If the guardian (Wali al-Amr) is unable to apprehend the bandits engaged with him in armed conflict, is it permissible for the people of the land to fight them alongside the guardian, and would they thereby attain martyrdom, and is it permissible to fight those who harbor bandits and join them?

If highway robbers fight with weapons, it is permissible to fight them, even if it leads to killing all of them. The blood of whoever is killed among them is considered wasted, and whoever they kill is a martyr. Muslims have unanimously agreed on the permissibility of fighting them. It is obligatory upon Muslims to fight them if they resist the ruler until he gains control over all of them, and whoever assists or harbors them should also be fought. It is permissible to fight highway robbers whether they are advancing or retreating, and to kill whoever is killed among them. They are held accountable for what they have plundered, and it is permissible to imprison whoever is captured from them. Scholars have differed regarding the ruling on the rad' (helper) of highway robbers. The Hanafis, Malikis, and Hanbalis held that his ruling is the same as that of the direct perpetrator, while the Shafi'is held that he should be punished discretionarily.