What is the ruling on what the Islamic armies do, training special units to eat snakes and frogs and drink human urine?
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The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy.
Your Eminence, in some Islamic armies, they select a unit and train them to eat snakes, frogs, and drink their urine, on the pretext that it strengthens them.
The Shaykh : The urine of the person himself, or the urine of the snakes?
The questioner : The urine of the person himself; is this permissible?
The Shaykh : This is not permissible, it is not lawful, and it is impossible for making a sin lawful to be a cause of victory, ever. Rather, sin is a cause of defeat. Have you not seen the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Ali 'Imran 3:152]: He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is referring to the Battle of Uhud, and there was only one sin in it, and yet the noblest army on the face of the earth, from the time Adam was created until the Hour stands, was defeated because of this sin. The cause was that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) arranged the soldiers and said to fifty men of the archers, "Stay here in this important place to protect the backs of the Muslims." When the polytheists were exposed and fled, and the Muslims began to collect the spoils, these archers, or most of them, descended, because they thought the matter was over. Their commander reminded them of the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), "Do not leave your place, whether the victory is for us or against us." But they, may Allah be pleased with them, and Allah excused them and forgave them, did not obey; rather, they descended. So defeat occurred after the victory was for the Muslims at the beginning of the day; it became the opposite because of one sin. So what about the one who says: "Drink your urine, eat snakes, and the like of that"? A Muslim does not say this. Rather, what appears to me is that this is received from the disbelievers who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden.
The questioner : O Shaykh, this exists in the shock troops in some Islamic countries.
The Shaykh : Even if it is found anywhere, this is never lawful for them. So the forbidden things are not permissible except in case of dire necessity. When dire necessity comes, a person knows how to eat and drink. Now, in a state of choice, we make him drink urine and eat what is forbidden, out of fear that he might need it! We say: If dire necessity occurs at that hour, Allah has permitted for the person to eat what Allah has forbidden, as He, the Exalted, said:[Al-An'am 6:119] Yes, indeed.
Your Eminence, in some Islamic armies, they select a unit and train them to eat snakes, frogs, and drink their urine, on the pretext that it strengthens them.
The Shaykh : The urine of the person himself, or the urine of the snakes?
The questioner : The urine of the person himself; is this permissible?
The Shaykh : This is not permissible, it is not lawful, and it is impossible for making a sin lawful to be a cause of victory, ever. Rather, sin is a cause of defeat. Have you not seen the saying of Allah the Exalted:
until [the time] when you lost courage and fell to disputing about the order [given by the Prophet] and disobeyed after He had shown you that which you love
حَتَّى إِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَتَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ وَعَصَيْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُمْ مَا تُحِبُّونَThe questioner : O Shaykh, this exists in the shock troops in some Islamic countries.
The Shaykh : Even if it is found anywhere, this is never lawful for them. So the forbidden things are not permissible except in case of dire necessity. When dire necessity comes, a person knows how to eat and drink. Now, in a state of choice, we make him drink urine and eat what is forbidden, out of fear that he might need it! We say: If dire necessity occurs at that hour, Allah has permitted for the person to eat what Allah has forbidden, as He, the Exalted, said: