إدريس عبدالله
_26 _February _2016هـ الموافق 26-02-2016م, 11:20 PM
An aggressive, unjust and abnormal behavior emanates in most cases from abnormal and corrupt thought or reckless sentiments, ignorance, shallow understanding and lack of foresight and consideration for the repercussion of actions.
When one thinks about the unjust activities of terrorism, especially, what is happening in some Islamic countries by deviant groups among Muslims, one asks in pain: how do these people reason? And what is their justification? What is their source of legislation? And what benefits are they aiming? When indeed they are betraying promises, violating agreements, committing grievous sins, terrorizing people in living in peace, defaming the picture of Islam and Muslims and blocking the path of Allah while they claim to be assisting the religion and revenging on behalf of the Muslims!!
They kill their fellow Muslim brothers and those with whom they have peace treaties, they spill protected blood and they handle human life carelessly. They bomb and destroy, frighten and terrorize, hurt and treat people unjustly and they open old wounds in the Muslim Ummah in addition to new ones in Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Burma and other places.
They strive knowingly or unknowingly to bring up calamities, division, weakness of the Ummah, disunity, destruction of peace and tempting the enemies of Islam against it.
The most surprising thing is for this kind of criminal act to happen in the most virtuous place, in the heart of the Ummah, the place of the two holy mosques, the place of revelation and the cradle of prophet hood.
More surprising than this is that those who committed this act are citizens of the country who grew up in it and benefitted from its goodies, who studied in its institutions which are distinguished by the correctness of their creed and standards of their courses and curricula which emphasize the necessity of preserving the aims of the Shariah and venerates the right to life and respects innocent blood and enjoin the preservation of rights, fulfillment of agreements, respect for constituted authorities, helping the needy and being merciful to human beings and other creatures.
As long as these unjust activities of terrorism are products of distorted thoughts and reckless sentiments, they are neither controlled by the shariah nor by sound reasoning. Hence, there is need to clean up these contaminated reasoning and correct these abnormal thoughts, and control these reckless sentiments, and that is with sound Islamic knowledge based on the Quran and the sunnah and the understanding of the pious predecessors. This knowledge is the tube of security and the real guarantee to prevent terrorism and aggression. It will also deter people from committing grievous sins and encourage them to respect the rights of others and wish good for them. Just as it prevents aggression, it is also a great means of solving this dangerous problem and makes the perpetrators repent sincerely and abstain from it.
Indeed Allah has venerated the right to life and has legislated laws to guarantee its existence in the most appropriate manner and that is by putting in place laws which prohibit assaults on life. That was why Allah prohibited killing a soul without justification and promised severe punishment, and when the killing is deliberate, retribution is allowed, and when it is by mistake there is to be ransom and expiation. Allah also prohibited a person from destroying himself or allowing another person to kill him, and made self-defense permissible even if it leads to killing the intruder. Allah also made cutting any part of the body prohibited if there is no benefit greater than cutting.
Aggression on human life can be in the form of suicide, and it could be in the form of killing another person unjustly and both are detested crimes, and an aggression on the greatest human benefits and most important right.
Prohibition of killing oneself
The soul of man does not belong to him, but rather, is the property of its Creator; The Mightiest. It a trust to its owner and he shall be made to render an account of it on the day of resurrection on whether he has protected it and discharge its right or mishandle it and was unjust to it and never discharge the obligation towards it.
Due to the above, it is not permissible for a man to kill himself, nor to endanger his soul in pursuant of an illegal interest, nor to use any of its parts in anything except in that whose results and outcomes are beneficial to the soul, or what leads to warding away evil and harm from it. And he does not have to hurt himself on the pretext that he was acting within his own jurisdiction, and that it is not used in assault of others, for in the sight of Allah the Almighty, an assault on oneself is an assault on others. Allah; The most High says:
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا
وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ عُدْوَانًا وَظُلْمًا فَسَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِ نَارًا ۚ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا
“Do not kill yourselves, Allah is Most Merciful. If any do that in rancour and injustice,- soon shall We cast them into the Fire: And easy it is for Allah”. {4: 29-30,}
This shows that it is prohibited for believers to kill one another, and the prohibition of one killing himself, whether it was a direct and deliberate killing, or by risks and hazards leading to taking a soul. This was followed with a threat of severe punishment and an evil welcoming abode in the Hellfire.
The Prophetic tradition also confirms what is in the glorious Qur’an and serves as a fore warner of severe and painful punishment for the act of killing oneself
In Sahih Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Jundub Ibn Abdullah, (may Allah be pleased with him) , he said: The Messenger of Allah, (May the peace and blesings of Allah be upon him) said:” “There was among those who were before you, a man who had a wound. The man could not bear the pain of that wound, so he took a knife and cut his hand with it and as a result, bled to death. Allah then said: “My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly and for this, I have made Paradise forbidden for him.”
It was again narrated in the two authentic books of Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that: The Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said “Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron shall be holding his piece of iron in his hand in the Hell-fire and stabbing himself with in the stomach forever.” Whoever drinks a poison and kills himself thereby shall be holding the poison in his hand in the Hell-fire drinking it forever, “Whoever throws himself down from the top of a mountain, and killed himself shall be in the Hell-fire throwing himself down forever.”
There are many traditions on this subject, but with regards to the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) “in the hellfire, forever and ever”, the scholars have interpreted it in many ways:
1. It is attributed to one who does that knowingly and whiles considering that as lawful. In that case, he has rendered lawful that which Allah has made unlawful and this renders him a disbeliever. In addition, a disbeliever is doomed to the hellfire fire for eternity.
2. That the punishment mentioned in the tradition is meant to deter and scare people away from such heinous crime and that its reality is not meant.
3. Among them is that, he deserve such punishment for the heinous crime invented, and that is his deserved punishment if Allah intends punishing him in retaliation, but He (Allah) has bestowed upon his monotheistic servants that, they would be removed from the hellfire due to their monotheistic faith in Him and that they shall not remain in the hellfire for eternity.
The right opinion however is this last one as was said by Ibn Hajr in his commentary of sahih Al-Bukhari and An-Nawawi in his commentary of Sahih Muslim. Ibn Qayyim also mentioned the same.
It is worth mentioning here that, just as it is not allowed to destroy oneself completely, it is equally not allowed to destroy a part of it except when doing so is meant to avert a harm. In that case it is allowed because, destroying a part of the body leads to preserving the soul from destroying.
If the above mentioned threat and warnings are in due of the person killing himself without having to pose danger to other peoples life, what shall be the plight of one who commits suicide bombing in markets, trade centers, dwellings or Mosques in order to kill innocent and sanctified souls of Muslims and others, and to destroy their properties, spread calamity and anarchy, destabilized security in Muslim countries?, By Allah, it is indeed a great calamity and distasteful transgression and darkness upon darkness, and from Allah we seek aid and assistance.
When one thinks about the unjust activities of terrorism, especially, what is happening in some Islamic countries by deviant groups among Muslims, one asks in pain: how do these people reason? And what is their justification? What is their source of legislation? And what benefits are they aiming? When indeed they are betraying promises, violating agreements, committing grievous sins, terrorizing people in living in peace, defaming the picture of Islam and Muslims and blocking the path of Allah while they claim to be assisting the religion and revenging on behalf of the Muslims!!
They kill their fellow Muslim brothers and those with whom they have peace treaties, they spill protected blood and they handle human life carelessly. They bomb and destroy, frighten and terrorize, hurt and treat people unjustly and they open old wounds in the Muslim Ummah in addition to new ones in Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Burma and other places.
They strive knowingly or unknowingly to bring up calamities, division, weakness of the Ummah, disunity, destruction of peace and tempting the enemies of Islam against it.
The most surprising thing is for this kind of criminal act to happen in the most virtuous place, in the heart of the Ummah, the place of the two holy mosques, the place of revelation and the cradle of prophet hood.
More surprising than this is that those who committed this act are citizens of the country who grew up in it and benefitted from its goodies, who studied in its institutions which are distinguished by the correctness of their creed and standards of their courses and curricula which emphasize the necessity of preserving the aims of the Shariah and venerates the right to life and respects innocent blood and enjoin the preservation of rights, fulfillment of agreements, respect for constituted authorities, helping the needy and being merciful to human beings and other creatures.
As long as these unjust activities of terrorism are products of distorted thoughts and reckless sentiments, they are neither controlled by the shariah nor by sound reasoning. Hence, there is need to clean up these contaminated reasoning and correct these abnormal thoughts, and control these reckless sentiments, and that is with sound Islamic knowledge based on the Quran and the sunnah and the understanding of the pious predecessors. This knowledge is the tube of security and the real guarantee to prevent terrorism and aggression. It will also deter people from committing grievous sins and encourage them to respect the rights of others and wish good for them. Just as it prevents aggression, it is also a great means of solving this dangerous problem and makes the perpetrators repent sincerely and abstain from it.
Indeed Allah has venerated the right to life and has legislated laws to guarantee its existence in the most appropriate manner and that is by putting in place laws which prohibit assaults on life. That was why Allah prohibited killing a soul without justification and promised severe punishment, and when the killing is deliberate, retribution is allowed, and when it is by mistake there is to be ransom and expiation. Allah also prohibited a person from destroying himself or allowing another person to kill him, and made self-defense permissible even if it leads to killing the intruder. Allah also made cutting any part of the body prohibited if there is no benefit greater than cutting.
Aggression on human life can be in the form of suicide, and it could be in the form of killing another person unjustly and both are detested crimes, and an aggression on the greatest human benefits and most important right.
Prohibition of killing oneself
The soul of man does not belong to him, but rather, is the property of its Creator; The Mightiest. It a trust to its owner and he shall be made to render an account of it on the day of resurrection on whether he has protected it and discharge its right or mishandle it and was unjust to it and never discharge the obligation towards it.
Due to the above, it is not permissible for a man to kill himself, nor to endanger his soul in pursuant of an illegal interest, nor to use any of its parts in anything except in that whose results and outcomes are beneficial to the soul, or what leads to warding away evil and harm from it. And he does not have to hurt himself on the pretext that he was acting within his own jurisdiction, and that it is not used in assault of others, for in the sight of Allah the Almighty, an assault on oneself is an assault on others. Allah; The most High says:
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا
وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ عُدْوَانًا وَظُلْمًا فَسَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِ نَارًا ۚ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا
“Do not kill yourselves, Allah is Most Merciful. If any do that in rancour and injustice,- soon shall We cast them into the Fire: And easy it is for Allah”. {4: 29-30,}
This shows that it is prohibited for believers to kill one another, and the prohibition of one killing himself, whether it was a direct and deliberate killing, or by risks and hazards leading to taking a soul. This was followed with a threat of severe punishment and an evil welcoming abode in the Hellfire.
The Prophetic tradition also confirms what is in the glorious Qur’an and serves as a fore warner of severe and painful punishment for the act of killing oneself
In Sahih Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Jundub Ibn Abdullah, (may Allah be pleased with him) , he said: The Messenger of Allah, (May the peace and blesings of Allah be upon him) said:” “There was among those who were before you, a man who had a wound. The man could not bear the pain of that wound, so he took a knife and cut his hand with it and as a result, bled to death. Allah then said: “My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly and for this, I have made Paradise forbidden for him.”
It was again narrated in the two authentic books of Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that: The Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said “Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron shall be holding his piece of iron in his hand in the Hell-fire and stabbing himself with in the stomach forever.” Whoever drinks a poison and kills himself thereby shall be holding the poison in his hand in the Hell-fire drinking it forever, “Whoever throws himself down from the top of a mountain, and killed himself shall be in the Hell-fire throwing himself down forever.”
There are many traditions on this subject, but with regards to the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) “in the hellfire, forever and ever”, the scholars have interpreted it in many ways:
1. It is attributed to one who does that knowingly and whiles considering that as lawful. In that case, he has rendered lawful that which Allah has made unlawful and this renders him a disbeliever. In addition, a disbeliever is doomed to the hellfire fire for eternity.
2. That the punishment mentioned in the tradition is meant to deter and scare people away from such heinous crime and that its reality is not meant.
3. Among them is that, he deserve such punishment for the heinous crime invented, and that is his deserved punishment if Allah intends punishing him in retaliation, but He (Allah) has bestowed upon his monotheistic servants that, they would be removed from the hellfire due to their monotheistic faith in Him and that they shall not remain in the hellfire for eternity.
The right opinion however is this last one as was said by Ibn Hajr in his commentary of sahih Al-Bukhari and An-Nawawi in his commentary of Sahih Muslim. Ibn Qayyim also mentioned the same.
It is worth mentioning here that, just as it is not allowed to destroy oneself completely, it is equally not allowed to destroy a part of it except when doing so is meant to avert a harm. In that case it is allowed because, destroying a part of the body leads to preserving the soul from destroying.
If the above mentioned threat and warnings are in due of the person killing himself without having to pose danger to other peoples life, what shall be the plight of one who commits suicide bombing in markets, trade centers, dwellings or Mosques in order to kill innocent and sanctified souls of Muslims and others, and to destroy their properties, spread calamity and anarchy, destabilized security in Muslim countries?, By Allah, it is indeed a great calamity and distasteful transgression and darkness upon darkness, and from Allah we seek aid and assistance.