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:

I recently read on a forum someone describing the killer of Van Gough (the anit-Islamic filmaker) as a misgiuded man-as he did not have the authority to do what he did-However i also read in a Hadeeth, where a women always used to speak bad of the prophet (p)- and 1 day one of the companions put a dagger in her chest--When the prophet (p) was told, he said there is no blood money due.

This means it is halaal to kill someone who insults the prophet, then why was the man who killed Van Gough a misguided man then-Please shed some light.

Jazak Allaah Khier. 

(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:

Kill one who abuses reviles Prophet (saws)

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.

There is absolutely nothing in the Quran or the Sunnah which prescribes a penalty or punishment in the life of this world for a disbeliever who abuses or reviles the Noble Prophet (saws). In the lifetime of the Noble Prophet (saws) itself many amongst the evil disbelievers would regularly abuse and revile the Noble Prophet of Allah (saws), and the Quran itself confirms that these treacherous disbelievers would call him (and I seek refuge in the Lord from even saying this!) a madman, a liar, a sooth-sayer, a man possessed, etc.; but never ever did the Messenger of Allah (saws) extract a punishment from them in the life of this world.

Just as in Japan there is a law which prescribes punishment for one who reviles or abuses their Emperor, or in Thailand the law of the land prescribes severe punishment for one who reviles or abuses their King, or even in England it is against the law of the land to publicly abuse or curse the Queen…..the muslim rulers in an Islamic State or Nation are well within their rights as a sovereign nation to make it illegal in the lands under their jurisdiction for anyone to revile or abuse their Prophet (saws) and prescribe a punishment they see appropriate for this ghastly blasphemy committed in their nations.

But if one who is a disbeliever in Allah and His Messenger (saws) and lives in a non-Islamic State chooses to exercise his (so-called) freedom of expression and reviles or abuses the Noble Prophet of Allah (saws) from a nation where the Muslim State has no jurisdiction; he obviously cannot be prosecuted or punished according to Islamic Law in a foreign land! The Muslim States can obviously ban him from ever entering their lands, or can ban his views being aired in their lands…but they cannot prescribe a punishment for that person in a foreign sovereign land.

And without an iota of a doubt, even in an Islamic State under no circumstances can a muslim vigilante take matters in his own hands and go about executing anyone he thinks has reviled or abused the Prophet (saws)! Even in a muslim nation where a law is in place to punish the perpetrators who dare to revile or abuse the Prophet (saws), an individual muslim cannot take matters in his own hands and punish whom he thinks to be a blasphemer, but he must take the case to the Court, where the Judge alone has the right to enforce the prescribed punishments on the convict if he is convicted for his crime of blasphemy.

Your Statement: This means it is halaal to kill someone who insults the prophet,

It is not lawful for an individual muslim to kill someone who insults the Prophet (saws), regardless of whether that individual reviled the Noble Prophet (saws) from a non-muslim or muslim nation.

If the person who reviled the Prophet (saws) lives or committed his crime of blasphemy in a muslim nation, he must be taken to court and the Judge will enforce the punishment on the convict if convicted of his crime.

Just imagine the chaos and ‘fitnah’ it would create if every individual muslim had a right to kill one who insults their beloved Prophet (saws); anyone could kill anybody at random and when asked why he did so, all he has to do is claim that the person reviled the Prophet (saws) and thus he killed him! No person’s honor, life, and property would be safe in such an environment!

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4348 Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Abbas

A blind man had a slave-girl who used to abuse the Prophet (saws) and disparage him. He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet (saws) and abuse him. So he took a dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there. When the morning came, the Prophet (saws) was informed about it. He assembled the people and said: ‘I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up.’ Jumping over the necks of the people and trembling the blind man stood up. He sat before the Prophet (saws) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws)! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.’ Thereupon the Prophet (saws) said: ‘Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.’

Regarding the above narration which is indeed considered authentic, one must realize that the incident that is related above occurred in the believing nation of Madinah where a sovereign Islamic State was established with the Noble Prophet (saws) as its sole leader and judge, and under the guidance of Allah Subhanah, the Prophet (saws) as the sole leader and judge of a sovereign muslim nation accepted the witness of the person and forgave him.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 53 Surah Najm verses 3-4:

3 Nor does he (Prophet Mohamed (saws)) say (aught) of (his own) desire.

4 It is no less than inspiration sent down to him.

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