. Amma wanda ya bi labari don tara shi, ba ya nazarinsa don manufar bincikensa, sai dai yana tara shi ne don bugawa ga mutane. Saboda haka ba a cewa wanda ya bi labari ya tara shi, kamar wakilan jaridu da hukumomin labarai, cewa su 'yan leƙen asiri ne, sai dai idan aikinsu leƙen asiri ne, kuma suka mayar da aikin wakilci a jaridu da hukumomi a matsayin kayan aiki. A wannan yanayi shi ɗan leƙen asiri ne, ba don shi wakili ne da ke bin labari ba, sai dai don aikinsa leƙen asiri ne, kuma ya mayar da aikin wakilci a matsayin rufa-rufa, kamar yadda yake a halin wakilai da yawa, musamman waɗanda suke kafirai masu yaƙi a cikinsu. Su kuwa jami'an sassan bincike da ofishin bincike da makamantansu waɗanda suke binciken labarai, su 'yan leƙen asiri ne, domin aikinsu leƙen asiri ne.

Spying is investigating information. It is said in the language “spied the news and spying it (is) investigating regarding it” and from it is the spy. If the man investigates information then he has spied it and he is a spy, whether he investigates open or hidden information. It is not a condition in investigating information that it be hidden i.e. secret so that it is spying; rather spying is investigating news whether secret or open i.e. secret and non-secret. Whereas if he sees things naturally without investigation and without his action being investigation of news, or collection of information to publish it or is concerned with news, all this is not spying as long at it is not investigating news and investigating news is not part of his actions. Even if he follows news in these situations, it is not spying because investigating of information which is spying is only where following and scrutinising it is for the objective of examining it. As for the one who follows information to collect it, he does not scrutinize it for the objective of examining it but rather he collects it to publish it to the people. Accordingly it is not said about the one who follows news and collects it like the correspondents of gazettes and news agencies that they are spies, except if their work is spying and they take the correspondence of gazettes and agencies as a tool. In this situation he is a spy not because of his being a correspondent who is following the news but rather because his work is spying and he takes correspondence as a tool for cover as is the situation with many correspondents and particularly the belligerent disbelievers among them. As for the officers of investigative departments and the investigative office and their like who investigate news, they are spies because their work is spying.

Wannan ita ce hakikanin leƙen asiri da hakikanin ɗan leƙen asiri. Dangane da hukuncin leƙen asiri kuwa, yana bambanta gwargwadon waɗanda ake leƙawa. Idan leƙen asiri ne ga Musulmai ko zimmawa waɗanda ƴan ƙasa ne kamar Musulmai, to haram ne kuma ba a halatta ba. Idan kuma leƙen asiri ne ga kafirai masu yaƙi, ko suna yaƙi a zahiri ko bisa hukunci, to halal ne ga Musulmai, kuma wajibi ne a kan Khalifa. Haramcin leƙen asiri ga Musulmai da ƴan ƙasar Daular Musulunci kuwa an tabbatar da shi a fili a cikin Alƙur'ani. Allah (SWT) ya ce:

This is the reality of spying and the reality of the spy. As for the rule of spying, it differs according to those spied upon. If it is spying upon Muslims or dhimmis who are citizens like Muslims, then it is haram and not allowed. If it is spying upon belligerent disbelievers, whether they are belligerent in actual fact or by rule, this is allowed for Muslims and obligatory upon the Khalifah. As for spying upon Muslims and citizens of the Islamic State being haram, this is established by the Qur’an explicitly. Allah (swt) said:

Don haka Allah ya haramta leƙen asiri a cikin ayar. Wannan haramcin gama-gari ne, ya shafi duk nau'ikan leƙen asiri, ko don kansa ne ko don wani, ko don Gwamnati ne ko don daidaikun mutane ko ƙungiyoyi, kuma ko mai yin sa shugaba ne ko wanda ake mulki. Maganar gama-gari ce, ta shafi duk abin da ya dace a kira leƙen asiri.

So Allah prohibited spying in the ayah. This prohibition is general covering all spying whether it is spying for himself or anyone, whether it is for the State or individuals or groups, and whether the one performing it i.e. the spying is the ruler or the ruled. The speech is general covering everything applying upon it that it is spying.

Anan ana tambaya: Shin halal ne Musulmi ya yi aiki a matsayin jami'i a sashen bincike ko sashen tuhuma, ko wasu sassan da aikinsu, ko wani ɓangare nasa, leƙen asiri ne? Amsar ta dogara ne. Idan ofishin an kafa shi ne domin leƙen asiri kan Musulmi ko zimmawa waɗanda suke 'yan ƙasa kamar Musulmi, to haram ne bisa ga nassin Alƙur'ani bayyananne. An hana hakan ga zimmi kamar yadda aka hana ga Musulmi, domin zimmi a Dar al-Islam an umarce shi da ya aiwatar da dokokin Musulunci a kansa, sai dai abin da ya shafi akida da ibada, kuma wannan ba ya cikin hakan. Idan kuwa ofishin yana leƙen asiri kan maƙiya masu yaƙi waɗanda suke shiga ƙasashenmu daga cikin waɗanda aka ba wa aminci ko waɗanda ke ƙarƙashin yarjejeniya, to halal ne, kamar yadda halal ne a yi leƙen asiri kan maƙiya masu yaƙi, ko suna yaƙi a zahiri ko a hukunce, ko suna a ƙasashensu ko a tamu. Saboda haka, kasancewar sashen bincike ko tuhuma da irinsu ba haram ba ne, illa wajibi ne. Abin da aka haramta a cikinsu shi ne leƙen asiri kan Musulmi ko zimmawa waɗanda 'yan ƙasar Musulmi ne. Ba a halatta wa Gwamnati ta kafa sashen leƙen asiri kan Musulmi da sauran 'yan ƙasa ba; a'a, haramun ne a kansu. Haka kuma ba a ce bukatar maslahar Gwamnati tana buƙatar sanin bayanan 'yan ƙasa domin a tona makirci da kaiwa ga masu laifi ba, domin Gwamnati tana iya sanin hakan ta hanyar 'yan sanda da sintiri da dare, ba ta hanyar leƙen asiri ba. Kuma kasancewar hankali ya ga amfani a wani abu ko bai gani ba, ba dalili ba ne na haramta ko halatta; abin da Shari'a ta gani a matsayin amfani ne kawai amfani. Idan ayoyin Alƙur'ani suka zo suna hana wani abu a fili, to babu wurin muhawara ko akwai amfani a cikinsa da za a yi hujjar halatta shi, domin babu wata daraja a gaban nassin Alƙur'ani bayyananne. Alkur'ani ya ce: "Kada ku yi leƙen asiri," wato haramcin leƙen asiri, kuma babu wata hanyar fahimta sai abin da ayar ta nuna da kuma ma'anar kalmominta a sarari. Babu wata hujja da ta ƙayyade faɗin wannan ayar ko ta fitar da wani abu daga cikinta, saboda haka tana nan a faɗinta tana rufe dukkan leƙen asiri, don haka dukkan leƙen asiri akan 'yan ƙasa haramun ne.

Here a question arises: Is it allowed for the Muslim to work as an officer in an inquiry department or an investigative department or other departments whose work, or some of it, is spying? The response depends. If it is an office to spy upon Muslims or dhimmmis who are citizens like Muslims, then it is haram by the explicit Qur’anic text. It is prevented for the dhimmi like it is prevented for the Muslim as the dhimmi in Dar al-Islam is addressed to implement the Islamic rules upon himself except what relates to creeds and worships, and this is not part of that. If the office is spying upon belligerent disbelievers who enter our lands from the ones who have been granted security or the ones under covenant, then it is allowed as it is allowed to spy upon belligerent disbelievers whether they are belligerent in practice or by the rule and whether they are in their lands or ours. Accordingly the existence of inquiry or investigative departments and their like is not haram but obligatory and what is prohibited (haram) in them is spying upon Muslims or dhimmis who are citizens of Muslims. It is not allowed for the State to have a department to spy upon Muslims and the rest of the citizens; rather this is forbidden against them. Nor is it said that the State’s interest requires knowing the citizens’ information so as to expose conspiracies and lead to criminals because the State can know this via the method of police and night patrol not via the method of spying. Just because the mind sees benefit or not in something it is not a reason for forbiddance or allowance; only what the Shar’a sees as benefit is benefit. When the Qur’anic ayat come explicitly forbidding anything there remains no place for discussion whether there is benefit in it to reason it into making it halal, as there is no value in that in front of the explicit Qur’anic text. The Qur’an says: “Do not spy” meaning prohibition of spying, and there is no way to understand other than what the ayah indicates and the clear meaning of its words. There came no evidence specifying the generality of this ayah or excluding something from it, so it remains in its generality covering all spying so all spying upon the citizens is haram.

A cikin wannan littafi Manzon Allah ﷺ ya umarci Abdullahi bin Jahsh ya yi leƙen asiri a madadinsa kan Quraishawa, ya kuma sanar da shi labaransu. Duk da haka, ya ba sahabbansa zaɓi ko za su yi tafiya ko a'a; amma ga shi kansa Abdullahi, ya zama wajibi a kansa ya aiwatar da aikin. Don haka Manzon Allah ﷺ ya nemi dukkansu su yi leƙen asiri, amma ya wajabta wa Abdullahi, ya kuma bar zaɓi ga sauran. Wannan shaida ce cewa umarnin da aka bayar ga shugaban ƙungiya umarni ne mai ƙarfi, kuma dangane da sauran waɗanda suke tare da shi umarni ne mara ƙarfi. Haka kuma shaida ce cewa leƙen asirin Musulmi kan abokan gaba halal ne. Leƙen asiri kan abokan gaba yana daga cikin abubuwan da rundunar Musulunci ba za ta iya yi ba tare da su ba. Ba zai yiwu a shirya runduna domin yaƙi ba tare da masu leƙen asiri kan abokan gaba ba, don haka kasancewar leƙen asiri a cikin rundunar ya zama wajibi a kan Jiha daga rukunin (min bab) na

In this book the Messenger (saw) command Abdullah bin Jahsh to spy for him upon Quraysh and to inform him of their news. However he gave a choice to his companions whether to travel or not; as for him (Abdullah), it was obliged upon him to execute the operation. So the Messenger had requested all to perform spying but obliged Abdullah and gave a choice to the rest. This is evidence that the request in relation to the leader of a group is a decisive request, and in relation to the rest together with him it is an indecisive request. It is also evidence that spying by Muslims upon the enemy is allowed. Spying upon the enemy is from the matters which the Islamic army cannot do without. It is not possible to accomplish the formation of an army for war without there being spies for it upon the enemy, so the presence of spying in the army becomes obligatory upon the State from the category (min bab) of

Wannan shi ne hukuncin leƙen asiri dangane da kasancewarsa haramun ko halal ko wajibi. Amma game da hukuncin hukunta ɗan leƙen asirin da yake leƙen asiri ga maƙiyan kafirai masu yaƙi, wannan ya bambanta dangane da zama ɗan ƙasa na ɗan leƙen asirin da addinin sa. Amma ga kafiri mai yaƙi idan shi ɗan leƙen asiri ne, hukuncinsa kisa ne a matsayin hukunci guda ɗaya mai yanke hukunci, kuma babu wani hukunci a gare shi banda haka. Ana kashe shi kawai idan an san cewa ɗan leƙen asiri ne, watau kawai idan an tabbatar da cewa ɗan leƙen asiri ne. Wannan saboda abin da Al-Bukhari ya ruwaito daga Salamah bin Al-Akwa’ wanda ya ce:

This is the rule of spying in relation to it being haram or allowed or obligatory. As for the rule on punishing the spy who spies for the belligerent disbelievers, this differs in relation to the citizenship of the spy and his deen. As for the belligerent disbeliever when he is a spy, his rule is killing as one decisive word and there is no rule for him other than that. He is killed merely upon knowing he is a spy i.e. upon mere proving that he is a spy. This is due to what Al-Bukhari narrated from Salamah bin Al-Akwa’ who said:

Kuma a cikin Muslim an ruwaito daga Ikrimah da wannan lafazi:

And in Muslim it has been narrated from Ikrimah with the words:

Kuma a cikin ruwayar Abu Nu'aym a cikin Al-Mustakhraj ta hanyar Yahya bin Al-Hamani daga Abu Al-'Umays

And in the narration of Abu Nu’aym in Al-Mustakhraj via the way of Yahya bin Al-Hamani from Abu Al-‘Umays

Dalilin da ya sa wannan ya kasance a bayyane shi ne cewa Manzon Allah ﷺ, bisa kawai kasancewar an kafa hujja a gare shi cewa shi ɗan leƙen asiri ne, ya ce.

The is explicit in that the Messenger (saw) on the basis of merely being established before him that he is a spy said

Wannan yana nuna cewa buƙatar tana da hukunci mai tsauri, don haka hukuncinta ya zama kisa a matsayin hukunci guda ɗaya tilo, kuma hakan ya shafi dukan kafirai masu yaƙi, ko suna ƙarƙashin yarjejeniya, ko da alkawarin tsaro, ko kuma ba mu'ahid ko musta'man ba. Duk waɗannan kafirai ne masu yaƙi, kuma hukuncinsu shi ne a kashe su idan sun kasance ƴan leƙen asiri.

This is a connotation that the request is a decisive request. So its rule becomes killing as one decisive word and it is general for all belligerent disbelievers whether he is under a covenant or with a pledge of security or other than a mu’ahid or musta’man. All are belligerent disbelievers whose rule is to be killed if they are spies.

Amma game da ƙafiran ahlul-dhimma idan ya zama ɗan leƙen asiri, sai a duba. Idan an sanya sharadi a lokacin da ya shiga cikin dhimma cewa kada ya yi leƙen asiri, kuma idan ya yi leƙen asirin za a kashe shi, to ana aiki da sharadin. Don haka idan ya zama ɗan leƙen asiri, ana kashe shi bisa ga sharadin. Sai dai idan ba a sanya hakan a matsayin sharadi a kansa ba, to ya halatta ga Khalifa ya sanya kisa a matsayin hukuncinsa, saboda haka ana kashe shi idan ya zama ɗan leƙen asiri, bisa abin da Ahmad ya ruwaito daga Furrat bin Hayyan.

As for the dhimmi disbelievers when he is a spy, then it is looked into. If it was made a condition when he entered into the dhimma that he should not spy and if he spied he will be killed, then the condition is acted upon. So if he became a spy, he is killed according to the condition. However, if that is not made a condition upon him then it is allowed for the Khalifah to make killing as his punishment so he is killed if he becomes a spy due to what Ahmad narrated from Furrat bin Hayyan

Wannan a bayyane yake cewa Manzon Allah ﷺ ya umarci a kashe wani ɗan leƙen asiri na ahlul-ɗhimma. Sai dai wannan an halatta shi ga Imam, ba wajibi ba ne a kansa, kamar yadda yake a lokacin da ɗan leƙen asirin ya kasance kafiri mai yaƙi. Dalilin cewa kashe ɗan leƙen asirin ahlul-ɗhimma da Ƙasa ke yi halal ne, ba wajibi ba, shi ne cewa hadisin ba shi da wata alama mai nuna ƙwaƙƙwaran umarni, don haka buƙata ce marar ƙwaƙƙwaran umarni. Akwai kuma alamar da ke nuna rashin ƙwaƙƙwaran buƙata, wato yadda lafazin hadisin ya nuna cewa Manzon Allah ﷺ bai yi gaggawar kashe Furrat ba bayan kawai ya sani cewa ɗan leƙen asiri ne, alhali kuwa a game da kafirin mai yaƙi da aka ambata a hadisin Salama bin Al-Akwa', Annabi ﷺ ya umarci a kashe shi da zarar an tabbatar masa cewa ɗan leƙen asiri ne, ya kuma ce wa Musulmi: "Ku nemo shi, ku kashe shi." Dalilin cewa bai yi gaggawar kashe shi ba shi ne Manzon Allah ﷺ yana sane da shi, kamar yadda yake a cikin faɗin hadisin "shi ɗan ahlul-ɗhimma ne kuma ɗan leƙen asiri ne", wato an san shi, da kuma faɗin Manzon Allah ﷺ "daga cikinsu akwai Furrat bin Hayyan". Bugu da ƙari, Manzon Allah ﷺ a game da kafirin mai yaƙi ya ce: "Ku nemo shi, ku kashe shi", alhali a game da Furrat bin Hayyan ya umarci a kashe shi amma bai umarci Musulmi su nemo shi ba. A bayyane yake a nan bambancin tsakanin su biyun: buƙatar kashe mai yaƙi buƙata ce mai ƙwaƙƙwaran umarni, buƙatar kashe ɗhimmi kuwa buƙata ce marar ƙwaƙƙwaran umarni, wadda ke nuna halaccin kashe ɗan leƙen asirin ɗhimmi da halaccin rashin kashe shi.

This is explicit that the Messenger commanded the killing of a dhimmi spy. However this is allowed for the Imam and not obligatory upon him as is the case when the spy if he is a belligerent disbeliever. The evidence that the killing of a dhimmi spy by the State is allowed and not obligatory is that the hadith is not associated with a connotation indicating decisiveness so it is an indecisive request. There is a connotation which indicates the non-decisiveness in the request which is that the text of the hadith indicates that the Messenger (saw) did not hasten to kill Furrat after the mere knowledge that he is a spy whereas the belligerent disbeliever mentioned in the hadith of Salama bin Al-Akwa’, the Prophet had commanded his killing upon it being merely established before him that he is a spy and he said to the Muslims: “Seek him and kill him.” The evidence that he did not hasten to kill him is that the Messenger (saw) used to know him, which appears in the saying of the hadith “he was a dhimmi and he was a spy” i.e. he was known, and (also) the saying of the Messenger “of them is Furrat bin Hayyan.” In addition to that, the Messenger said in the matter of the belligerent disbeliever: “Seek him and kill him” whereas in the matter of Furrat bin Hayyan he commanded his killing but did not request the Muslims to seek him. It is clear therein the distinction between both of them in that the request to kill the belligerent is a decisive request and the request to kill the dhimmi is an indecisive request which indicates the permissibility of killing the dhimmi spy and the permissibility of not killing him.

Don't Keep reason (‘illah) and this is the main point: the reason (‘illah) for refraining from killing him is his becoming a Muslim. Al-Bukhari narrated from Ali bin Abu Talib (ra) who said: Wait, I need to correct that: here is the faithful Hausa translation. Saboda haka, dalilin (‘illah) hana kashe shi shi ne musulunta. Al-Bukhari ya ruwaito daga Ali bin Abu Talib (ra) ya ce:

So the reason (‘illah) abstaining from killing him is his becoming a Muslim. Al-Bukhari narrated from Ali bin Abu Talib (ra) said:

An an ambaton game da Hatib cewa shi ɗan leƙen asiri ne a kan Musulmi, Manzon Allah ﷺ bai kashe shi ba, wanda hakan ke nuna cewa ɗan leƙen asiri Musulmi ba a kashe shi. Kada a ce hukuncin yana keɓe ga mutanen Badar, domin hadisin an yi masa hujja (mu’allil) bisa kasancewarsa daga mutanen Badar. Kuma ba a ce haka ba, domin ko da nassi ya zo da abin da ke buƙatar bincike (ta’lil), kuma mahallin sa ya kasance ta yadda ake fahimtar dalili daga gare shi; duk da haka, a cikin hadisin Ahmad game da Furrat bin Hayyan, an ɗauke masa kisa saboda ya zama Musulmi bayan ya kasance zimmi, wanda hakan ya ɓata dalilin wannan hadisi kuma ya mai da shi bayanin abin da ya faru, domin Furrat bin Hayyan ba ya cikin mutanen Badar. Haka kuma, kada a ce hadisin Furrat bin Hayyan a Abu Dawud yana da Abu Hammam Ad-Dallal Muhammad bin Muhabbib a cikin isnadinsa, kuma hadisansa ba a ɗaukarsu hujja ba, kuma yana ruwaya daga Sufyan Ath-Thawri. Ba a ce haka ba, domin Ahmad ya ruwaito wannan hadisin daga Sufyan bin Bushr bin As-Sirri Al-Basri, kuma yana cikin waɗanda Al-Bukhari da Muslim suka yarda a ɗauki hadisinsa a matsayin hujja. Don haka hadisin ya tabbata kuma ana iya cire hukunci daga gare shi, kuma hujja ce cewa ɗan leƙen asiri Musulmi ba a kashe shi, amma ana hukunta shi da ɗaurin kurkuku ko wani hukunci daban bisa ra’in alƙali ko Khalifa.

It was established in this hadith about Hatib that he was a spy against the Muslims and the Messenger did not kill him, which indicates that the Muslim spy is not killed. One should not say that the rule is specific to the people of Badr because the hadith is reasoned (mu’allil) on his being of the people of Badr. This should not be said became even if the text came with what requires reasoning and its context was in a way that reasoning is understood from it; nevertheless (in) the hadith of Ahmad about Furrat bin Hayyan, killing was lifted from him because he became a Muslim after he was a dhimmi which invalidates the reasoning of this hadith and makes it a description of a reality because Furrat bin Hayyan was not from the people of Badr. Nor should one say that the hadith of Furrat bin Hayyan in Abu Dawud has Abu Hammam Ad-Dalal Muhammad bin Muhabbib in its chain and his hadith are not considered as proofs, and he is narrating from Sufyan Ath-Thawri. One should not say this because Ahmad has narrated this hadith from Sufyan bin Bushr bin As-Sirri Al-Basri, and he is from those whom Al-Bukhari and Muslim agreed to consider as proof with his hadith. So the hadith is established and is extrapolated upon, and it is an evidence that the Muslim spy is not killed but is punished with imprisonment or something else according to the view of the judge or Khalifah.

Duk wannan yana magana ne a kan leƙen asirin Musulmi da zimmiyyai domin amfanin maƙiyin kafiri mai yaƙi. Amma leƙen asirin Musulmi (amma) ba domin maƙiyi ba, watau ba domin kafiri mai yaƙi ba, sai dai domin leƙen asiri kawai, ko domin Musulmi ko Jiha; duk da cewa haram ne, Shari'a ba ta ƙayyade wata takamaiman hukunci ga wannan zunubi ba, don haka hukuncinsa ya zama hukunci na ra'ayi (ta'zeer).