Probability of Success as a Requirement for Fighting Rebels (Bughāt)

In al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār al-Jāmiʿ li-Madhāhib ʿUlamāʾ al-Amṣār, under the chapter on International Relations and Military Conduct (Kitāb al-Siyar), Imām Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-Murtaḍā (d. 840 AH / 1437 CE) explains the ruling on waging war against the bughāt (rebels).

He makes clear that the obligation to fight them is conditional: it only applies when victory is deemed probable. War for its own sake is not the aim; the purpose is the removal of injustice. As he concludes:

“This is the nearer view (to truth), for the aim is the removal of wrong.”