[Real Photo - Desecration Of Gaza] Yr 2023 /Mth October/ 7th

1. Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) states that he heard the Prophet of God (peace and blesssings of Allah be upon him) saying: “On Doomsday, the murdered person shall hold his head in his hand and he will seize the front part of the heart of the murderer in the other hand. Fresh blood will be oozing out of the murdered man’s veins. In this condition, he would approach the Empyrean and will submit: ‘O God! This man murdered me.” The Just Lord shall ordain the killing of: the murderer and he should be entered into Hell. (Tirmidhi).

"Abu Sa‘id (may Allah be pleased with him) states that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) affirmed: ‘Even if all the creatures of the heaven and earth join together in murdering an innocent Muslim, Almighty God shall throw them all into Hell with their faces down.” (Tibran:).

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْقِصَاصُ فِى ٱلْقَتْلَى ۖ ٱلْحُرُّ بِٱلْحُرِّ وَٱلْعَبْدُ بِٱلْعَبْدِ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰ بِٱلْأُنثَىٰ ۚ فَمَنْ عُفِىَ لَهُۥ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَىْءٌۭ فَٱتِّبَاعٌۢ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَآءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَـٰنٍۢ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌۭ ۗ فَمَنِ ٱعْتَدَىٰ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَهُۥ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ ١٧٨

'O believers! ˹The law of˺ retaliation is set for you in cases of murder—a free man for a free man, a slave for a slave, and a female for a female.1 But if the offender is pardoned by the victim’s guardian,2 then blood money should be decided fairly3 and payment should be made courteously. This is a concession and a mercy from your Lord. But whoever transgresses after that will suffer a painful punishment.'

(Surah Al Baqarah : Ayat 178]

1. Abu Sa‘id (may Allah be pleased with him) states that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) affirmed: ‘Even if all the creatures of the heaven and earth join together in murdering an innocent Muslim, Almighty God shall throw them all into Hell with their faces down.” (Tibran:).

2. Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) states that he heard the Prophet of God (peace and blesssings of Allah be upon him) saying: “On Doomsday, the murdered person shall hold his head in his hand and he will seize the front part of the heart of the murderer in the other hand. Fresh blood will be oozing out of the murdered man’s veins. In this condition, he would approach the Empyrean and will submit: ‘O God! This man murdered me.” The Just Lord shall ordain the killing of: the murderer and he should be entered into Hell. (Tirmidhi).

Islam’s view on the slaying of innocents.

Slaying innocent non-combatants violates every tenet of Islam. Those who indulge in such conduct are going against the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the noble Messenger (saws).

In numerous ayat of the Qur’an, Allah (swt) makes clear that it is forbidden to kill innocent people. In Surah al-Nisa, for instance, Allah says,:

وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًۭا مُّتَعَمِّدًۭا فَجَزَآؤُهُۥ جَهَنَّمُ خَـٰلِدًۭا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُۥ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُۥ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًۭا ٩٣

“But whoever deliberately slays a committed Muslim, his requital shall be Hell, therein to abide; and Allah condemns him, and will reject him, and will prepare for him awesome suffering.”

(Surah An Nisa : Ayat 93).

In another ayah, Allah (swt) expands the prohibition on killing to include all human beings:

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًۢا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًۭا مِّنْهُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ ٣٢

“That is why We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever takes a life—unless as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land—it will be as if they killed all of humanity; and whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity.1 ˹Although˺ Our messengers already came to them with clear proofs, many of them still transgressed afterward through the land."

(Surah Al Maidah : Ayat 32).

Muslims with even a limited knowledge of the Qur’an are familiar with this ayat as they are with numerous hadiths that place great emphasis on the sanctity of human life. Before battle, the Prophet (pbuh) often warned his companions against killing non-combatants, especially women and children. He also forbade the killing of animals and the destruction of crops. Further, according to a narration in al-Bukhari, the noble Messenger (pbuh) said, a person who recites the kalimah has secured his honor, property, and life with Allah (swt).

In an episode before the Battle of Mu’tah, Usamah ibn Zayd, a young Sahabi, got into a fight with a kafir. He got the kafir down and as he was about to strike him, the kafir recited the kalimah. Usamah still killed him. When the Prophet (pbuh) heard this, he called Usamah to explain. He told the Prophet (pbuh) that the man recited the kalimah only to try and save his life. “Do you know the secret of his heart?” was the Prophet’s (pbuh) reply.

Today we have reached a point in Islamic history where Muslims show no hesitation in killing innocent people as has happened in Syria and Iraq and most recently in Pakistan. The killers call themselves Muslims; they sport long beards and outwardly present the image of being Muslims. So how can they violate the Qur’anic commands and the Prophetic hadiths so casually? What kinds of teachings are being imparted that lead them to adopt such barbaric practices?

If Allah (swt) places so much emphasis on the sanctity of human life that slaying one innocent person is equated with the killing of all of humanity, how can hundreds of innocent people be killed in such a callous manner? The killers not only claim to be Muslims but they also hope to go to Paradise for perpetrating a bloodbath of innocents. Muslims need to understand where such thinking originates from and what they can do to confront it.

The first instance of such mentality emerged following the Battle of Siffin when Mu‘awiyah had rebelled against the legitimate authority of Imam ‘Ali (ra), Khalifah of the Muslims. When Mu‘awiyah was about to lose, he resorted to a trick forcing the cessation of fighting despite Imam ‘Ali’s (ra) objection. Most of his supporters, however, wanted to stop. One faction within his group broke away rejecting Imam ‘Ali’s (ra) decision. This group came to be called the Khawarij (outsiders), and one of its members later struck the Imam on his way to the masjid for Fajr salah. He succumbed to his injuries a few days later.

This mindset among some Muslims that only they are right and if others do not agree with them, they must be killed, was later adopted by Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab who emerged from the backwater of Najd. This has spread among the takfiris in the Muslim East and some factions of the Taliban in Pakistan. Their signature mark is the killing of innocents. There is ample proof that regimes as well as regime-affiliated individuals and organizations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and a host of other places are financing them. They started with the killing of Shi‘is whom they denounce as “kafirs” but because their nefarious activities went unchecked, they have resorted to killing Sunnis as well. The slaughter of 141 students and teachers in Peshawar on December 16 is the latest manifestation of their barbarous acts.

They justify their heinous crimes based on “revenge.” Islam does not permit revenge killings and certainly not by individuals brandishing guns and wearing suicide vests. These are tactics of the imperialists and Zionists. Muslims cannot sink to their level. Those who indulge in such conduct and use the excuses advanced by imperialists and Zionists become a part of them, not the Ummah of Muhammad (pbuh). As another hadith of the noble Messenger (pbuh) makes clear, anyone who kills an innocent person steps outside the fold of Islam, and Allah will not accept his repentance anymore. He will abide in Hellfire forever

(al-Bukhari).