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Name
zahidabux
-
Profession
working in BPO industry
Question
What is Jihad? Why are we Muslims known as terrorists?
Answer
Jihad is to struggle and make effort to serve the cause of Allah (God) on earth through disciplining one's soul and committing oneself to truth and justice, and then supporting every right cause. This is the broad concept and definition of Jihad.
Jihad can be exercised by wealth, word, and military weapons. If Jihad is exercised as a military action, then it must be in self-defense and defending the oppressed and confronting mischief and corruption. Allah says in the Qur'an: "And why should you not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)?- Men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!" (An-Nisa': 75)
As for the second part of the question, there are two reasons for this misconception. The first reason is the wrong practices of some Muslims who do not observe the ethics of war in Islam, including the legitimate and minimum use of force, avoiding fighting non-combatants, human treatment of civilians and captives, etc.
The second reason why Muslims are called terrorists is the aggression they face from their enemies who try to legitimize their mischief and aggression by demonizing Muslims.
Another reason is the anti-Islamic bias in western media that highlight the negative aspects of Muslims and hide their positive contribution.
Name
Ali Sideeg
- Australia
Profession
Question
With all these flagrant practices and atrocities that the Americans are doing everywhere, one feels there is no room for ethics in today's world. What is the point of the talking about ethics if someone does not believe in ethics in the first place? I know I might sound pessimistic but there is much of reality in my talk. It is good to talk about the beautiful message of Islam and the unique characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) but after we talk, how much can we achieve?
Answer
Brother Ali,
Don't be either pessimistic or over-simplistic. One of the main problems today is that the Muslims' message is not heard. Whatever our observations towards Americans and others might be, we need to reach out to them and introduce our message.
We also need to understand the complexity of the American phenomenon and to understand the political and religious map of the American society. Americans, the end of the day, are human beings like us and if they get the message of Islam unblemished and untarnished, they would have reacted in a different way.
Muslims were defeated in the battle of ideas and words before they were defeated on the battlefield.
What we need to do is: talk, keep talk and insist on talking and reaching out to western people.
Name
Muslim
-
Profession
Question
What are the basic principles that determine the ethics of war in Islam?
Answer
1. As we mentioned before, war has to be in self-defense and in support of justice and freedom from oppression.
2. It must not be waged randomly or with indiscrimination. It must be legitimate and precise.
3. It must aim at establishing peace and justice. Peace in Islam is the norm, while war is the exception.
4. War in Islam is meant for defending the oppressed and not to revenge from the oppressor. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) set the best example for this principle. Though he was expelled by his own people and was put to torture for so many years, he forgave the very people who used to oppress him and chastise his companions.
5. Even at the time of war, the Muslim should never lose hope in peace and reconciliation. A Muslim should never go very far in furthering enmity. This is a lesson that we learn from verse 7 from Surat al-Mutahinah: "It may be that Allah will grant love (and friendship) between you and those whom ye (now) hold as enemies. For Allah has power (over all things); And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Name
Aisha
-
Profession
Question
Is there any incident(s) in the battles that took place at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when Muslims killed soldiers from their own army by mistake? How did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) deal with this un-intentional murder? Did he justify it as friendly fire?
Answer
At least I remember the example of the battle Uhud when Muslims killed two of their soldiers who were late in joining the battle thinking that they were from the army of Quraish. So they killed them by mistake. Those two companions were Suhail Al-Yamani and Thabit Ibn Waqsh.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that the blood money be paid to the family of the deceased, asked Allah to forgive them and shower them with His mercy.
By doing so, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never tried to cover up or justify the even un-intentional killing. This is because war in Islam is based on transparency, nobility and honesty. This is completely different to the situation of today's wars where self-justification is almost the norm.
Name
Chelh...
- Sweden
Profession
Question
As-Salamu`alykum. I would like to know if during the war in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was involved...if there was any beheading. Thanks.
Answer
Classical wars before the invention of fire guns would eventually lead to cutting off parts of the body. But this was not intended for mutilation of the body, however it was the only means of fighting available at the time.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden Muslims in unequivocal terms: "Do not mutilate even a wild dog (the dog that bites people without being provoked).".
Now that there are so many ways of precise fighting, so the prohibition of mutilating the body becomes more stressed.
Any Muslim who understands the war ethics observed by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) must have been shocked on seeing this disgust of beheading hostages that were broadcasted on TV and on the internet.
Even with the use of modern techniques of fighting, there is still another ethical problem from the Islamic perspective. This problem lies in the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for burning any living being, and we know for fact that most of modern weapons cause the living beings to burn alive. We read in Islamic jurisprudence that Muslims are not even allowed to get rid of insects in one's house by use of fire since it burns the living creatures of Allah. We could kill ants, for example, but we cannot burn them.
Name
abdul azeem
- India
Profession
student
Question
can we recite surah yaseen or darood and transfer that sawab to parents? i am very confused some say 'yes' and some say 'no' plz help me
Answer
Editor:
We would like to apologize for not answering your question since this page is not dedicated to this type of questions. Please re-submit your question on the following page:
The inhumane treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have shocked the whole world by its savagery and heartlessness. I would love to see a comparison between the way Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) dealt with captives and prisoners and the way they are dealt with nowadays?
Answer
War in Islam is a moral mission while most of fighting nowadays is a profession to make a living by shedding blood of people and causing suffering among their families and children. The objective of fighting in Islam is to win people and not to defeat them.
This huge philosophic difference results in many differences in application, including the way to treat prisoners and captives. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took many captives, but he treated them kindly and humanely. Some of them even embraced Islam when they were set free because they were influenced and impressed by the manners of Muslims and the kind treatment they were given.
The story of Thumama Ibn Athal reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari is a very good example for that. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent some horsemen to Najd and they brought a man called Thumama Ibn Athal from Bani Hanifah. They fastened him to one of the pillars of the mosque. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and ordered them to release him. He went to a (garden of) date-palms near the mosque, took a bath and entered the mosque again and said, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
In Islam, treating a captive kindly is regarded as one of the acts that earn the best reward of Allah. Allah SWT says: (And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive." (Al-Insan: 8)
Name
Raed
-
Profession
Question
Did Prophet Muhammad ever kill someone in the Battlefield? I always wonder how someone who had been sent as "a mercy for mankind" could kill someone, even an enemy? It might be acceptable from any soldiers but I don't think it sounds logic in case of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Answer
According to the Muslim historic references, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have killed one single person in all of his wars. This man was named Ummayah Ibn Khalaf. The reason was that Ummayah came specifically for the purpose of encountering the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself.
But you should know that the total death toll among Muslims and non-Muslims that were killed in the Prophet's wars, did not exceed 700 (seven hundred) people, notwithstanding the fact that these wars were counted as a turning-point in history.
If you still wonder how a prophet can fight and kill his enemy, I advise you to read the book of Joshua in the Old Testament!
Name
Hazm
-
Profession
Question
Are Muslims allowed to take women as captives in war? Doesn't it equate to "comfort" women, and rape?
Answer
As far as the Islamic ethics of war are concerned, women are not to be targeted except if they participate in the actual fighting. According to the authentic hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a woman killed in a battle. He got very furious and said: "This lady would have not been a fighter!"
Name
Ghani
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Profession
Question
Muslims always pray God to grant them victory, to defeat their enemies, to crush their foes, etc. how can you put these supplications under "ethics?
Answer
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mercy to the whole mankind, not only to Muslims but to non-Muslims alike. He never sought or tried to destroy his enemies, he was only trying to guide them and win their hearts. In Islam we don't have a war of extermination as described by the Bible, which was attributed to some prophets like Moses. However, Muslims even doubt that there could have been a Prophet who could exercise such kind of war.
Prophet Muhammad was granted many chances to invoke Allah's punishment against his enemies but he did not use any of those chances. He would always say: "O Allah, forgive my people as they don't know." "There maybe some good offspring who would come out of their progeny, that will worship Allah alone."
I am not sure if all Muslims nowadays are following this prophetic model but this is the example that every Muslim should struggle to achieve.
Name
Editor
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Profession
Answer
Finally, we would like to thank both Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti for taking the time to answer the questions of Islamonline viewers today, and we also thank all those who participated in this dialogue. We apologize for not being able to accommodate all the questions within the time allocated to this session. If you feel your question is very important, feel free to contact us at EngLivedialogue@islamonline.net and we will try our best to answer your question. We request our readers to join us in upcoming sessions.
