Stance of Islam Regarding Suicide Attacks

We live in a world that is full of aggression and disputes. All around the world, there is turbulence and turmoil, nations fighting over land, fighting for freedom, fighting against poverty and hunger and so on. All these fighting results in drastic measures and one of the drastic measures prevalent today is of suicide attacks.

When it comes to suicide attacks, the first image that pops up in mind is of Muslim religious fundamentalists. However, this is just the superficial level of the reality that is far deeper than mere religious thought. This image of suicide attacks pertinent to Islam is primarily due to Western monopoly and the biased role of media. The lines below discuss the history of suicide attacks with facts along with the stance Islam takes against it.

History of Suicide Attacks:

All the non-biased critics and researchers have concluded the fact that all the suicide attacks that have taken place or that are taking place have nothing to do with religion. Rather, these attacks are undertaken to achieve a particular strategic goal and in some cases, it is even secular. These goals may contain, to compel western oppressors out of their land, to make a statement against some foreign intervention in the matters of one’s country. If the history of suicidal attacks is taken into consideration, the facts that appear show that the people who initiated suicide attack were non-Muslims. Some historical facts of suicidal attacks are:

• Karl Klinke, a Prussian soldier who gave his life to blow a hole in Danish fortification in the Battle of Dybbol 1864.
• In 1943, Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff tried to assassinate Hitler with a suicide attack but was unsuccessful.
• Clarence Cull was charged with an assassination attempt on President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a suicide bomb in 1943.
• The Kamikaze Pilots of Japan who did suicide attacks on the enemies during the World War II with their planes. They all were reverend for it and given great respect.

All these facts and other minor suicide attempts during different decades show that all of these attacks were undertaken for a secular reason, therefore, there is no point in associating them with Islam or Muslims. Moreover, Muslims were not the initiators of the suicide attacks; the credit to it goes to the West.

The stance of Islam:

Islam is clearly against any attempt that comes under the heading of suicide and results in the killing of innocent people. Holy Qur’an reading makes it clear, as Allah Almighty says in it:

“O ye who believe!.. [Do not] kill yourselves, for truly Allah has been to you Most Merciful. If any do that in rancor and injustice, soon shall We cast him into the Fire..” (Quran 4:29-30)

This ayah of the Quran clearly shows that Allah Almighty clearly forbids any killing of oneself for an unjust and hostile purpose. Therefore, any killing that has an unjust or hostile purpose is clearly against Quran and forbidden.

Further Allah Almighty says in Quran:

“And fight in the way of God against those who fight you. But do not transgress the limits. Truly God does not love transgressors.” (2:190)

In this ayah also, it is evident that Allah Almighty does not like transgression, and in light of above-mentioned ayah, suicide comes under the flag of transgression. Therefore, killing oneself and as a result of which other innocent lose their lives too, is surely transgression and not liked by Allah Almighty.

The suicide attacks primarily result in the killing of innocent civilians. Quran clearly tells us that the killing of one innocent is equal to the killing of the whole of humanity. Moreover, Prophet (PBUH) himself seconded the message of the Quran in his hadith:

“Allah takes mercy upon those who take mercy upon fellow human beings. You treat the inhabitants of the earth with compassion and the inhabitant of Heaven (Allah) shall show compassion towards you.” (Tirmizi, Abu Dawood)

Everyone agrees on the fact that a suicide attack is an act of brutality, which is totally opposite to compassion, therefore, how can such a person expect mercy and compassion from Allah Almighty.

Different Muslim scholars have given fatwas about suicide attacks being haram and totally forbidden in Islam. People who learn the Quran and understand it know that any such action is not supported in Islam, rather it is just an act of ignorance by extremists, and is not what Islam preaches.

Conclusion:

There is no evidence that Islam supports suicide attacks and killing of innocents. Rather, the history of the attacks shows that these are acts that have nothing to do with religion; rather they are undertaken with a strategic objective in mind. Moreover, Islam above all is a religion of peace, and can never comment or support any such action.

May Allah Almighty save us all from such attacks and guide us in having a better and true understanding of Islam and its Teachings. Ameen!