What is the ruling on a person loading himself with explosives and going to the camp of the disbelievers in a car to blow himself up, as is happening in Palestine?

The questioner : Our Shaykh, we were on Hajj and one of the people asked Shaykh Muhammad Salih a question regarding the operations that take place in Palestine, such as blowing up cars or a person blowing himself up in a bus or something like that. He asked him if it is permissible to do this with the disbelievers. The Shaykh was asked, and the Shaykh said that it is not permissible. Some people say it is permissible, so we wanted to ask you this question: What is your opinion, or the Sharia ruling, on someone who plants an explosive belt on his body and then blows up his car, even if it is Jews or Christians, and he considers this a martyrdom operation?

The Shaykh : Yes, I have been saying for a long time, and there are tapes, that I am not convinced by what they call the Intifada from its beginning. This is because this Intifada does not expel the Jews from the land of Islam and the Muslims; rather, it involves the shedding of many, many lives without any expected benefit. The reason for this is very clear: the Islamic governments are negligent in performing their duty toward these Jews who are armed with all kinds of weapons. So what can the Palestinian people do against this state, from which the Arab states have been defeated? Even if this defeat, as it appears and Allah knows best, had many reasons, one of which concerns us is the failure to act in accordance with the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: . So I used to say, and I still say, but in answering this question, I have some conditions. I say, as I quoted from the aforementioned Shaykh and others, that this is not permissible in Sharia from the aspect that it involves killing the self; it is most similar to suicide. If we note this principle, the result is that this is not permissible. But I add a clarification: These suicide bombers are either driven by their own selves and acting on impulse, in which case it is suicide and is not permissible in any way. Or their launch into such operations is based on fatwas that come to them from those they think possess knowledge and understanding of the Sharia. With sincerity, good intention, and victory for Islam and the Muslim community, they sacrifice their lives in the path of implementing this Sharia ruling that was presented to them, regardless of whether it is correct or not. What concerns us is whether the launch of these young men into such suicide or fedayeen operations was impulsive or stemmed from a personal conviction based on a fatwa from those who issue fatwas on the permissibility of these operations. If it was based on a fatwa, I do not declare these fedayeen sinful. Rather, I say that as for those who issue them fatwas, if they issue them out of ignorance, they are undoubtedly sinful. And if they issue them with knowledge, they are mistaken and have one reward. This is my opinion on the issue, and Allah knows best.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. So we understand that the burden and sin fall on the one who issued the fatwa, but what about the young men?

The Shaykh : With the distinction mentioned.

The questioner : Or do they believe that this fatwa brings them closer to Allah, and that these young men who blew themselves up are going to be martyrs, or?

The Shaykh : We say that this sacrifice has a basis in the Sharia. If it were issued by a Muslim ruler who rules by what Allah has revealed, we would say, "Congratulations to them," because such things used to happen in early Islam. There was a man who entered the fort of a Jew on a night, as it is said, with no moon, until he reached the middle of his room in the darkness and called out to him with his voice. The Jew woke up terrified, followed the sound, and struck him with his sword, killing him. Then he moved from place to place as he fled. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the moon had appeared with its light, and he thought he had reached the ground, so he fell and broke his leg. His companions took him, opened the gate of the fort, and carried their companion to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) recited a prayer for him, and his leg returned to better than it was. So fedayeen operations have a basis in Islam, but they should not be individual operations; rather, they should be ordered by the head of state. The head of state studies the general conditions and knows, as it is said, how to eat the head (how to proceed). For example, is it appropriate to offer such a sacrifice now, or is the time not yet right, and so on. But the problem is that we do not have an Islamic leadership that rules by what Allah has revealed. This is the knot we live with today as Muslims; we all live like sheep without a shepherd, and Allah is the Helper.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.