Reconciling the Verse on the Purchase of Souls with the Ruling on Suicide Bombings
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The questioner says: You stated recently that the one who carries out a bombing operation among the Israelis, where he sacrifices himself, is one who kills his soul. How do we reconcile this with the one who says that this is jihad, citing the saying of Allah the Exalted: [At-Tawbah 9:111] [At-Tawbah 9:111], and the action of that Companion who told the Companions, "Throw me with the catapult from above the wall so that you can open the gate for you"? What is the honorable Shaykh’s comment?
The Shaykh : Yes, the noble verse[At-Tawbah 9:111] does not mean that they kill themselves. They fight, killing the enemies and being killed by those who kill them? Do they kill themselves? They kill the enemies and are killed by the hands of the enemies. And so it is with jihad in the path of Allah: the mujahid is sometimes killed and sometimes kills, and perhaps he kills first and is killed second, according to what the circumstances of jihad require. As for the story of the Companion, al-Bara’ ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who asked the Companions to throw him over the wall that Musaylimah had surrounded him with at al-Yamamah, saying, "Throw me," and they threw him, did he kill himself?
No, he did not kill himself, and therefore he survived, opened the gate, and the people entered. But this one who placed explosives on his back, is he certainly going to kill himself? Yes, he certainly kills himself. So he is one who kills himself. But we mentioned yesterday that these people did this based on a mistaken interpretation, being ignorant, thinking that this is good. Based on what we know of the rules, if a Muslim does something forbidden while believing it to be correct, then Allah forgives him[Al-Baqarah 2:286]. But we warn against doing that in the future. Then, what happened after this action?
Did the Jews withdraw? Did they withdraw? Yes? No, rather they increased in their evil. And now a conference will be held on Wednesday in the heart of the Arab countries, in order to eliminate terrorism, and perhaps also what lies behind terrorism. So what happened? And the Palestinians themselves turned some of them against others over this issue, at the request of the Jews.
So the sensible person must first look at whether the action he is about to undertake is permissible by the Shari'ah or not? Second, are its results bad or good?
As for following emotion without deliberation, this does not benefit; it harms. And we mentioned yesterday examples indicating that it is obligatory to look at what? The consequences. One does not look at satisfying oneself in the present moment; look at the consequences, what will be before you are killed?
Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives
إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْand their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an
وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنجِيلِ وَالْقُرْآنِThe Shaykh : Yes, the noble verse
Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties
إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمNo, he did not kill himself, and therefore he survived, opened the gate, and the people entered. But this one who placed explosives on his back, is he certainly going to kill himself? Yes, he certainly kills himself. So he is one who kills himself. But we mentioned yesterday that these people did this based on a mistaken interpretation, being ignorant, thinking that this is good. Based on what we know of the rules, if a Muslim does something forbidden while believing it to be correct, then Allah forgives him
Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred.
رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَاDid the Jews withdraw? Did they withdraw? Yes? No, rather they increased in their evil. And now a conference will be held on Wednesday in the heart of the Arab countries, in order to eliminate terrorism, and perhaps also what lies behind terrorism. So what happened? And the Palestinians themselves turned some of them against others over this issue, at the request of the Jews.
So the sensible person must first look at whether the action he is about to undertake is permissible by the Shari'ah or not? Second, are its results bad or good?
As for following emotion without deliberation, this does not benefit; it harms. And we mentioned yesterday examples indicating that it is obligatory to look at what? The consequences. One does not look at satisfying oneself in the present moment; look at the consequences, what will be before you are killed?
Source
ابن العثيمين - لقاءات الرياض - اللقاء الأول — archive.org (55:17)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.