Islam is Against Terrorism And The Islamic Legal Rulings On Terrorist Acts And Those Who Commit Them

All praise is due to Allaah the Lord of everything He created and the peace and blessings of Allaah upon the best of Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, whom Allaah sent to mankind as a mercy, and peace and blessings upon the family of the Prophet and his companions, and upon those who follow the guidance of the Prophet until the Day of Judgement.

O my noble brothers, we heard the unfortunate news, which occurred yesterday in the city of London, relating to those explosions which took place which resulted in many people dying and many people being wounded. And there is no doubt that this is an unfortunate and sad affair and it's even worse if these acts have been committed and carried out in the name of Islaam, because Islaam is free and far removed from these types of acts. It does not command with these types of activities, and Islaam is not pleased with the likes of these activities.

Rather, Islaam prohibits the likes of these things. And Islaam is at war with these types of treacherous acts. And likewise, Islaam threatens a heavy punishment to those people who do these acts, in this life and the hereafter. Verily the true Islaam is that which has come in the Qur'aan (The book of Allaah) and in the Sunnah (The guidance of His noble Messenger). And not everything that is said to be Islaam is in actual fact considered part of the religion of Islaam.

And this is to be returned to the Qur'aan and to the Sunnah. We find in both of them a clear warning against every type of transgression. Warning against transgressing against a Muslim and a non-Muslim.

Allaah, the Most High, said:

 And do not kill those souls whom Allaah has prohibited unless [justified by] a due [legal] right 

And those souls that Allaah has prohibited, it is referring to the life of a Muslim. And it is referring to everyone who has an agreement with the Muslims, and likewise those non- Muslims who have been given right of safety by the Muslims.

The Messenger of Allaah said, in an authentic hadeeth reported by imam al-Bukhari,

Whoever kills a non-Muslim who has an agreement with theMuslims then he will not smell the fragrance of Paradise

And this is a severe threat. That the Messenger of Allaah, Muhammad, threatened those people and he promised them; he promised those who kill non-Muslims, after an agreement has reached between them, that they will not enter Paradise on the Day of Judgement. And by this hadeeth we surely understand and get to know, we obtain with certainty, that these bombings, if committed by a Muslim, they have oppose the book of Allaah. And they have opposed the Sunnah of the Messenger.

O my brothers, these types of activities will result in many evils and harmful effects.

The first of them

That transgressing against a person without any due right and taking a life without any right is a great crime.

The Prophet said,

A Muslim person will not cease to be clearly and correctly upon his religion as long as they do not spill blood which is impermissible for them

The second affair

That these types of activities enforce the breaking of a contract. For example the Muslim who has entered into Britain. He has made an agreement and a promise that he will preserve the security and the safety in that land and that he will not transgress against anyone without due cause. So these filthy activities of terrorism involve breaking a contract and an agreement one has made.

And Allaah says in His Noble book,

 O you who believe, fulfil your covenants 

And Allaah said,

 Fulfil the covenant of Allaah 

And the Messenger of Allaah, Muhammad warned against treachery and deception. The Messenger of Allaah said that the one who breaks his covenant or contract and is deceitful that Allaah, the most High, will expose him upon the Day of Judgement. And Allaah will make him known on the Day of Judgement amongst all of the creation, that he was deceitful.

The third issue

That these types of crimes involve great oppression. And oppression is from the greatest of all sins.

In the authentic collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet said,

Oppression is darkness on the Day of Judgement

And in the authentic collection of Muslim, the Prophet Muhammad said,

Allaah, the Most High, said, "O my servants, I have made oppression upon myself something impermissible and I have made it impermissible for you to oppress one another. So do not oppress one another (meaning that some of you should not oppress others)"

Our religion of Islaam prohibits transgression and oppression. It prohibits oppression even if this transgression is against someone that we hate. It is still impermissible. We have to be just when dealing with everyone.

Allaah, the Most High, said,

 And do not let the hatred of a people cause you not to be just. Be just, because it is closer to piety 

And the meaning of this noble verse: If you and another individual hate one another, it is still not permissible to oppress him or transgress against him. And it is not permissible to oppress him; rather it is obligatory that you deal with him justly. It is obligatory upon an individual to still fulfil their covenant or contract that he has with them, even if you hate them.

The fourth affair

That these types of crimes and activities distort the true image of Islaam. And this is in reality oppression. Oppression to Islaam and the Muslims, because the people now, at this point, if it is said to them that these bombings are from Islaam, then it will result in the people hating Islaam. And they will hate the Muslims. And they will run away from Islaam. And they will have a feeling towards Islaam of enmity and rancour. Likewise these crimes involve lying upon Allaah and lying upon the Messenger.

It is obligatory upon the Muslims, all of them, that they honour their agreements, and they honour their contracts, and that they speak truthfully when they speak. The true Muslim is not treacherous, and he is not deceitful, and he does not lie, and he does not oppress. This is what Islaam teaches and this is something this is clear from the religion. As for those activities such as bombing and what is similar, they distort the true religion of Islaam and they ascribe to Islam which in reality is not from it. Because verily the true Muslims, those who understand the reality of the religion of Islaam, in every place, they hate and reject and they criticise these criminal acts and they warn against them. And they warn against those people who call to these acts.

And the Muslims in every place feel sorry and sad when they hear about the affairs of these criminal activities no matter where they occur or happen upon the earth. Whether it takes place in the Muslim world or whether it takes place in other than the Muslim world. And our scholars have clarified and clearly explained, with clear clarifications which are strong and emphatic, that these types of acts are not from Islaam. And the scholars in truth they should be returned to.

The scholars in truth they should be returned to and they are those people to whom we should always turn back. We should return back to them to understand the rulings of Allaah, the One who is free from all imperfections. Because the scholars possess knowledge. Knowledge which allows them to differentiate between that which is truth and that which is falsehood. And they can distinguish between that which is from the religion of Islaam and that which is not. And we are delighted and happy with what occurred today, when we heard from the mufti of Saudi Arabia, his eminence the Shaykh Abdul Azeez Aal ash-shaykh (May Allaah the Most High who is free from all imperfections preserve him). The Shaykh issued a clarification which has been spread through the media, through the media outlets here in Saudi Arabia.

The Shaykh, his eminence, criticised and detested those explosions which occurred in London. And the Shaykh explained that Islaam is free of these of these activities. So may Allaah reward the Shaykh, the mufti of Saudi Arabia, with good. And we ask Allaah, the Most High, that He grants all of the Muslims success to understand the Book of Allaah, and to understand the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah. And that Allaah grants them success and allows them to implement the religion of Islaam in the correct manner, how it should be implemented.

Far away and distant from extremism and far away from fanaticism, the true religion of Islaam is a religion of mercy, a religion of justice and a religion that commands that the contracts be fulfilled and kept. The religion of Islaam is not a religion that allows lies, it is not a religion that is barbaric and it is not a religion of treachery.

So my brothers, this is the real Islaam that we have explained to you today. And we say that those who did these crimes and took part in these explosions and these people who have caused Islaam to carry the burden of their crimes, in reality they have not harmed anyone but themselves. Because the religion of Allaah and the true Muslims are free from these actions, from these barbaric crimes. And I ask Allaah, the Most High, that He preserves the security and safety, and that Allaah preserves the state of contentment. I would suffice with what I have said. And the salaat and the salaam of Allaah upon our Prophet Muhammad.

Questions and Answers

Question. What is the Islaamic punishment for those who take part in these crimes?

Answer. Allaah, the Most High, said,

 Those who are at war with Allaah and His Messenger and spread corruption in the earth; they will be killed, or they will be hung, or their hands and their legs will be cut off, or they will be exiled from the land 

Those people who are caught or take part in these activities, like bombings, which take innocent lives their punishment is death. Because they are individuals who spread corruption in the society. They are not allowed to remain. That is why Allaah commanded that the people who do these types of acts be killed. And if they do not repent from these types of acts then in the hereafter is waiting for them a severe torment.

Question. How do we act with those people who rejoiced at yesterdays events?

Answer. No-one would be happy with these occurrences except one who is severely ignorant. The one who is ignorant of the true understanding of Islaam, he is the only one who would be pleased with the likes of these activities. Allaah does not like oppression and the Messenger Muhammad did not like oppression. Likewise the believers from theMuslims, they hate any type of oppression and they do not rejoice when it appears.

What right does anyone have to kill innocent people who are in a state of security? And what right do the people have to kill innocent women who likewise believe they are in a state of security? And what right do the people have to kill innocent children who are likewise in a state of security? Those who board the car or that which is similar, and the trains, and these people walk in the streets, and they seek their daily needs. These people, what right does anyone have to kill them.

They haven't committed any crime that warrants this type of atrocity. So the one who is happy at the like of this occurrence either they are extremely ignorant or they are people who love transgression are oppression. And they love barbaric acts. And we ask Allaah that he guides them and he rectifies their state. And Allaah knows best