The Ruling on Assassinations and Suicide Operations
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Carrying out assassinations and conducting explosions in government facilities in the lands of the disbelievers is a necessity and a jihad action. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
No, this is not permissible. Assassinations and destruction are matters that are not permissible because they bring harm upon the Muslims and lead to the killing and displacement of Muslims. This is not permissible. What is prescribed regarding the disbelievers is jihad in the path of Allah and confronting them in battles, if the Muslims have the capability. They prepare armies, they raid the disbelievers, and they fight them, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. As for destruction and assassinations, this brings harm upon the Muslims. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he was in Makkah before the migration, was commanded to restrain his hand. You see those who were told, "Restrain your hands."
And establish prayer and give zakah. He was commanded to restrain his hand from, from, from, meaning from fighting, from fighting the disbelievers, because they did not have the capability to fight the disbelievers. If they had killed any of the disbelievers, the disbelievers would have killed them all and exterminated them all, because they were stronger than them and they were under their power and their might. Assassinations cause the killing of Muslims present in the country, as you are seeing and hearing now. This is not among the matters of da'wah, nor is it jihad in the path of Allah. This brings harm upon the Muslims. Likewise, destruction and explosions bring harm upon the Muslims. So what is the result?
When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated and he had an army and he had supporters, here he was then commanded to wage jihad. He was commanded to wage jihad against the disbelievers. Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions, when they were in Makkah, did they kill the disbelievers? Absolutely not. Were they prohibited from doing so? Did they destroy the property of the disbelievers while they were in Makkah? Absolutely not. They were prohibited from that. They were commanded only to call and convey the message. As for compulsion and fighting, that was only in Madinah when Islam had a state.
The questioner:
The questioner: Are suicide operations permissible? And are there conditions for the validity of this operation?
The Shaykh:
Life comes, so what do you do, commit suicide? Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says:[An-Nisa 4:29-30] Should not a person kill himself? Rather, he must preserve his life with the utmost care. This does not prevent him from striving in the path of Allah and fighting in the path of Allah, even if he faces death and martyrdom; that is good. But if he intentionally kills himself, that is not permissible.
And in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in some of the expeditions. There was one of the.
brave men who fought in the path of Allah with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and then he was killed. So the people praised him, saying, "No one among us performed as well as so-and-so." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "He is in the Fire." They said, "What did he do? He was wounded." They said, "No one among us performed as well as he did, as we told you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "He is in the Fire." This was difficult for the Companions. How is it that this man who fought, and did not leave any of the disbelievers without pursuing and killing him, is in the Fire? So a man followed him and watched him. He followed him after he was wounded, and in the end, he saw him place the sheath of the sword on the ground and raise its tip upward.
He placed the sheath of the sword on the ground and raised its tip upward, then he struggled and killed himself. The sword entered the Shaykh from his chest and came out from his back. So the man died. This Companion said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the truth." And they knew that the Messenger does not speak from desire. Why did he enter the Fire despite this deed? Because he killed himself and did not have patience. So it is not permissible for a person to kill himself.
Carrying out assassinations and conducting explosions in government facilities in the lands of the disbelievers is a necessity and a jihad action. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
No, this is not permissible. Assassinations and destruction are matters that are not permissible because they bring harm upon the Muslims and lead to the killing and displacement of Muslims. This is not permissible. What is prescribed regarding the disbelievers is jihad in the path of Allah and confronting them in battles, if the Muslims have the capability. They prepare armies, they raid the disbelievers, and they fight them, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. As for destruction and assassinations, this brings harm upon the Muslims. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he was in Makkah before the migration, was commanded to restrain his hand. You see those who were told, "Restrain your hands."
And establish prayer and give zakah. He was commanded to restrain his hand from, from, from, meaning from fighting, from fighting the disbelievers, because they did not have the capability to fight the disbelievers. If they had killed any of the disbelievers, the disbelievers would have killed them all and exterminated them all, because they were stronger than them and they were under their power and their might. Assassinations cause the killing of Muslims present in the country, as you are seeing and hearing now. This is not among the matters of da'wah, nor is it jihad in the path of Allah. This brings harm upon the Muslims. Likewise, destruction and explosions bring harm upon the Muslims. So what is the result?
When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated and he had an army and he had supporters, here he was then commanded to wage jihad. He was commanded to wage jihad against the disbelievers. Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions, when they were in Makkah, did they kill the disbelievers? Absolutely not. Were they prohibited from doing so? Did they destroy the property of the disbelievers while they were in Makkah? Absolutely not. They were prohibited from that. They were commanded only to call and convey the message. As for compulsion and fighting, that was only in Madinah when Islam had a state.
The questioner:
The questioner: Are suicide operations permissible? And are there conditions for the validity of this operation?
The Shaykh:
Life comes, so what do you do, commit suicide? Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says:
And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful. (30) And whoever does that in aggression and injustice - then We will drive him into a Fire. And that, for Allah, is [always] easy.
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ عُدْوَانًا وَظُلْمًا فَسَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِ نَارًا وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًاAnd in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in some of the expeditions. There was one of the.
brave men who fought in the path of Allah with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and then he was killed. So the people praised him, saying, "No one among us performed as well as so-and-so." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "He is in the Fire." They said, "What did he do? He was wounded." They said, "No one among us performed as well as he did, as we told you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "He is in the Fire." This was difficult for the Companions. How is it that this man who fought, and did not leave any of the disbelievers without pursuing and killing him, is in the Fire? So a man followed him and watched him. He followed him after he was wounded, and in the end, he saw him place the sheath of the sword on the ground and raise its tip upward.
He placed the sheath of the sword on the ground and raised its tip upward, then he struggled and killed himself. The sword entered the Shaykh from his chest and came out from his back. So the man died. This Companion said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the truth." And they knew that the Messenger does not speak from desire. Why did he enter the Fire despite this deed? Because he killed himself and did not have patience. So it is not permissible for a person to kill himself.
Source
الفوزان - الفتاوى المهمة لعامة الأمة — archive.org (30:49)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.