Is it permissible to donate blood to the Iraqi army or not?

The questioner : Is it permissible to donate blood or anything else to the Iraqi army? Some of our brothers in Iraq prohibit this and say that they are disbelievers and that it is not permissible to donate to them or support them.

The Shaykh : There are two issues here. One of them falls under what we have discussed more than once. Our position, after it became clear from the attack by the disbelievers and the Arab states with them on Iraq, is that the intention was not to return Kuwait to its owners, but rather to destroy the Iraqi army and, consequently, the Iraqi people. When this became clear, we said that it is obligatory for Muslims to be a support to the Iraqi people, and not a support to the Ba'ath Party or the leader of the Ba'ath Party. Is that clear up to here?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Now, branching from this answer is the answer to your question and similar ones. For example, is it permissible to assist the Iraqi people with all forms of assistance, such as money, food, drink, and the like, including medicines? And that includes what you asked about just now. Based on the general assistance that we have said and continue to say is required, the answer branches out regarding specific forms of assistance, such as your question about blood. Is that clear?

The questioner : Is that clear?

The Shaykh : The second point remains, and in my opinion, it is not permissible to generalize the statement that the Iraqi army is a disbeliever army, because this contains an extreme exaggeration. In fact, I say—and I have said this more than once—that it is not permissible to make a blanket statement that the Ba'ath Party is composed of individuals, numbering in the hundreds or thousands, each of whom is a disbeliever. It is not permissible to say this. Unless it is established that any individual among these individuals, whether few or many, adopts the Ba'ath creed against Islam. In that case, whoever adopts this creed is a disbeliever, from the leader to the subordinate. But making a blanket statement that the entire Ba'ath Party is disbeliever, let alone that the Iraqi army is disbeliever, this is not permissible in Islam. And based on that, if it is not permissible to say that the Iraqi army is a disbeliever army, the answer remains that it is not only permissible to provide blood to the army, but it is obligatory. There is a fatwa from me regarding the question: Is it permissible to provide blood to the disbeliever whom they call a "citizen"? The answer was that it is permissible in the context of assistance. But whether the assistance is for this disbeliever or even for a Muslim, it should be restricted by the opinion of the doctor, because not every Muslim has the capacity to volunteer a quantity of blood, as this volunteering may harm him or cause him to have a blood deficiency. Therefore, this volunteering must be under the supervision of a Muslim doctor. If his body supports volunteering, then it is permissible, even for the disbeliever citizen, or in legal terminology, the disbeliever dhimmi, because the word "citizen" is a foreign term in the Islamic legal language, as it paints the disbeliever and the Muslim with the same color, making no difference between the Muslim and the disbeliever in rights. And unfortunately, some Islamic writers and some lecturers say this, and even narrate it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said regarding the People of the Book: This is a hadith with no basis. And because of this hadith with no basis, along with other factors, most of them foreign, the use of the word "citizen" has spread on the tongues of Muslims today, even though this equality conflicts with the Shari'ah. And sufficient for us is the statement of our Lord: So this is the answer to your second question.