Alya Alvi
Rawalpindi
09-03-10

It is very positive on the part of Maulana Dr Tahirul Qadri for issuing a 600-page fatwa against the suicide bombing, a thing which should have been done much earlier, that too by the Ulema in Pakistan as a whole and by leading scholars of Islam in the Muslim world. It is also encouraging to note Dr Qadri’s announcement on CNN and BBC channels that he would alone fight for the cause if no other Ulema come forward in this direction. One wonders why the Ulema in Pakistan are particularly mum over the suicide blasts across the country. No one speaks against it. No one dares to say that suicide bombing is Haram in Islam, it is against the text of Quran and teachings of the Holy Prophet. The Ulema have in their access the most effective medium of communication – the mosque. They can tell the people, that: (1) Surah Al-Maeda, Ayah No. 32 says: “He who kills a human being (whether Muslim or non-Muslim), he has killed the whole humanity. He who saves one life, it is but equal to saving the whole humanity.” (2) In Surah Al-Nisaa, Ayah 29, it is clearly said that suicide is Haraam: “Don’t kill yourself, there is no doubt that Allah is Merciful to you.” Committing suicide is equal to interfering in the working of Allah. It is as equal to rejecting the blessings of Allah the man is bestowed with. (3) Man is not allowed to kill himself even in the heights of unbearable pains of disease, despondency and any other circumstances. (4) When a Muslim valiant fighter in one of the Ghazwas got unbearable wounds and stabbed himself to death, Hazrat Jundub (RA) heard the Holy Prophet saying: “the man has shut the doors of Jannah in bid to rush to Jannah.” His bravery, his Jehad and all deeds of righteousness which he did in the past all went down the drain because he took the decision of his life and death in his hands. (5) The Holy Prophet used to give instructions to the faithful before going for a Ghazwa, forbidding: “No one will attack the unarmed, the women, the children, the patients, the elders, who offer no resistance, who surrenders, who is given amnesty by anyone from the Muslims.” (6) Surah Al-Baqrah’s Ayah 193 says: “Don’t pick up arms against other than aggressors.” (7) There is famous Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH), which says: “He who kills himself by iron shrapnel, will be beaten by the same iron shrapnel in the Hell.” It is the duty of our Ulema, not to stay calm and speak against the menace of suicide blasts. Luckily, the prestigious Jamia Al-Azhar Egypt’s Mufti-e-Azam Sheikh-ul-Azam Qarat Muhammad Abdul Hameed Al Bashar has come out with the latest fatwa that suicide attacks, in Pakistan, are against the Shariah. He said Muslims are on both sides and there is no reason to fight against each other. He urged the Islamic scholars to preach the teachings of Quran and the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Probably we at the labyrinth of our moral decay that we are not even ready to pay heed to such Fatwas whereas till the early days of last century a fatwa by Mufti Azam of Islam had held the status of decree for all Muslims of the world. If the masterminds, the Taliban, al-Qaeda men, pro-Taliban militants of tribal areas are true Muslims, they would pay heed to my words. Ulema must come forward in footsteps of Dr Tahirul Qadri and launch a full fledged campaign against suicide bombing as Haram and it has nothing to do with Jannah but they are the merchants of death and hell.