What is the ruling on suicide operations? And is the one who dies in them a martyr?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. What do you say about the suicide operations in Palestine? Are they martyrs?
The Shaykh : What are suicide operations? What are they? Answer.
The questioner : Blowing themselves up, O Shaykh, blowing themselves up along with the enemies.
The Shaykh : Meaning, he blows himself up.
The questioner : Yes, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : So that he dies. Well, the answer to this has already been given, and we said: The one who does this has killed himself, and he will be punished with what he killed himself with in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is forbidden for him because Allah said:[An-Nisa 4:29] But these ignorant people who did what they did, if they were ignorant and thought that this brings them closer to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then I hope that they will not be punished with this punishment. However, they have no reward, because what they did is a sin if they intended it. But they are those who interpret the text, so they are excused. Then, we do not intervene in intentions: is this so that the word of Allah is the highest, or is it revenge for themselves only? We do not know. This is a matter whose knowledge is with Allah.
But it is obligatory that we note the difference between the one who fights the enemy for revenge and the one who fights so that the word of Allah is the highest. Who is the one in the path of Allah? Yes, the one who fights so that the word of Allah is the highest.
As for the one who fights for revenge against a people who transgressed against him, he is not a fighter in the path of Allah. Therefore, we must use our intellect so that victory does not elude us. The reasons why victory eludes the Islamic nation, which numbers millions of millions, against the tyrants of the Jews or the polytheists or others, are that they did not follow what is required. First: their sins are many, and their negligence is great. You will find one of them going, for example, to fight the enemy, but he himself does not pray. So we must strive against our souls before anything else, and we must correct our path to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) before we try to correct the path of others.
In any case, the answer in brief is that suicide is forbidden, and the one who does it has killed himself and exposed himself to the great punishment: he will be punished with what he killed himself with in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever. But the one who does it out of ignorance or interpretation, we hope from Allah (Exalted is He) that He will not subject him to this punishment. Yes, after that.
The questioner : Yes.
May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. What do you say about the suicide operations in Palestine? Are they martyrs?
The Shaykh : What are suicide operations? What are they? Answer.
The questioner : Blowing themselves up, O Shaykh, blowing themselves up along with the enemies.
The Shaykh : Meaning, he blows himself up.
The questioner : Yes, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : So that he dies. Well, the answer to this has already been given, and we said: The one who does this has killed himself, and he will be punished with what he killed himself with in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is forbidden for him because Allah said:
And do not kill yourselves [or one another]
وَلا تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْBut it is obligatory that we note the difference between the one who fights the enemy for revenge and the one who fights so that the word of Allah is the highest. Who is the one in the path of Allah? Yes, the one who fights so that the word of Allah is the highest.
As for the one who fights for revenge against a people who transgressed against him, he is not a fighter in the path of Allah. Therefore, we must use our intellect so that victory does not elude us. The reasons why victory eludes the Islamic nation, which numbers millions of millions, against the tyrants of the Jews or the polytheists or others, are that they did not follow what is required. First: their sins are many, and their negligence is great. You will find one of them going, for example, to fight the enemy, but he himself does not pray. So we must strive against our souls before anything else, and we must correct our path to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) before we try to correct the path of others.
In any case, the answer in brief is that suicide is forbidden, and the one who does it has killed himself and exposed himself to the great punishment: he will be punished with what he killed himself with in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever. But the one who does it out of ignorance or interpretation, we hope from Allah (Exalted is He) that He will not subject him to this punishment. Yes, after that.
The questioner : Yes.