Suicide Bombing

In the present day, suicide bombing is a unique and terrible manifestation of violence. The deadliest instance of such violence took place in New York, commonly referred to as 9/11, when the famous Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre (WTC) were destroyed by a group of Muslim militants. They hijacked four passenger airplanes, two of which were flown into the towers of the WTC. The attack resulted in the death of about 3,000 people and brought down the 110-storey buildings, besides causing severe damage to surrounding buildings and structures. 

It is apparent that Muslims top the list of those using such deadly methods of suicide bombing. Yet, suicide is completely forbidden in Islam. According to a tradition recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, a Muslim having been badly injured in a battle, could not bear the consequent pain, so he killed himself with his own sword. This was the first case of suicide in Islam. The Prophet said of this person to his companions that he would be among the people of Hell.¹

According to Islamic texts, suicide is clearly an unlawful act. This being so, how has it come about that Muslims have established large organizations which train young people to carry out such suicide attacks? A great amount of funding is required for such activities. And, it is Muslims who are funding them. Thus, in this organized activity the whole Muslim community is, directly or indirectly, involved. A saying of the Lebanese-American writer Khalil Gibran (1883 – 1931) applies in this case:

‘A leaf does not fall without the silent consent of the tree.’²

The root cause of suicide bombing is that in present times, the Muslim community has come to think of the world as being divided between Muslims and kafirs (non-believers); that, besides Muslims, everyone else is kafir; that the countries ruled by Muslims are dar as-salam (Land of Islam) whereas the countries ruled by people other than Muslims are dar al-kufr (Land of Disbelief). Due to this mindset, Muslims think that any heinous act may be perpetrated with impunity against supposed disbelievers.

It is because of this negative mentality of the Muslims of the present day that the ulama, or Muslim scholars, have become emboldened to publicly declare suicide bombing as lawful – an act which has always been unlawful in the absolute sense.

Moreover, there are certain Muslim scholars who have gone to the extent of openly issuing fatwas, or verdicts, claiming that suicide is lawful. They have coined a new term—istishhad (to seek martyrdom)—to give justification for suicide bombing.

Such fatwas are undoubtedly wrong. And it is strange that the entire community of religious scholars has not openly condemned this patently wrong fatwa.

The method of suicide bombing – known as hara-kiri – was first adopted in a big way by Japan. Traditionally practiced in that country, it was a ritual form of suicide carried out by slashing one’s abdomen. As we know, the method of hara-kiri adopted by Japan in the Second World War turned out to be totally ineffective, and it was subsequently abandoned.

The practice of suicide bombing by Muslim militants has likewise become totally ineffective. By such attacks, they put an end to innocent lives, but this fails to produce any positive results. The question then arises as to why this deadly method of suicide bombing still continues.

The reason is that Muslims on their own have developed a baseless belief that a believer killed in a battle becomes a martyr, and therefore goes straight to heaven. This is a false belief. According to Islamic teachings, there is absolutely no doubt about the fact that those Muslims who kill themselves in suicide bombing will die an unlawful death. No heaven is waiting to welcome them.

Islam believes that the whole world including the Muslim world is dar al-insaan (the abode of human beings). It is Muslims’ bounden duty to regard all human beings as God’s creatures. Once, in Madinah, the Prophet of Islam, on seeing the funeral procession of a Jew, stood up in deference to it. When one of his companions asked him why he did so, he replied:

‘Was he not a human being?’

The Prophet Muhammad thus recognized a commonality between himself and a Jew—that the God who had created him had also created the Jew. This is the real basis of human equality. 

According to Islamic teachings, there is absolutely no doubt about the fact that those Muslims who kill themselves in suicide bombing will die an unlawful death. No heaven is waiting to welcome them.

Today the armament industry is one of the most flourishing enterprises in the world. The question is, who has turned the armament industry into a flourishing business? It is clearly the buyers of arms who have done so. These customers are God’s creation and God gave them minds so that they might use it for a healthy purpose. But they have instead used them for a destructive purpose, which is against the divine will. The Creator will ask them about how they used their minds—to a constructive end or a destructive end? The Creator will point out to them that He had given them their precious minds to be used for constructive purposes, but they used them instead for destructive purposes. Will they have any answer to this?