Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As slaam alykum;

I read somewhere:

“When Umar, the great Muslim leader, companion of Muhammad(s) and second Caliph entered Jerusalem as its liberator, he guaranteed freedom of worship for it’s inhabitants. He refused to pray in a Church, instead praying in the courtyard outside, fearing that Muslims would think it was acceptable to turn the Church into a Mosque as a result of his actions. Even today, the most ancient and sacred Christian sites remain in the Muslim world. For centuries, the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest shrine in all Christendom, have been entrusted to a Muslim family for safekeeping.”

But what about the hadeeth that says we should expel Christians and Jews from the Arabian peninsula?

Does this mean we as individuals have the right to kick out all Christians/Jews – or is this the authority of the leader…and if so is it only Christians and Jews or is it a generalization for all Kufaar?

What is meant by the term “…the life of an unbeliever is worthless.”

As some Moulim have been quoted to have said in England…

A friend of mine takes this literally meaning, we can enslave or kill any kufaar (if we wish)---is this true??? – can

you please shed some light upon this according to the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

Finally many people have taken the bombings in London as legitimate Islamically – I heard one guy saying something of a ‘contract of protection’ or some kind of treaty- which had been broken by the war in Iraq- and so now attacks on the people are allowed as Jihaad.

However I have read numerous Hadeeth (and Qur’aanic quotes) pointing out that killing innocent people is Haraam…especially ordinary civilians But then what about the violation of the peace treaty….I always thought this ‘contract of protection’ thing was for the authority of the Muslim leader…… but we don’t have a leader, Should we?….Could you please shed some light upon the matter.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Dealings with non-Muslims

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

But what about the hadeeth that says we should expel Christians and Jews from the Arabian peninsula?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 28:

O ye who believe! Truly the mushriks (idolators) are unclean; so let them not after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty ,soon will Allah enrich you if He wills out of his bounty, for Allah is All-Knowing All-Wise.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.288 Narrated by Said bin Jubair

Ibn 'Abbas said that the Prophet (saws) on his death-bed, gave three orders saying, 'Expel the pagans from the Arabian Peninsula, respect and give gifts to the foreign delegates as you have seen me dealing with them.' I forgot the third (order)."

When the above Aayah of Surah Taubah was revealed in 9^th Hijri, the Messenger of Allah (saws) implemented the command of Allah Subhanah, and forbade the mushriks (idolaters) from approaching or entering the Holy City of Makkah. Although the pagans (idolaters) were expelled from the Arabian Peninsula, the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) were still permitted to enter the Sacred Mosques, but after the murder of the second Khalifa, Hadrat Umar al Khattab (r.a.), the believers prohibited both, the mushriks and the People of the Book, to enter the precincts of the Holy Cities of Makkah and Medina; and that prohibition is carried on until this very day.

Does this mean we as individuals have the right to kick out all Christians/Jews – or is this the authority of the leader…and if so is it only Christians and Jews or is it a generalization for all Kufaar?

To expel the pagans from the Arabian peninsula is a Decree and Policy Command to the Islamic State, and the leader of the Islamic State holds the responsibility to fulfill the Command of Allah Subhanah. No individual or group of individuals living in the State has the right or the authority to issue, authorize, or enforce a policy command by himself, but it is the right and responsibility of the leaders of the Islamic State to issue and enforce its policies.

Although in many respects the Quran has differentiated the idolaters from the principally monotheist Jews and the Christians, the Command of Allah Subhanah was specifically to expel the ‘mushriks’ (idolaters) from the Arabian Peninsula. The Messenger of Allah (saws) before his death had advised the believers to expel even the Jews and the Christians from the Arabian lands so that they would not be able to arouse any mischief in the land where Islam was centered. At the appropriate time when the Muslims were arguably the sole super-power and had complete authority of the region, even the Jews and the Christian tribes who were settled in the Arabian peninsula were given notice to permanently leave the Arabian Peninsula.

Your Question: What is meant by the term “…the life of an unbeliever is worthless.”

As some Moulim have been quoted to have said in England…

A friend of mine takes this literally meaning, we can enslave or kill any kufaar (if we wish)---is this

true??? – can you please shed some light upon this according to the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 65-66:

If you commit ‘shirk’ all your works will be rendered vain and you will be among the losers. Therefore, you should worship Allah Alone, and be among His grateful servants.

Regardless of whatever good deeds one might do, if one is a disbeliever, all his deeds will have absolutely no weight in the Sight and Scales of Justice of Allah Subhanah; thus in purely spiritual sense a disbeliever’s life is indeed worthless.

But while the test of life is in process, the life, property, and honor of every human being, regardless of whether he is a believer or a disbeliever will be held sacrosanct. Allah Subhanah has given every son of Adam the free will to choose whichever way of life he wishes to live in the test period of one life-time; and every person will be given a full and equal opportunity to fulfill his test; it is only on the Day of Judgment that the Lord All-Just Alone will determine whose life was worthwhile and whose was worthless.

It is absolutely absurd and a severe crime in Islamic Law to assume that one has a right to enslave or kill or even dishonor in any way a person who has chosen not to believe; if any person does any harm to anyone’s life, property or honor without just cause, he will be brought forth as a criminal in the Majestic Presence of the Lord Most High and without an iota of a doubt, such a person will have a severe accounting on that Inevitable Day of Judgment!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 60 Surah Mumtahina verse 8:

8 Allah forbids you not with regard to those (disbelievers) who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loves those who are just.

Your Question: Finally many people have taken the bombings in London as legitimate Islamically – I heard one guy saying something of a ‘contract of protection’ or some kind of treaty- which had been broken by the war in Iraq- and so now attacks on the people are allowed as Jihaad.

Dear and beloved brother, it is the nation or State leaders of Iraq who may have a genuine case of being attacked by a foreign country, and they are well within their right as a sovereign nation to take their case to law or declare war against those who attacked them.

But no individual living in a foreign country has the right to declare war against a nation or its people; this is the right of the State alone. Under no circumstances does Islam or Islamic Law allow individuals to declare war or harm the life, property, or honor of any individual or people.

Even in a proper state of war, the believers are bound by the rules of war sanctioned by Allah and His Messenger (saws) that they fight only those who fight against them in the battlefield. Under no circumstances does Islam allow that the life or property of a civilian by touched, or innocent women and children be harmed in any manner whatsoever; any who does so will be a transgressor and evil-doer in the Sight of Allah Subhanah and Islamic Law.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 190:

Fight in the Cause of Allah (only) those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not the transgressors.

Besides, one must remember that a majority of the British citizens were and are against the war in Iraq supported by their government, and they held many demonstrations against the war in Iraq to show their disapproval. To indiscriminately harm innocent men, women and children who have played absolutely no active role in the war is indeed a crime against humanity in Islamic Law. The bombings that took place in London at the hands of a few muslims is indeed a tragedy, and willing or unwillingly those who perpetrated these acts have hurt the Cause of Islam and muslims rather than help it. The deen of Islam works according to rule of Just Law, and those who tarnished and transgressed this Law should be brought to justice.

Your Question: But then what about the violation of the peace treaty….I always thought this ‘contract of protection’ thing was for the authority of the Muslim leader…… but we don’t have a leader, Should we?

If there was ever a peace treaty between a muslim state and a pagan state, and one party went against the treaty…it is entirely upon the leaders of the State to decide what action they wish to take against the enemy state. No individual has a right to decide what action to take, and if one does so, he should be brought to justice for his transgression.

It is indeed the sorry truth that although there are many muslim nations in the world today, neither are the nations, nor their leaders, nor the Ummah united behind one universal leader. Indeed the Ummah should have one leader, one voice, one vision, and one mission…..and it is the promise of Allah and His Messenger (saws) that such a leadership of a united believing Ummah will emerge one day before the end of time. And until that happens, one should have patience and strive earnestly with everything in their power to unite the believers, each according to their ability.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan