We request clarification on the impermissibility of suicide operations, and whether it is permissible for a man to go out for jihad without the permission of his parents.

The questioner : If you would allow us, my brothers, I mentioned in a previous session that I did not permit suicide operations. I did not permit them, so we need a simple clarification, may Allah reward you. And can a man or a person go out for jihad if his parents do not allow him?

The Shaykh : In my opinion, regarding suicide operations, I have spoken more than once with some detail, but the problem is that the sessions vary; sometimes we summarize, sometimes we elaborate. It is known among all scholars, without disagreement among them, that it is not permissible for a Muslim to commit suicide, meaning to end his life to escape from calamities, from financial hardship, or from an illness that has become chronic. This suicide to escape from such matters is, without a doubt, forbidden. And there are authentic hadiths in al-Bukhari and Muslim that whoever kills himself by poison, by slitting his throat, or the like, will continue to be tortured by that means on the Day of Resurrection. Some scholars understood from this that the one who commits suicide dies as a disbeliever, because he does not do so except out of resentment toward Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for the calamities He inflicted upon him, which the Muslim did not have patience for. A Muslim, without a doubt, does not reach the point of thinking about suicide, let alone carrying out the idea of suicide. This is because the Muslim—and here is an example for the previous topic—knowledge should be coupled with action. If there is no correct knowledge, there is no correct action. When the Muslim knows and is raised on what came in the Book and the Sunnah, the fruits of his life in this world and his actions therein differ from the actions of others. I do not say that they did not believe in Allah and His Messenger, no, they believed in Allah and His Messenger, but they did not know what Allah and His Messenger said. Among what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said on the tongue of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is: So the entire affair of the believer is good, and that is only for the believer. So if a chronic illness strikes him, or if severe poverty strikes him, and he is a believer, it does not separate from him, whether his constitution is sound or weak, whether his wealth is abundant or scarce. It does not separate from him, as it is said in some common proverbs, "He is like a saw, going up and down; he is rewarded." If good times strike him, he thanks Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and is rewarded with good. And if hardship strikes him, he has patience, and it is better for him. So who commits suicide? This is generally not a believer. But we can imagine that a Muslim might be struck by a fit of distorted thinking that leads him to commit suicide. This is possible, and because of this possibility, we do not say with certainty that this person is not a believer. This is like the one who abandons prayer while denying its legitimacy. If a Muslim named Ahmad ibn Muhammad or Muhammad ibn Zayd or the like dies, but it is known that he denied prayer and denied the legislations of Islam, then if he dies, he is not buried in the Muslim cemeteries. Likewise, regarding the one who commits suicide and it is known that he committed suicide out of resentment toward Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for the calamities He inflicted upon him. But did we say that he might be struck by a nervous or mental fit and commit suicide? Because of this possibility, we do not say that everyone who commits suicide is a disbeliever and is not buried in the Muslim cemeteries. Now we come to what are called suicide operations.

The questioner : suicide operations

The Shaykh : Suicide operations. We learned of these from the Japanese and their like, when a man would attack an American warship, for example, with his plane and explode with his plane, but destroy the army in that American warship. We say that suicide operations in the present time are all not prescribed and all forbidden. They may be of the type that causes their perpetrator to remain in the Fire eternally, or they may be of the type that does not cause their perpetrator to remain in the Fire eternally, as I explained just now. As for the idea that a suicide operation is an act of worship to draw near to Allah today, where a person fights for the sake of his land or his homeland, these suicide operations are not Islamic at all. In fact, I say that today, what represents the Islamic truth, and not the truth that some enthusiastic Muslims want, is that there is no jihad in the Islamic land at all. There is fighting, there is fighting in many countries, but there is no jihad conducted under an Islamic banner and based on Islamic rulings. One of these rulings is that the soldier does not act on his own opinion; he does not act on his own independent legal reasoning, but rather he obeys the orders of his commander. And this commander is not one who appointed himself, but rather one who was appointed by the Caliph of the Muslims. Where is the Caliph of the Muslims today? Where is the Caliph who raised the banner of Islam and called upon the Muslims to gather around him and to strive in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? This does not exist. As long as this Islamic jihad requires that it be under an Islamic banner, and this Islamic banner does not exist, then Islamic jihad does not exist. Therefore, Islamic suicide does not exist. I mean a type of suicide that was known previously in the era of fighting with spears, swords, and arrows. A type of this fighting resembled suicide, for example, when an individual from the army would charge with his sword at a group of disbelieving polytheists and strike them left and right. This is rare; few survive. Is it permissible for him to do that? We say it is permissible and not permissible. If the commander of the Muslim army is the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the time of the Prophet, and he gives him permission, then it is permissible for him to do so. But if he acts on his own, it is not permissible for him, because it is a risk and an adventure, if not a gamble, where the result is a loss. It is not permissible except with the permission of the Muslim ruler or the Muslim Caliph. Why? Because it is assumed that this Muslim Caliph estimates matters correctly and knows when it is appropriate to attack, for example, when a hundred Muslims should attack a thousand or fewer or more. He orders them to attack, and he knows that many of them may be killed, but he knows that the outcome is for the Muslims. So if the commander of the Muslim army, who is entrusted with this leadership by the Muslim Caliph, orders a soldier to use one of the modern methods of suicide, this is a type of jihad in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But suicide based on the independent legal reasoning of an enthusiastic young man, as we hear today, for example, individuals climbing mountains and going to an army of Jews and killing a number of them, and then being killed themselves. What is the benefit of these things? These are personal actions with no outcome for the benefit of the Islamic call at all. Therefore, we say to the Muslim youth: preserve your lives, on the condition that you study your religion and your Islam, and that you come to know it correctly, and that you act upon it within your capabilities. This action, even if it is slow, even if it is ..., is what will bear the expected fruit that all Muslims today hope for, despite the existing ideological or methodological differences among them. They all agree that Islam must be the ruler, but they differ in the methods, as I mentioned first. And the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Anyone else?