How do we understand the hadith: “Do not wish to meet the enemy”?

How do we understand the hadith: “Do not wish to meet the enemy”?
Question Number: 3463

Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Kullu aamin wa antum bi khayr, taqaballa llohu minna wa minkum (Eid greetings -May Allah accept from us and you all). I ask Allah to bless the Islamic Ummah with victory and empowerment Aameen Aameen
There are many in our time who refer to this hadith:

“do not wish to meet the enemy”

that it is not compulsory for the Mujahideen to stand up to fight the infidels who invaded our homes and we can not afford to confront them or fight them, and that we are vulnerable and lack the strength to fight, and they condemn the Mujahideen with the worst condemnation.
I will not hide it to you that this issue annoys me when I hear people who have no role in jihad yet condemn the Mujahideen in their efforts and claim they do not act wisely and so on among the many allegations.
I am aware that the Mujahideen in our time are the Victorious Sect, who are not harmed by those who disagreed with them and those who let them down, but our distinguished scholars, we want to understand this hadith and how do we relate it to our reality and how do we respond to those who use it to condemn our brothers the Mujahideen in what they are doing and so that it might be our weapon against pessimists and betrayers May Allah keep you and us away from them.
We ask Allah to raise his words and support his Awliyaah (friends), the Mujahideen all over the world and those seeking to implement the Shariah of Allah in the land of Khorasan, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Somalia and the Islamic Maghreb and everywhere Aameen Aameen.

Questioner: Abu Musab al-Iraqi

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and companions and allies, but after:

May Allah enrich you our brother and we ask Allah to guide us in both realms. Those whom you mentioned in your question – may Allah not populate them – they are people who bear cowardice and weakness in their hearts, they have adhered to this world and its enjoyments and handed over the issue of jihad to the Tawaagheet (plural of Taaghut) who surrendered the land and resources to the Kuffar among the Americans and others … And those people if they were wise enough they would know that the Jihad of the Mujahideen today is Jihadu daf’i (defensive) not Jihadu talab (offensive), today the Mujahideen are protecting the sanctity of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere, and the Kuffar are the ones who invaded the lands of the Muslims and spilled their blood and there is no power but of Allah.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah may Almighty Allah have mercy on him said in Fataawa al-Kubra:

(The defensive war is the most difficult type of repelling off the attacker from the privacy and religion, it is therefore obligatory by consensus, the enemy attacker who corrupts religion and the world, there is nothing obligatory after Eeman (faith) than to repell him, there is no condition set for it rather, he should be repelled as much as possible).
[Fataawa al-Kubra (5/538)]

The case of those who cling to this hadith while neglecting other texts inciting Jihad and mentioning what Allah has prepared for the martyrs, reminds me of the words of Almighty Allah:

(As for those who in their hearts is aberration, they follow what is unclear in search of Fitnah (sedition) and in search of its interpretation and no one knows its interpretation except Allah, and those firmly grounded in knowledge say: “we believe in it, all are from our Lord” and none receive admonition except men of understanding). [Suuratu Al-Imraan aayah 7]

and so, whoever uses the saying of the prophet peace be upon him:
(O people, do not wish to meet the enemy, but ask Allah for wellness)
to justify his refusal to support the oppressed vulnerable men, women and children, he has deviated from the truth and has missed the right path.

Al-Haafiz said in Fath al-Baari:

(Ibn Battal said: the wisdom behind the prohibition (of wishing to meet the enemy) is that one does not know what will be the result of the matter hence the need to ask for prevention from sedition.

And As-Sideeq had said: “for me to be protected and give thanks is dearer to me than to be tested and have patience”
And others have said that the prophet forbade wishing to meet the enemy because of what that entails of self admiration, reliance on strength, and under-rating of the enemy and all that hence the need to have resolve and determination.
And it has been said that the prohibition applies to when their is doubt about the benefit or harm else, fighting is a virtue and obedience as well and the first comment is supported by the fact that the prohibition was ended by his words “and ask Allah for wellness”

And Saeed Bn Mansour has reported through Yahya ibn Abi Katheer as Mursal:
“do not wish to meet the enemy for you do not know if you may be victimised by them”

and Ibn Daqeeq said:
“because meeting death is one of the most difficult things on the soul, and hidden things are not like reality, there is no assurance that things would be right when it happens and for that reason, wishful thinking is detested, and because when it happens it is most likely that a person would act against what he has promised and when the reality occurs unavoidably, patience has been ordered).

[Fath al-Baari (6/156)]

And Allah knows best.

Answered by a member of the Shariah Committee:

Sheikh Abu Dharr Alsamhari al-Yamaani