It may be that a person is compelled, if he is in jihad, to kill himself because he carries information; is it permissible for him to blow himself up among the disbelievers?
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The questioner : It may be that a person is compelled, Professor, to kill himself during jihad!
The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah.
The questioner : Because, for example, he carries information and such; is it permissible for him to blow himself up, for example, among the disbelievers?
The Shaykh : You patched it up! Yes, that is right.
It is permissible for him, but not with that intention. It is permissible for a Muslim to attack a group of disbelievers, even if he is convinced that he will meet death against his will, as long as he does not go cheaply, but rather kills individuals, if not dozens, in exchange for his single self. However, something must be observed in this matter. Many people today say and assume this—what do we call this killing? Suicide. As we said, this, like withdrawing from jihad, should not be a personal, individual decision, but rather by the opinion of the commander under whose command he fights. Because the matter of dispensing with a mujahid in the path of Allah, even if it is in exchange for eliminating many polytheists, is a matter in which only the one who monitors the battle, its requirements, and its results can properly assess the profit and loss. Therefore, if the army commander orders a soldier to do such suicide, there is no harm in it; rather, he is the one who sold himself cheaply in the path of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
But we should not be among those who resort to the slightest stratagems to circumvent the prohibitions of Allah. We hear this question these days without this patching up, and it appears that this patching up is a result of the fatwas they may have heard. Because it is not permissible for a Muslim to kill himself because he carries serious military secrets in his chest; he fears that if he falls into the hands of the disbelievers, they will torture him with severe, bitter torture, and perhaps he will be compelled to disclose the secrets. They heard an answer—perhaps I will say, and Allah knows best—that such suicide is not permissible, so they turned and twisted and found an exit where he blows himself up among this enemy and kills many of them in exchange for killing himself. We say—and the truth is bitter:
The individual Muslims who premeditate defeat in this manner, which is to kill himself for fear that he will not be patient with the torture; this means that he is not a believer with strong faith. We read in the Noble Qur'an the saying of the Lord of the Worlds:[Al-'Ankabut 29:1-2]. No, he does not have this assumption. [Al-'Ankabut 29:3]. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said in explaining this verse: . He (peace be upon him) said this when some of his Companions complained to him, and it appears that he was a recent convert to Islam. And this is the nature of human weakness, that they encounter whatever torture Allah wills, and they were in Makkah. So he (peace be upon him) recited this verse to them and mentioned this example of what happened to those before them, then he concluded his saying (peace be upon him): .
So it is not part of Islamic upbringing to spread among the Muslim youth that it is permissible for a Muslim to commit suicide if he fears falling into the hands of the enemy and having serious secrets in his mind. Rather, they must be raised on patience, and that no matter how much they are tortured, as those before us were tortured to make them apostatize from their religion, they did not do so until they fell to the ground like the slain. Knowing that there is a dispensation for a Muslim to utter the word of disbelief out of fear of torture, and no harm results from this. And from here, we distinguished between a person lying about something that is not necessary, and lying for a necessary matter, such as obtaining an individual obligation, as we said earlier.
So we know from the biography the clear, distinct difference between two of the great Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), namely Bilal al-Habashi and 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai. The first man was patient under the painful torture, as you know, until Allah (Mighty and Majestic) saved him by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq buying him from his master and then freeing him for the face of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And between 'Adi ibn Hatim, where they offered him that he would insult the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and curse him so that they would release him, and he did so. He barely felt relief from the torture before he returned to being a debtor to himself, how he had willingly agreed with them to insult and curse the Prophet (peace be upon him). So out of his sincerity, he went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as if repenting for what he did. So he (peace be upon him) said to him—and even if there is some weakness in this hadith:. He said: "I find my heart at ease with faith." So he (peace be upon him) said: ; if they return to torturing you with a torture you cannot bear, return to saving yourself from them by cursing me, as long as your heart is still at ease with faith. And in this, this verse was revealed: [An-Nahl 16:106].
Another questioner : 'Ammar ibn Yasir.
The Shaykh : 'Ammar ibn Yasir. You did well. May Allah reward you with good.
So there is a very big difference between a person whom the polytheists torture and he is given the choice between patience, which is better, and willingly agreeing with them in something that has no harm in his religion or his community. How can the matter now develop to the point where some ideas exist that it is permissible for a Muslim to slaughter himself? No, if he is going to slaughter himself, let him be patient with the torture until the polytheists kill him, and not disclose a secret that he knows will harm his Muslim brothers.
The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah.
The questioner : Because, for example, he carries information and such; is it permissible for him to blow himself up, for example, among the disbelievers?
The Shaykh : You patched it up! Yes, that is right.
It is permissible for him, but not with that intention. It is permissible for a Muslim to attack a group of disbelievers, even if he is convinced that he will meet death against his will, as long as he does not go cheaply, but rather kills individuals, if not dozens, in exchange for his single self. However, something must be observed in this matter. Many people today say and assume this—what do we call this killing? Suicide. As we said, this, like withdrawing from jihad, should not be a personal, individual decision, but rather by the opinion of the commander under whose command he fights. Because the matter of dispensing with a mujahid in the path of Allah, even if it is in exchange for eliminating many polytheists, is a matter in which only the one who monitors the battle, its requirements, and its results can properly assess the profit and loss. Therefore, if the army commander orders a soldier to do such suicide, there is no harm in it; rather, he is the one who sold himself cheaply in the path of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
But we should not be among those who resort to the slightest stratagems to circumvent the prohibitions of Allah. We hear this question these days without this patching up, and it appears that this patching up is a result of the fatwas they may have heard. Because it is not permissible for a Muslim to kill himself because he carries serious military secrets in his chest; he fears that if he falls into the hands of the disbelievers, they will torture him with severe, bitter torture, and perhaps he will be compelled to disclose the secrets. They heard an answer—perhaps I will say, and Allah knows best—that such suicide is not permissible, so they turned and twisted and found an exit where he blows himself up among this enemy and kills many of them in exchange for killing himself. We say—and the truth is bitter:
The individual Muslims who premeditate defeat in this manner, which is to kill himself for fear that he will not be patient with the torture; this means that he is not a believer with strong faith. We read in the Noble Qur'an the saying of the Lord of the Worlds:
(1) Alif, Lam, Meem (2) Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried?
الم * أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَBut We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَIndeed, the man among those who were before you would be taken and a saw would be placed on the parting of his head to be sawn, and he would become two pieces on the ground, to make him apostatize from his religion, but he would not do so, until he fell to the ground.
لقد كان الرجل ممَّن كان قبلكم يُؤخذ فيُوضع المنشار على مفرق رأسه لِيُنشر ، فيصبح فلقتَين على الأرض ليرتدَّ عن دينه فلا يفعل ؛ حتى يقع على الأرضBut you are in haste.
ولكنَّكم تستعجلونSo it is not part of Islamic upbringing to spread among the Muslim youth that it is permissible for a Muslim to commit suicide if he fears falling into the hands of the enemy and having serious secrets in his mind. Rather, they must be raised on patience, and that no matter how much they are tortured, as those before us were tortured to make them apostatize from their religion, they did not do so until they fell to the ground like the slain. Knowing that there is a dispensation for a Muslim to utter the word of disbelief out of fear of torture, and no harm results from this. And from here, we distinguished between a person lying about something that is not necessary, and lying for a necessary matter, such as obtaining an individual obligation, as we said earlier.
So we know from the biography the clear, distinct difference between two of the great Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), namely Bilal al-Habashi and 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai. The first man was patient under the painful torture, as you know, until Allah (Mighty and Majestic) saved him by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq buying him from his master and then freeing him for the face of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And between 'Adi ibn Hatim, where they offered him that he would insult the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and curse him so that they would release him, and he did so. He barely felt relief from the torture before he returned to being a debtor to himself, how he had willingly agreed with them to insult and curse the Prophet (peace be upon him). So out of his sincerity, he went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as if repenting for what he did. So he (peace be upon him) said to him—and even if there is some weakness in this hadith:
How do you find yourself—or your heart?
كيف تجد نفسك - أو قلبك - ؟If they return, then return.
فإن عادوا فعُدْexcept for one who is forced [to renounce his religion] while his heart is secure in faith
إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِAnother questioner : 'Ammar ibn Yasir.
The Shaykh : 'Ammar ibn Yasir. You did well. May Allah reward you with good.
So there is a very big difference between a person whom the polytheists torture and he is given the choice between patience, which is better, and willingly agreeing with them in something that has no harm in his religion or his community. How can the matter now develop to the point where some ideas exist that it is permissible for a Muslim to slaughter himself? No, if he is going to slaughter himself, let him be patient with the torture until the polytheists kill him, and not disclose a secret that he knows will harm his Muslim brothers.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.