Is it permissible to refuse food until death in prison?
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The questioner : Is it permissible to refuse food until death
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : This answer, meaning without any explanation
The Shaykh : This is the answer because this is a polytheistic innovation, a custom of the disbelievers who do not submit to the rulings of Allah, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. So our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says:[Al-Baqarah 2:155-157] The prophets, messengers, and the righteous were imprisoned, so they were patient and were rewarded with the best from the Lord of the Worlds. As for the disbelievers, they do not have patience, and therefore, due to their lack of patience, they commit suicide. As you hear, many incidents occur in Europe and America, incidents of suicide that rarely occur in the lands of Islam. Why? Because the morals of Muslims are not the morals of disbelievers. Muslims believe in the divine decree and destiny of Allah, its good and its evil. Muslims know the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): As for a Muslim intentionally exposing himself to destruction, this is the ultimate ignorance of Islam. If a Muslim is afflicted unjustly with imprisonment, he must seize the opportunity of his confinement in this prison to worship Allah, to increase in prayer and in the remembrance of Allah. As Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "What can my enemies do to me? If they exile me, my exile is a journey. If they imprison me, my imprisonment is worship and obedience." And so it is with the Muslim. As for a Muslim resorting to a hunger strike until his strength leaves him, so that he cannot stand for prayer and cannot remember Allah except a little, far be it from Allah that this should be permissible in the religion of Islam. Perhaps you understood me, if Allah wills. Is there anything else?
The questioner : Currently, what is being done, for example, by the Muslim Brotherhood in the West Bank
The Shaykh : It is a mistake, my brother. This is not permissible. They must be patient and persevere.
The questioner : Refusing is not permissible
The Shaykh : Never
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : This answer, meaning without any explanation
The Shaykh : This is the answer because this is a polytheistic innovation, a custom of the disbelievers who do not submit to the rulings of Allah, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. So our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says:
(155) And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, (156) Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." (157) Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.
ولنبلونكم بشيءٍ من الخوف والجوع ونقصٍ من الأموال والأنفس والثمرات وبشر الصابرين الذين إذا أصابتهم مصيبة قالوا إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون أولئك عليهم صلواتٌ من ربهم ورحمة وأولئك هم المهتدونAnd if you are patient, it is certainly better for the patient.
ولئن صبرتم فهو خيرٌ للصابرينAmazing is the affair of the believer, for all of it is good for him. If prosperity strikes him, he praises Allah and is grateful, and it is good for him. And if adversity strikes him, he is patient, and it is good for him.
عجبٌ أمر المؤمن كله، إن أصابته سراء حمد الله وشكر فكان خيرًا له، وإن أصابته ضراء صبر فكان خيرًا لهThe questioner : Currently, what is being done, for example, by the Muslim Brotherhood in the West Bank
The Shaykh : It is a mistake, my brother. This is not permissible. They must be patient and persevere.
The questioner : Refusing is not permissible
The Shaykh : Never
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.