What is the ruling on one who straps explosives to himself and detonates them among the enemies, such as the Jews and others, and is this to be compared to the servant of whom Allah was pleased while he was fighting without armor?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, may Allah forgive you, we hear in some battlefields of jihad from those who carry out acts of jihad, which some call suicide operations, that they carry with them or strap explosives to themselves, carrying with them or strapping explosives to themselves, and they throw themselves among the enemy soldiers so that the explosives detonate in their bodies, and they are the first to die. Is this action to be compared to the servant of whom Allah was pleased while he was fighting without armor? Please proceed.
The Shaykh : Fighting with what?
The questioner : Fighting without armor.
The Shaykh : Without armor.
The questioner : Without armor.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Please clarify.
The Shaykh : These suicide operations, where a person goes to his enemy and fills his body with explosives so that they detonate and he is the first casualty among them, are forbidden, and the one who does this is a killer of himself, and his killing of himself is clear: he carried the explosives, they detonated with him, and he died.
It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whoever kills himself with something will be punished with it in the Fire of Hell, remaining therein eternally. However, if this person did so out of ignorance, thinking that this is the completion of jihad, then Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) will not punish him for his sin because he is one who interprets the text.
As for the one who knows this, he is considered a killer of himself. Some people may bring up to us in this matter: that al-Bara' ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), in the Battle of Banu Hanifah, ordered his companions to carry him and throw him into the gate of the fortress in order to open the gate for them. This is undoubtedly throwing oneself into a dangerous situation. It is said that al-Bara' ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) was confident in himself that he would escape, and there was a possibility, even if only one in a hundred, that he would escape.
But the one who straps on explosives, of which we know with certainty that he will be the first to die by them, has no possibility, not one in a hundred, nor one in a thousand, that he will escape. Therefore, it is not correct to compare this to that. Yes, for the brave hero who knows himself, it is permissible to plunge into the midst of the enemy and break their ranks, because there is a possibility of escape in that. And on this basis, bringing up such a case is not applicable, because there is a difference between the one who knows that he will die and the one who has a possibility that he will escape.
The Shaykh : Fighting with what?
The questioner : Fighting without armor.
The Shaykh : Without armor.
The questioner : Without armor.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Please clarify.
The Shaykh : These suicide operations, where a person goes to his enemy and fills his body with explosives so that they detonate and he is the first casualty among them, are forbidden, and the one who does this is a killer of himself, and his killing of himself is clear: he carried the explosives, they detonated with him, and he died.
It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whoever kills himself with something will be punished with it in the Fire of Hell, remaining therein eternally. However, if this person did so out of ignorance, thinking that this is the completion of jihad, then Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) will not punish him for his sin because he is one who interprets the text.
As for the one who knows this, he is considered a killer of himself. Some people may bring up to us in this matter: that al-Bara' ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), in the Battle of Banu Hanifah, ordered his companions to carry him and throw him into the gate of the fortress in order to open the gate for them. This is undoubtedly throwing oneself into a dangerous situation. It is said that al-Bara' ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) was confident in himself that he would escape, and there was a possibility, even if only one in a hundred, that he would escape.
But the one who straps on explosives, of which we know with certainty that he will be the first to die by them, has no possibility, not one in a hundred, nor one in a thousand, that he will escape. Therefore, it is not correct to compare this to that. Yes, for the brave hero who knows himself, it is permissible to plunge into the midst of the enemy and break their ranks, because there is a possibility of escape in that. And on this basis, bringing up such a case is not applicable, because there is a difference between the one who knows that he will die and the one who has a possibility that he will escape.