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Is there any specific rule in Islam which allows suicide bombing even though suicide itself is haram?

Tachyons
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    Assalamu alaikum ,this question is not about general suicide . My question is is there any specific rule in islam which allows suicide bombing even when suicide bombing is haram . Sorry if question was not clear :) – Tachyons Jun 24 '12 at 14:07
  • Wether you're bombing or shooting it doesn't matter. It's still a duplicate. – Dynamic Jun 24 '12 at 17:12
  • @Dynamic : please read the discussion done in chat :) – Tachyons Jun 24 '12 at 17:14

9 Answers9

18

I would conclude that suicide bombing is not permissible, and is in fact highly punishable

To support this, there are many examples from Hadith, where suicide is explained quite explicitly:

Hadith - Bukhari 7:670, Narrated Abu Huraira

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever purposely throws himself from a mountain and kills himself, will be in the (Hell) Fire falling down into it and abiding therein perpetually forever; and whoever drinks poison and kills himself with it, he will be carrying his poison in his hand and drinking it in the (Hell) Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever; and whoever kills himself with an iron weapon, will be carrying that weapon in his hand and stabbing his abdomen with it in the (Hell) Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever."

Also, an explicit example from a battle.

Hadith - Bukhari (Book #52, Hadith #297) Narrated Abu Huraira:

We were in the company of Allah's Apostle in a Ghazwa, and he remarked about a man who claimed to be a Muslim, saying, "This (man) is from the people of the (Hell) Fire." When the battle started, the man fought violently till he got wounded. Somebody said, "O Allah's Apostle! The man whom you described as being from the people of the (Hell) Fire fought violently today and died." The Prophet said, "He will go to the (Hell) Fire." Some people were on the point of doubting (the truth of what the Prophet had said) while they were in this state, suddenly someone said that he was still alive but severely wounded. When night fell, he lost patience and committed suicide. The Prophet was informed of that, and he said, "Allah is Greater! I testify that I am Allah's Slave and His Apostle." Then he ordered Bilal to announce amongst the people: 'None will enter Paradise but a Muslim, and Allah may support this religion (i.e. Islam) even with a disobedient man.'

Emphasis mine.

Compare with:

Hadith - Sahih Bukhari, 52:53 Narrated Anas bin malik:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah (in the Hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah's Cause)." Narrated Anas: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah's Cause in the afternoon or in the forenoon is better than all the world and whatever is in it. A place in Paradise as small as the bow or lash of one of you is better than all the world and whatever is in it. And if a houri from Paradise appeared to the people of the earth, she would fill the space between heaven and the Earth with light and pleasant scent and her head cover is better than the world and whatever is in it." (Book #52, Hadith #53) [see also Sahih Muslim, 20:4635]

Such a clear distinction. I would conclude, may Allah forgive me if I am mistaken, that had the man from the second hadith waited, he would have been martyred.

Whilst the first hadith does not mention explosives, nor the fact that the act of suicide kills those whom a martyr may fight, it seems clear from this that suicide, even 'in the name of Allah' is forbidden, and punished severely.

PracticingFerret
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    to me, a good answer is that which has the conclusion at the top(!) and then the explanation. I find such answers more readable. – Mohayemin Aug 18 '12 at 16:49
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    What if he does that for a just cause which will not evidently involve killing of innocents? – infatuated Jul 20 '14 at 22:29
  • @infatuated That would still involve suicide, which is Haram. – PracticingFerret Jul 21 '14 at 15:47
  • You're so wrong! If sacrifice for a good cause is haram there can no jihad! Because all jihad involves risking of one's life and readiness to sacrifice for the cause of Allah. – infatuated Jul 21 '14 at 21:08
  • Martyrdom is not suicide! – infatuated Jul 21 '14 at 21:09
  • @infatuated I agree that martyrdom is not suicide. If your intention is to kill yourself though that is suicide. And suicide is not martyrdom. At the end of the day I am no scholar, Allahu Alim. – PracticingFerret Jul 21 '14 at 22:46
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    Some scholars have permitted martyrdom operations against enemies when there's no other way of defending muslims and inflicting damage on an aggressive enemy other than carrying bombs to an enemy site. However if a person carrying out the operation can still find a way to save himself he should. – infatuated Jul 22 '14 at 05:35
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It is forbidden to commit suicide.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَأۡڪُلُوٓاْ أَمۡوَٲلَكُم بَيۡنَڪُم بِٱلۡبَـٰطِلِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَـٰرَةً عَن تَرَاضٍ۬ مِّنكُمۡ‌ۚ وَلَا تَقۡتُلُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمۡ رَحِيمً۬ا (٢٩) وَمَن يَفۡعَلۡ ذَٲلِكَ عُدۡوَٲنً۬ا وَظُلۡمً۬ا فَسَوۡفَ نُصۡلِيهِ نَارً۬ا‌ۚ وَڪَانَ ذَٲلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرًا (٣٠) O ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities: but let there be amongst you traffic and trade by mutual good-will: nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily Allah hath been to you Most Merciful. (29) If any (one) does that in rancour and injustice,― soon shall We cast him into the Fire: and easy it is for Allah. (30)

Narrated Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak:

The Prophet said, "Whoever swears by a religion other than Islam, is, as he says; and whoever commits suicide with something, will be punished with the same thing in the (Hell) Fire; and cursing a believer is like murdering him; and whoever accuses a believer of disbelief, then it is as if he had killed him."

حَدَّثَنَا مُعَلَّى بْنُ أَسَدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ، عَنْ ثَابِتِ بْنِ الضَّحَّاكِ، قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ مَنْ حَلَفَ بِغَيْرِ مِلَّةِ الإِسْلاَمِ فَهْوَ كَمَا قَالَ ـ قَالَ ـ وَمَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسَهُ بِشَىْءٍ عُذِّبَ بِهِ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ، وَلَعْنُ الْمُؤْمِنِ كَقَتْلِهِ، وَمَنْ رَمَى مُؤْمِنًا بِكُفْرٍ فَهْوَ كَقَتْلِهِ ‏"‏‏.‏

Bukari

If suicide is forbidden then suicide bombing is strictly haram. suicide bombing kills innocent people, and Allah says that who ever kills someone then it is like the whole of humanity is killed. It is forbidden in Islam to kill other people so suicide bombing is forbidden.

Allah says in Quran:

Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors. 5:32

So to commit suicide in of it self is totally, absolutely, haram. And furthermore, not only are suicide bombing haram because it is the killing of your self, but also it is the killing and endangering other innocent lives and people, children and women. I mentioned above the verse in the Quran which condemns such, as well as it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (the emphasis is from me):

الْمُؤْمِنُ مَنْ أَمِنَهُ النَّاسُ عَلَى دِمَائِهِمْ وَأَمْوَالِهِمْ

the believer is the one from whom the people's lives and wealth are safe

So I end by saying that no true believer would commit such a forbidden act, nor will he endanger others as such, furthermore what is necessary for us Muslims is to change what is within ourselves, and our families, and wake the whole Ummah back up, only then can we defend our selves and spread the truth again, and there would be no reason for people to commit a forbidden act and say it is for Allah. So if someone tries to argue that it (suicide bombing) is allowed if necessary, ask for proof, and then mention the authentic proofs against it. May Allah forgive me of my mistakes, and may He guide us all.

مجاهد
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  • what about martyrdom operations which targets enemies of Islam? – infatuated Jul 21 '14 at 21:10
  • @infatuated still, it is killing oneself, martyrdom is not suicide, one should seek martyrdom and not suicide. – مجاهد Jul 21 '14 at 21:47
  • But what about situations where there is no other effective way of fighting an aggressive enemy without resort to martyrdom operations? – infatuated Jul 22 '14 at 05:33
  • @infatuated Since there has been so much evidences for suicide to be highly punishable, one can argue otherwise and ask you that why there can be no way to fight an agressive enemy except suicide bombing? And who decides that ? Remember that if one cannot resort to a way to fight with an agressive enemy, then it's not necessary that such a way doesn't exist but it's the limitation of brain. – An_Elephant May 28 '23 at 19:39
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"Suicide bombing" is not simply direct suicide. None of the answers here actually address "suicide bombing"; they only address suicide. It is simply a term used by those who disagree with it. A suicide bomber will refer to themselves as a "martyr" - someone who faces certain death to defend Islam.

Faced with a different audience and different situations, I think you'll find very different answers to this one. It's remarkably easy for someone who lives in a modern society to consider suicide bombing as unnecessary, but there are situations where it is indeed defense.

There are many of the Prophet's Companions who went to war with near suicidal odds. But it's not the same analogy as suicide bombing, because a suicide bomber has a 100% chance of death.

There are no weapons during the early Islamic times which could deal the kind of damage suicide bombs do, with the same degree of certain death.

The closest I can find is a situation in the Ridda wars, in the battle against Musaylimah:

o Muslim army: 11000, Musaylimah's army: lowest estimate was 40000

o Musaylimah's army backed into a garden and sealed it. The garden became known in history as the Garden of Death because of the many people killed there on that day.

o One Muslim soldier asked to be thrown into the garden so that he could open the door from the inside. Who was this very courageous soldier? This man was al-Baraa ibn Malik al- Ansari, the brother of Anas ibn Malik, the personal aide of the Prophet. He was thin and wiry with so little flesh on his bones that it was painful to look at him. Yet in single- handed combat he defeated and killed many opponents and in the thick of battle he was an outstanding fighter against the mushrikeen. During the battle against Musaylimah, al-Baraa went forward and addressed his company, "Put me on a shield. Raise the shield on spears and hurl me into the garden near the gate. Either I shall die a martyr or I shall open the gate for you." He sustained numerous wounds before he could open the gate. (taken from "Companions of The Prophet", Vol.1, By: Abdul Wahid Hamid) (Source)

(Also another reference to the same story in Huroob Ar-Riddah, by Shauqee Abu Khaleel, pg 92)

The situation was of someone who, alone, faced near certain death to hasten a siege. He survived, but jumping alone into a room filled with enemy soldier is near certain death! This was also an offensive maneuver, not one done by someone who is backed into a corner.

There have also been plenty of other near-suicidal moves done by the Sword of Islam, Khalid al-Walid himself. As these were some of the Prophet's companions, it could be argued that it is an Islamic approach to sacrifice oneself for the greater good.

Again, this is a poor analogy, because there were no suicide bombs during the Prophet's time.

It depends on intention and situation. If a person is going to blow up civilians out of spite and desperation, of course, it's haraam. If a person does so to enable a decisive victory in the name of Islam, history seems to encourage it.

Community
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Muz
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    I would not use the word "suicidal" to describe the courage of the Companions(RAA). In both the cases cited above the concerned Companion came out of the situation alive. Though Khalid(RAA) took many risks that most people today would even call "foolhardy," they hardly constitute suicide since he came out of each of them intact except for a few wounds. A suicide bomber on the other hand knows for sure when he straps bombs on himself that he will not live through it. This makes this act diametrically opposite to the courage of the Sahaabah(RAA). Suicide bombings are acts of the Khwarij. – Najeeb Feb 24 '14 at 03:44
  • So far there haven't been many examples of anything that requires actual certain death to further the cause. Selfish suicide for the sake of martyrdom is clearly haraam, as is practiced by modern Arabian 'terrorists' attacking civilian targets. My point is tactical suicide bombing like the Japanese kamikaze pilots, who tried to sink aircraft carriers. They were very effective, and had they succeeded in their mission, they would have prevented millions of civilian deaths. – Muz Feb 24 '14 at 05:39
  • I guess it means that when death is certain when you are surrounded by merciless enemies, it is better to inflict maximum damage on them before dying. But, one has to be certain of death (with no recourse to surrender to the enemy) in that situation. – Najeeb Feb 24 '14 at 05:42
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Suicide bombing is an "act of desperation" where death is certain for the bomber. He may not eliminate his intended target but he will certainly perish. Sahaba took "great risks upon themselves" in certain situations but ultimately it was the enemy who killed them no matter what the odds. The almighty grants martyrdom, we are not allowed to take martyrdom by force. Islam condemns this desperate behaviour whatever the situation and insists people put faith in their Lord.

Amir
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Suicide bombing is haraam due to following reasons:

  1. surity of death by own arms not by enemies arms like sucide bombing....

  2. in case of sahaba and early muslims, when they entered kafirs army with a risk of death they never did killed by themselves but were killed by their enemies.

  3. in that case their was a chance of survival as sahaba or early muslims can be arrested by their enemies during war and could survive as war prisioner and after end of war they could be freed by exchange or by payment.

but above situation can't be attained in sucide attaks so the conclusion is that the case of sahaba and early muslims was not equal or have any analogy to sucide attacks in any case.....

Sohaeb
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sa'iee
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Killing Your self is haram, Even if you are fighting infidels we cannot kill ourselfs to kill them too but instead fight them and try to survive to kill more not being scared to die and then if we die then we are Martyr In Sha Allah. Allah knows the best.

Shuaib
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  • Killing innocent people is Haram, Fight those who are ready to fight you and not kill those who are not part of any group that's fighting you.
    • – Shuaib Jul 20 '14 at 07:36
  • What about martyrdom operations when a person fighting a just Islamic cause embarks on an operation to harm the enemy knowing that he will also be killed in the process, provided that it can not be avoided. – infatuated Jul 20 '14 at 23:38