Security Strategy and Intelligence Fiqh in the Light of Life of the Prophet

Gathering intelligence is the first act of human kind. Humans searched for knowledge of the available place of water and to continue his/her life. After humans started living in communities they sent people to collect intelligence about neighboring communities in order to find out their way of living, to protect themselves, or to attack them or to make alliance with them. The fiqh of intelligence in Islam is old as itself since it appeared with the start of Islam. Islam was born in secrecy then the Prophet (pbuh) developed innovative ways unknown to Arabs at that time through strategic security planning. These innovative ways served the security of the state and surprised the enemy by sending written letters and digging ditches which destroyed their morale. The life of the Prophet (pbuh) shows that Islam emphasized the security area with moral values and ethics since the security ensures that people are in peace with their religions, lives, possessions and dignities. The intelligence service is a legal means to monitor the movements of the enemy and find out its plans and make them unsuccessful.