A Thoughtful Look at the Fatwas and the Suspicions Related to the 9/11 Events

No sooner the events of September 11th occurred than the big evil started which was brought about by the followers of Al Qaeda Network and their sympathizers who attacked Muslim scholars and Imams who had a clear steadfast opinion in condemning these events. Those scholars were crystal-clear in rejecting these events, proving that they did not belong to Islam and considering such actions as deviation from understanding Islam and the Jurisprudence of Shari‘ah, breaking away from the Muslim community and an oppression against Muslim scholars and rulers.

The attack of those frenzied evil mongers escalated against the scholars; they vilified them, accused them of having ill intentions, described them with the worst descriptions and even accused them of being non-religious or, worse, nonbelievers.

Al Qaeda Network and its sympathizers released dozens of statements, bulletins, pamphlets and different publications under real names or pseudonyms. They tried to commend these events and make it sound Islamic and described them like Jihad (strife for the sake of Allah). They did not even call them battles but they called them Ghazawat (the battle which the Prophet Muhammad himself (peace be upon him) commanded) to the extent that one of them wrote an article titled Osama bin Laden (peace be upon him)??!!

When Al Qaedah and its sympathizers became unable to resist the evidence and Fatwas of the scholars, they resorted to suppositions and talked about alleged visions, dreams, special extraordinary powers, predictions and quoted weak and rejected Hadiths such as the Hadith of the "black flags" and others to deceive the common Muslims especially young men who joined them using the same way.

Al Qaeda members, following the example of the Kharijites before, resorted to distortion and misinterpreted the texts of Shari‘ah relying on the principle that 'the end justifies the means'. They permitted their followers to shave their beard and commit forgery relying on the Prophet's saying "War is deception;" they sanctioned undutifulness to parents on the plea that Jihad is an individual obligation; they sanctioned missing the congregational prayers and Friday prayers on the plea of keeping security. In addition, they violate the sanctity of the life of Muslims and innocent people on the plea of taking them as human shields. They also permitted killing women and children because they were associated to other non-Muslim grownups and dependents. They also sanctioned the killing of Mu'ahads (non-Muslims who have a covenant with Muslims) and Musta'mans (non-Muslims who entered the Muslim land with a covenant of security) relying on the Prophet's command to dismiss the polytheists out of the Arabian Peninsula.
They slander the Muslim scholars and preachers on the plea that they, by so doing, disclose the hypocrites. They commit suicide claiming that they seek martyrdom. They name Muslim individuals and countries nonbelievers and endeavor to undermine their security on the plea of seeking to establish the Islamic Caliphate…etc. 

Many people, even some enthusiastic seekers of knowledge who lack understanding of such major issues, were deceived by these suspicious claims and were affected by their emotions and zealousness to their religion. Therefore, they were pushed to respond to Al Qaeda's woven cases and suspicions; they tried to contrive evidence to support them and use the religious texts to support their words and explain them in the wrong way. Then, the odd Fatwas and statements appeared, which were widely received by the deceived people, justifying Al Qaeda's acts of corruption. The main reason of such ideological delinquency and religious deviation of those extremists is their reliance on the deviated Fatwas and their breaking away from the methodology of the accredited and trustworthy Muslim scholars.

The scholars in the Jurisprudence Academy, an affiliate to the Muslim World League, in its 17th session held in Makkah 19-23/10/1424 AH corresponding to 13-17/12/2003 AD, discussed this matter focusing on: bombings and terrorist threats: reasons, effects, Islamic ruling and ways of protection. The main reasons of these acts were pointed out as being: following odd Fatwas and fragile and unfounded opinions, taking Fatwas from unauthentic sources in terms of knowledge and religiosity and fanatically adhere to them. This in turn leads to the breach of security, the spread of chaos and negatively affecting the credibility of the ruler's authority.

Some masterminds of such misguided thought eventually came to know the gravity of these odd Fatwas they and their adherents used to issue after ascertaining the right way and returning to it. One of these masterminds is Naser Al Fahd who, following his retraction, said in his advice to the youth: "Fatwas that concern fateful issues, public interests and lives and properties should not be tampered with; they should be referred to trustworthy scholars, like the Senior Ulema Commission." This opinion was based on a personal experience, especially giving fatwas while disregarding the public interest of the Muslim Ummah.

Al Fahd warned "the youth from the danger of giving fatwa; the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who were the best people after the Prophets (peace be upon them) used to avoid giving fatwa by referring their questioners to other muftis, despite the fact that they were qualified scholars."

The points highlighted by Fahd were also stressed by Muslim scholars past and present. His eminence the Minister of the Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Salih bin Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh stresses the gravity of giving Fatwa saying: "Since the age of the Companions and after, people used to avoid giving fatwas and would limit the scope of their fatwas, should they give any, to a very few number of audience, only one or two persons. The more the number of people who listen to the fatwa, they thought, the more dangerous the consequences will be. A Mufti is regarded as a commissioned authority on behalf of Allah to say this is lawful and this is forbidden."

He added: "Nowadays people race in giving fatwas to the extent that things have been messed up; things lack order on the part of the mufti as much as on the part of the fatwa seeker in terms of the etiquette and objectives of seeking a fatwa." He continued: "This shows that the matter is really serious. Should the people stay like this, they will increase the speed of the fatwa race and they will make lawful what is not lawful and vice versa; we seek refuge in Allah."

Giving the right fatwa and protecting the people from such releases, statements and misguided fatwas are of the most important issues that should be considered in order to dry up the sources of deviation and block up the sneakers who try to draw wedges in the Muslim ranks and delude Muslim youth.

Scientific bodies and Da'wah institutions in Saudi Arabia and abroad in addition to Muslim scholars, preachers and intellectuals have played a significant role in responding to this ideological deviation, exposing its error and responding to its suspicions. This, thanks to Allah, helped many misguided people to return to the right way.

As the people of knowledge addressed this right extremist thinking, they also addressed the left extremists who want to take advantage of the criminal acts that the terrorists wrongfully attributed to Islam to malign the KSA's general policy, educational curricula, educational institutions, cultural centers, charity societies and centers of of Qur'an memorization, labeling it as the hotbed of terrorism. Some of these left extremists went so far by accusing the Qur'an, the Prophet of mercy (peace be upon him) and Islam of being the religion of terrorism and bloodshed. They accused the reformation movements that followed the example of the Prophet's call, such as Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab's (may Allah bless his soul) call, which they defamed as a movement sponsoring terrorism.

The Senior Ulema Commission stated: "the council condemns the words of some writers who link these destructive acts to the Saudi educational curricula. It also condemns using these actions to attack the principles of this country which are built on the creed taught by Sheikhul Islam Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (may Allah bless his soul)".

Sheikh Salih Al Fawzan (may Allah protect him) said: "Some hypocrites and ignorant people claim that the Muslim schools have taught them this thought and that their curricula included that diverted thought; they therefore ask for changing them.

In reply we say that the holders of this ideology were not graduated from Muslim schools nor have they learnt from Muslim scholars because they forbid studying in schools, institutions and colleges and dispraise Muslim scholars describing them with ignorance and accusing them of siding with the rulers; on the other hand they learn from people of diverted thoughts who are not experienced like them."

The one who reads the minds of Al Qaeda and the writings of their sympathizers in addition to the fatwas and statements released by them, will find that they depend on some suspicious issues to prove the legality of the terrorist actions they do all over the world. They wrongfully interpret the Islamic texts to justify their misguidance. Muslim scholars have faced these suspicions and revealed their fakeness and opposition to Islam. We will address the main suspicions they used to justify the events of September 11th and then we will present the opinion of Muslim scholars about them.

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One of the most prominent suspicions that Al Qaeda Network and its leaders often quote is that the United States is a non-Muslim country and there are clear texts that we should fight the disbelievers until they join Islam or pay the Jizyah while being debased. A book of one of the US events theoreticians entitled At Ta'seel Ashar‘y li Ahdath Amrika fi Ghazwaty New York wa Washington (Measuring the U.S.A. Events against the Legislative Foundations in the Two Incursions of New York and Washington). It states that the Islamic ruling regarding them (the American) is to be treated like people at war with Muslims. In such case, their lives, property and honor will not be respected. In Al Bukhari and Muslim, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, reported, Allah's Messenger said: "I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, perform the Prayer, and pay Zakah. If they do that, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah."

This suspicion is circulated among Al Qaedah sympathizers claiming that it represents the peak of enthusiasm to Islam and supporting its cause and the optimum way of expressing the creed of Al Baraa (disavowal from disbelievers) to the effect that fighting the disbelievers is a must without distinction between the military and the citizens. The writer made fighting the disbelievers a must exactly like what the Kharijites did in some texts; they accused the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) of disbelief and therefore fought them. If we discussed this matter with the scholars, they will confirm that it is invalid and they will stress that we should gather the legislative texts without taking some of them and leaving the others thus copying the conduct of the people of Bid'ah (innovation), the Kharijites and others. Islam does treat all the disbelievers the same way; some of them are peaceful, some have covenants with the Muslims and some are fighters. Each of these categories has its own rulings. Sheikh Ibn Jibreen said: "scholars said that the disbelievers are four types: First: Dhimmis (non-Muslims living in the Muslim land) they enjoy the Muslim protection when they pay the Jizyah. Second: Those who have a covenant, like the covenant the Prophet (peace be upon him) made with the Quraish. Third: those who are allowed a safe entrance to the Muslim lands, Allah said: "And if anyone of the Mushrikûn (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh) seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allâh (the Qur’ân), and then escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know not."
Fourth: fighters, who could still be given protection by individual Muslims even if it is a woman; the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Umm Hani' "We shelter whom you shelter Umm Hani'. He also said: "The blood (money) of all Muslims is equal and their guarantee of safety can be given by their lowliest (in number or status)."

The Sheikh also said: the disbelievers confessed that the Prophet did not break his covenants; Allah said:" Except those of the Mushrikûn with whom you have a treaty, and who have not subsequently failed you in aught, nor have supported anyone against you. So fulfill their treaty to them for the end of their term. Surely Allâh loves Al-Muttaqûn (the pious)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him) stressed respecting the people who have covenants with Muslims saying: "Whoever kills a person who has a treaty with the Muslims, shall not smell the smell of Paradise though its smell is perceived from a distance of forty years."

Even if the people who have our covenant are Jewish, Christians or other disbelievers we should fulfill our covenant and not hurt them".

When Sheikh Salih Al Fawzan (may Allah protect him) was asked about the one who gave a fatwa of killing the Americans all over the world on a plea that their nation is at war with Muslims, he answered saying: "this is an ignorant Mufti, this matter needs to be detailed; because those whom we have covenant with, have entered our country safely and we brought them to do tasks we need. They are under the covenant and it is not allowed to be treacherous or to kill them. We should not be treacherous with the countries we have covenants with and share the diplomatic representation, Allah the Exalted said:" And if anyone of the Mushrikûn (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh) seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allâh (the Qur’ân), and then escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know not." (At-Tawbah, 9:6)

We should not be treacherous with the people who entered Muslim countries with the permission of the Muslims or who were brought by the Muslims, such things are not allowed. The harbis (people in a state of war against Muslims) are the ones who have no peace covenant with the Muslims.

The opinions of Muslim scholars thus show that it is not allowed to fight the disbelievers who have a covenant of peace with Muslims, like the disbelievers who enter the Muslim lands by virtue of a covenant or those who have a peace accord with Muslims and there are diplomatic relations and exchange of embassies with them. Their lives should be protected so long as the covenant with them is still valid.

Sheikh Ibn Jibreen said: "The covenant means: that the Muslim/Muslims give a pledge to other Muslims / or non-Muslims not to fight or kill them.
 
Fighting the Mu'ahads (non-Muslims who are given protection by Muslims by virtue of a covenant) is defamation to Muslims and to their religion; if this happens, people will simply say it is a religion that does not respect covenants and pledges, while Allah said: "O you who believe! Fulfill (your) obligations."  He also said: "And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily, the covenant, will be questioned about."

Thus, the scholars of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemned the bombings of 9/11 as a non-Islamic act so that the religion of Allah will not be misunderstood and the enemies of Islam will miss the chance to defame Islam and keep people away from it.

His eminence Mufti of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah Al Sheikh said: "Those events that took place in the United Sates and their likes such as hijacking, terrorism and unjustified killing is considered injustice and transgression that is not sanctioned by Islam; rather Islam forbids such acts and consider them major sins".

He also said: "The media as well as its backers, who always stick charges on Muslims and vilify the upright religion of Islam in order to spread Fitnah (ordeal) and defame Islam and Muslims and mobilize hatred against them, they’ve got to stop this nonsense. They’ve got to know that every fair-minded person who knows the teachings of Islam cannot describe Islam with these things; throughout history this religion has been known for keeping the rights and standing against aggression and injustice."

Sheikh Salih Al-Luhaidan, commenting on these events, said: "These horrible scenes seen in the aftermath of that criminal act cannot be approved nor sanctioned by any wise Muslim; even if the doer was raised as a Muslim who grew up in a Muslim country. What counts are the views of the scholars and the Shari'ah rulings. Such crimes are very dangerous. Saudi Arabia condemned the hijacking of planes before a single Saudi aircraft was hijacked and its scholars forbade this act irrespective of the religion of the passengers on board whether Muslims or non-Muslims. They confirmed that oppression is forbidden and aggression and terrifying people without justification is a major sin and a corruption on earth.

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One of the suspicions raised by Al Qaeda and its sympathizers is that the covenants given to the disbelievers should not be put in consideration because they consider the Muslim leaders as disbelievers when they made such covenants. The writer of Kashf Al Shubuhat 'An Ahkam Al Hajamat states: "A covenant needs to be proved: where and when it was signed, and whether it was convened in the right way." Before his repentance and giving up his twisted thinking, Al Fahd said in a relevant fatwa he gave, "As for the covenant, I swear that there is no covenant between us and them. They are all Harbis wherever they are even if they cling to the curtains of the Ka‘bah. The covenant made between the government and those crusades is not legal; however, it was built on the charters of the unfair UN."

The writings of Al Qaeda and its sympathizers are full of accusations of disbelief to Muslim rulers, their countries and their communities. They try to use the texts wrongly and change the words of the scholars; they do their best to spread their own suspicions.

The one who contemplates this dangerous suspicion (of accusation of disbelief) finds that they concentrate on it like the Kharijites did before because this is the easiest way to annul the legitimacy of Muslim governments. If they manage to do so, they would be able to justify any action that leads to the destabilization of these governments and spread Fitnah (ordeal) in Muslim countries. Despite the dangerous deviation (from Islam) included in this suspicion and keeping away from the logic of change and acceptable reform, it is almost agreed upon as a common background between the extremist sects and groups in the past and present; likewise it is the denominator of the current extremist groups in Egypt, Algeria, Libya. Before them there were Al Takfeer wa Al Hijrah and Al Tawaquf and At-Tabaiyyun and other extremist groups which were all gathered in the same melting pot and whose vices put together were manifested in Al Qaeda group, which managed to attract many symbols of such deviant groups under this dangerous terrorist organization.

The one who reads their writings finds that they mainly depend on the points of exaggeration in the writings of Sayed Qutb in the matters of disbelief, Jahiliah (Ignorance) and fighting, the writings of Abu Al A'la Al Mawdudi, the theoretician of the Jama'ah Al Islamiyah (Islamic Group) in Pakistan. These two personalities were very effective in disseminating the ideas of takfir (labeling of disbelief) in some contemporary Islamist groups.

Abu Muhammad Al Maqdisi, the Jordanian adherent of takfir trend along with his students tried to deceive people to legitimize their call through citing truncated quotations of Muslim authorities such as Sheikhul Islam ibn Taimiyyah and Imam Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and others. They (adherents of the takfir trend) filled their writings with these truncated quotations to misguide people. As a result, some people who trusted these texts thought that these great scholars were followers of such deviant takfir trend.

Some of those who hate Islam took advantage of the mistake that those people did in truncating texts of the leading Imams and misinterpreting them in order to slander the premier Muslim scholars as well as their followers and their moderate Islamic call describing it of being provocative of takfir and killing of people without a rightful claim. From time to time we hear dangerous accusations against the great scholars such as the Imams of Al Sunnah Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Sheikhul Islam ibn Taimiyyah, Imam Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and other righteous scholars who were approved and honored, despite the fact that these scholars have stable and clear rulings in the issues of Al Walaa.

Muslim scholars in general and Saudi scholars in particular see the danger of accusing Muslims with disbelief without justification. They stated that it is a dangerous matter that we have to care about; it is a door of Fitnah (ordeal) and corruption. They also stated that the person who does an act of deviation from religion is not always considered a disbeliever, and that the act of disbelief does not mean that its doer is a disbeliever. They defined some conditions and criteria that should be considered and impediments that should be checked before accusing any person of disbelief. They added that such big issues should not be judged except by competent people such as judges and the like.

His eminence Sheikh Salih Al Sheikh said: "the conditions and impediments, set to judge the disbelief of a person, were set by Salafi scholars. They clarified many criteria of the rulings of the jurists."

Thus, we should be careful about things that are attributed to the reformer Imam Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (may Allah bless his soul) whose methodology is called Al Wahhabyiah by its enemies. However, the Wahhabi call narrowed down the scope of takfir by limiting it to the questions unanimously agreed upon by the Four Imams. Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd Al Wahhab wrote a treatise on this matter, as well as Sheikh Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab. The Salafi scholars in general had their detailed views on this matter, like Sheikhul Islam ibn Taimiyyah and Ibn Al Qiyyim (may Allah bless their souls)

Thus, there must be conditions set and impediments checked before embarking on takfir; no one should be called a disbeliever except by the consensus of the scholars. Someone may come up with a certain ta'wil (some views based on discretional preferences deduced from special understanding of a text) but someone else may consider this as an act of disbelief. Even Kharijites who killed 'Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and fought the Muslims and made Fitnah (ordeal) until now, scholars differed in considering them disbelievers. When Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked whether they were disbelievers, he replied: "They almost escaped from disbelief," which means that he (Ali) understood that they relied on ta'wil in judging that particular question.

The council of the Senior Ulema Commission headed by his eminence Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz (may Allah be merciful with him) in its forty-ninth session held in Al Taef starting 2/4/1419 AH focused on the dramatic events that took place in the Islamic world including bombing and takfir and the entailing bloodshed and destruction of buildings; they issued a statement in this regard which reads in parts: "As long as calling somebody a disbeliever goes back to Allah and his Messenger, it is not permissible to accuse any one of disbelief except the one that the Qur'an and Sunnah clearly considered a disbeliever. Mere suspicion and guesswork are not enough to give such grave judgment. Since Hudud (prescribed Qur'anic punishments) are to be averted in case of suspicion, the judgment of disbelief whose consequences are graver should be averted in case of suspicion for all the more reason. The Prophet (peace be upon him) warned against naming a person a non-believer while in fact he is not. He (peace be upon him) said: "Any person who calls his brother: O unbeliever! (then the truth of this label) would return to one of them. If it true, (then it is) as he asserted, (but if it is not true), then it returns to him (and thus the person who made the accusation is an unbeliever)."  The Qur'an and Sunnah may identify a word or deed which could be described with disbelief, yet the sayer or doer may not be described as a disbeliever due to an impediment.

Rushed accusations of disbelief has dangerous consequences, such as breach of life and property, prevention from inheritance, end of marriage relationship, and other consequences which also result from apostasy. So how come a Muslim dare to do so based on the slightest suspicion.

Accusation of disbelief would be even worse in the case of the rulers; because the result would be rebellion, carrying arms against them, spread of chaos, bloodshed, corruption for the people and the country. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) prevented us from fighting the rulers in authority.

The result of this misconception is represented in the breach of lives and honor, plunder of private and public properties, the bombing of dwellings and vehicles and sabotaging buildings. These acts and the like are forbidden by the majority of the Muslim scholars because they breach the sanctity of the secured souls, money, breach to the security and stability and to the lives of the people who live in peace, their houses and lives and to the public authority needed by all the people.

The council, clarifying the legal ruling of accusing people of disbelief without evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah and the danger of making such unrestrained accusation due to the evils it may bring about, it declares to the world that Islam is free from this wrong belief. What is happening in some Muslim countries from shedding innocent blood, bombing of dwellings, vehicles, and public and private facilities and sabotage of buildings are criminal acts that have nothing to do with Islam. Every Muslim who believes in Allah and the Day of Resurrection should reject them. These actions represent a conduct of persons who have perverted thought and misguided creed. They will bear the liability of their sins and crimes; they should not be attributed to Islam or to true Muslims who follow the Islamic guidance and adhere to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet. These actions are sheer criminal acts and corruption which are rejected by Islam.

Allah the Exalted said: "And of mankind there is he whose speech may please you (O Muhammad peace be upon him), in this worldly life, and he calls Allâh to witness as to that which is in his heart, yet he is the most quarrelsome of the opponents. And when he turns away (from you “O Muhammad peace be upon him”), his effort in the land is to make mischief therein and to destroy the crops and the cattle, and Allâh likes not mischief. And when it is said to him, "Fear Allah," pride in the sin takes hold of him. Sufficient for him is Hellfire, and how wretched is the resting place." [Al Baqarah: 204-206]

Sheikh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaimeen gave the Muslim youth a precious advice concerning the takfir case when he said: "in this occasion I would like to deliver my advice to the youth that they should not make their main concern accusing rulers or others of disbelief; on the contrary they should busy themselves with worshipping Allah and treating people well. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Fear Allah wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good one and it will wipe it out, and behave well towards people." Being engaged in such matters of accusing people of disbelief and following the evil desires is dispraised; this gets the heart distracted from concentrating on more significant questions.

Dr. Salih Al Fawzan says that the best solution for keeping the youth away from indulgence in the issues of takfir and ordeals is to teach the Muslim children the true creed and the methodology of the righteous ancestors and through exposing the opposing erroneous fragile methodologies which are the remotest from Allah's purified religion, in addition to refuting the suspicions that such methodologies might raise.

The plans of those who are disinclining people from the way of the righteous ancestors, describing it of dryness and try to ban its teaching at schools and universities to clear the way for them and for their deviant ideas which are based on provocation and nonsense.

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One of the suspicions that those extremists use as an argument in the favor of the 9/11 events is that they are considered a defensive Jihad because the USA initiated attack on the Muslim and non-Muslim world. In a book entitled At Ta'seel Ash-Shar'y le Ahdath America (The Juristic Analysis of the USA Events) it was stated that the American aggressions cannot be denied. Nobody is ignorant of "what the US did to the Muslims specifically and to the entire world nations; even Asia and South America were also attacked…" No one can deny the clear bias to Israel against the Muslims in Palestine and in other countries. Many people counted the US aggressions past and present; others counted the US non-military crimes and aggressions in the economic, media, ethical  and other fields. One of them said in a book  he authored analyzing the 9/11 events and its aftermath: "the US is to blame for the creed corruption, moral abuse, injustice and the flagrant aggression in many communities is the USA."
This suspicion contradicts their earlier suspicion that the 9/11 event is a type of Jihadu-t-talab (taking the initiative to attack the enemy) because, they thought, the USA is a country of disbelief and Allah ordered to fight the disbelievers until they become Muslims or pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. Now they call it Jihadu-Da‘f (defensive Jihad) because the USA is the aggressor. This contradiction in adopting their motives for such great events is clear evidence on the absence of a well-defined target behind such actions except for fomenting troubles and igniting wars. The result of this ravages the interests of Muslims and makes them subject to more humiliation and persecution as happened after these sorrowful events.

There is no doubt that the American policy has not been fair with many Muslim issues, especially the Palestinian one; its reaction towards the events of September 11th was not moderate either. However, the suitable way of resisting this American aggression should be carried out through legitimate means. Furthermore, dealing with this issue is the responsibility of Muslim rulers  and the Ahl-ul-hall wa al-'Aqd (competent persons who have a say in the significant affairs of the state) because they know well how to stop aggression and how to protect Muslims rights. This way harm would not be removed by another greater harm. Sometimes keeping a bad current situation may be better than changing it with a worse and more complicated one. Thus, the Prophet (peace be upon him) accepted the treaty of Al Hudaibeyiah despite the unfair conditions put by the disbelievers against Muslims by considering the status quo. Some of the Companions saw such treaty a humiliation for the Muslims. Later the wisdom of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in handling that situation became manifest; the treaty served as a preparation period for the great victory that came after, i.e. the Conquest of Makkah. Based on that situation,  the Qur'an commentators stated that every Qur'anic ayah on the conquest refers to Al Hudaibiah Treaty.

Al Qaedah's self-imposition on the Muslim world and their aggression against its leaders and scholars is considered a dangerous breach of the Islamic Shari'ah, unjustified oppression and irresponsible action; if they are not judged like that, there would be unrestrained chaos. No sane person can accept this, not to mention religious leaders.

Like the other Islamic rulings, Jihad in the cause of Allah balances benefits against harms. According to Islam, if harm overweighs a benefit, it should better be abandoned.

Sheikhul Islam ibn Taimiyah (may Allah bless his soul) said: "It is known that to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and accomplish this through jihad is the greatest thing to do. It was thus said that enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong should not be carried out in an abhorring manner. If it is one of the best duties, its benefit should overweigh its harm. This is the tradition followed by all Prophets sent and all books revealed. Allah does not like mischief. All the Commands of Allah call to righteousness; Allah praised righteousness and those who call to it. He also praised those who have believed and did righteous deeds. On the other hand, Allah dispraised the corruptors in many ayahs. Whenever the harm of enjoining good and forbidding evil overweighs its benefit, it will be alien to divine commands even if it is practiced in a situation when a clear offence is committed. The duty of a believer is to fear Allah in dealing with people; it is not his responsibility to get their hearts accept guidance."

Whoever contemplates the negative results and effects of the events of September 11th on the Muslim world and  the Muslim minorities in the west will know how prudent were the Muslim scholars who condemned these events and expressed their dissatisfaction with it. The events of September 11th doubled the misery of the Muslims, increased their suffering and exacerbated their schism. They further resulted in launching military, media and economic campaigns against Muslims. Islam was even stigmatized as a religion of bloodshed and of breaching covenants. The Prophet's (peace be upon him) person and the Noble Qur'an were attacked. The events of September 11th provoked insults of Allah, His book and His messenger (peace be upon him); Allah said:" And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allâh, lest they insult Allâh wrongfully without knowledge. Thus We have made fair-seeming to each people its own doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all that they used to do."

The statement of the Senior Ulema reads in parts: "Let everybody know that the Muslim Ummah is now suffering from being utterly dominated by its enemies who are delighted at getting chances that justify their dominance over the Muslims, humiliating them and taking advantage of their wealth. Whoever supports them in their endeavor is in fact instrumental in causing the Muslims' humiliation and in the increasing dominance of their enemies on their countries, which is a great crime".

In its 17th session held in Makkah the Jurisprudence Institute, an affiliate to the Muslim World League, stated the following: "The terrorist acts are regarded as aggression on lives and property and as acts of mugging and frightening in addition to their being representing aggression on religion. They picture Islam as a religion which sanctions the aggression on lives and properties, rejects dialogue and does not accept peaceful solving of the problems and disputes with those holding opposing views. It also displays Muslims as bloodthirsty people who pose danger to world peace and security and on the cultural values and human rights. This in turn leads to harm and corruption which are negatively reflected on the basic interests of the Muslim Ummah. Moreover, it hinders Muslim's pioneering role in spreading peace and security, getting the message of Islam across and protecting human rights. Even worse, these acts hurt the Muslim political, economic, commercial, cultural and social relations with others nations. They also cause troubles to Muslim minorities living in non-Muslim countries and shatter their political and social unity; in addition to their bad economical affects on them, whether they were citizens or their stay was for study, business, tourism, diplomatic representation or to participate in conferences and international events."

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These extremists raise another suspicion to justify the events of September 11th and other events to the effect that abiding by the conditions and legal guidelines of fighting will lead to the suspension of Jihad in the cause of Allah, which is not accepted. Like prayer, fasting and other Islamic rituals, in their thinking, Jihad is a great ordinance that should not be delayed; it should be continued until the Last Day as said by the Prophet (peace be upon him). It is very clear that these people are mistaken because the ends do not justify the means. Their excuses are not accepted even if they attract the emotions of some people, especially the youth and teenagers, due to the great importance of Jihad in Islam, especially  when the Hadiths or ayahs of the merit of Jihad were quoted. In addition, they tell stories which they confirm about the extraordinary signs that showed the merit of men who participated in suicide attacks. However, their sole reference in confirming these claimed merits is nothing but illusions, suspicions and dreams, despite that fact that the legal texts forbid absolute ascription of martyrdom to certain persons, because nobody can decide on this matter but Allah. 

Comparing jihad to prayer and fasting is not accepted by the Muslim scholars except in terms of it being a kind of worship and an ordinance; otherwise each ritual has its own specific rulings.

Jihad is different from other types of worship; prayer for example is required for itself, but Jihad is meant for achieving other targets such as spreading Islam. So these targets should be put into consideration, especially when Jihad will lead to weakening religion, humiliating Islam and giving dominance to the disbelievers over the Muslims. In such case Islam will not have the upper hand; on the contrary, it will be the disbelievers who will have the upper hand. Whoever reads the biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him) will know that he (peace be upon him) fought one time and made peace treaties the other depending on the condition and the requirement of the situation. There was a time for this and a time for that. The case was different in prayer; he (peace be upon him) never gave up prayer nor ordered anybody to give it up. Prayer is an individual obligation but Jihad is a collective obligation except in certain cases mentioned by some jurists.

Jihad concerns the public affairs; any related decision should be taken by the rulers because such decisions are fateful due to their close association to the benefits of the Ummah, but prayer is not the same.

Thus, we find that the Islamic texts confirm the obligation of sticking to patience without rushing; reminding the believers of the glad tidings of a good reward in the Hereafter and that victory is for the believers. All these things can be achieved through abiding by the conditions of Jihad in the cause of Allah and observing its legal ends. The Companions gave the best example in applying the Islamic conditions of Jihad. When Usama ibn Zaid killed a disbeliever after uttering the Shahadah (testimony of faith) and got blamed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) for that, he did not justify his act despite that he had his own reasons, thinking that the man uttered it merely to escape death. On the contrary, Usama only wished that that very day he had killed the man was his first day in Islam (in order to be free from blame for any previous misdeeds, including the killing act). He made that wish despite his history of Jihad and his merits in the old days were remarkable. This situation reflects his compliance and submission to the Shari'ah, which maintains that ends do not justify the means.     

Therefore, the fatwas and statements of the Senior Ulema warned from all acts that could harm the Muslims or their benefits and from all acts that do not abide by the Islamic guidelines, even if it is done under the name of religion and Jihad for the sake of Allah.

The statement further reads: "Committing sabotage and corruption acts, including bombing, killing and destruction of properties is a grave criminal act and aggression on protected lives and honored properties. It is therefore punishable with deterring legal punishments, supported by the texts of Shari'ah as well as the requirements of preserving its sway and the prohibition of rebelling against the rulers. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'One who defects from obedience (to the Amir) and separates from the main body of the Muslims - if he dies in that state - would die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyya (i. e. would not die as a Muslim). One who fights under the banner of a people who fight blindly (i. e. do not know whether their cause is just or otherwise), who gets flared up with family pride, calls, (people) to fight for their family honour, and supports his kith and kin (i. e. fights not for the cause of Allah but for the sake of this family or tribe) - if he is killed (in this fight), he dies as one belonging to the days of Jhiliyya. Whosoever attacks my Ummah (indiscriminately) killing the righteous and the wicked of them, sparing not (even) those staunch in faith and fulfilling not his promise made with those who have been given a pledge of security - he has nothing to do with me and I have nothing to do with him.'

Whoever claims that such acts of sabotage, destruction and killing, are Jihad is mistaken. The above explains that what those people did led to nothing except corruption, sabotage, and a manifest error. Those who did so should fear Allah and repent to Him and should be wise and not follow the corrupted slogans and phrases raised to separate the Ummah and corrupt it; these have nothing to do with religion, however, they are words of misguidance said by the ignorant".

The statement also states that: "The Council condemns the fatwas issued and the opinions that justify this criminal act or promote it because in reality it is a horrible crime. Allah strongly warned against giving fatwas without knowledge because it is from the work of devil; Allah said:

"O mankind! Eat of that which is lawful and good on the earth, and follow not the footsteps of Shaitân (Satan). Verily, he is to you an open enemy."
"And say not concerning that which your tongues put forth falsely: 'This is lawful and this is forbidden,' so as to invent lies against Allâh. Verily, those who invent lies against Allâh will never prosper. A passing brief enjoyment (will be theirs), but they will have a painful torment."
"And follow not (O man i.e., say not, or do not or witness not) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those one will be questioned (by Allâh)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "And he who called (people) to error, he shall have to carry (the burden) of its sin, like those who committed it, without their sins being diminished in any respect."

The statement also maintained: "Knowledgeable people should warn from such false words and expose their corruption and fakeness. This would count as one of the most important duties and a kind of guidance to Allah, His Book, His messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk. The danger of such fatwas becomes greater if the purpose was to disturb security and spread Fitnah (ordeal). Religion should not be discussed out of ignorance and desire because this aims at attracting the youth and those who lack knowledge, tricking them with false fatwas. This act is not accepted in Islam because it leads to the disunity of the Ummah and the spread of enmity.

In a statement issued by the Jurisprudence Institute, affiliated to the Muslim World League in its 16th session, it was maintained: "The current terrorist acts were represented in bombing of buildings, bridges and dwellings of people who were assured protection of their lives and properties, whether they are Muslims or not, by virtue of covenants given by the ruler according to international treaties. Hijacking planes, trains and other means of transportation and threatening and frightening the lives of their commuters, mugging and terrifying them - all these acts include offences and crimes which are considered as major sins by the Islamic Shari'ah. The doers of such actions and those who collaborated in them in any way should have a deterring punishment to stop their evil and prevent anybody else from doing the same; Allah said:

"The recompense of those who wage war against Allâh and His Messenger (peace be upon him) and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off from opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a great torment is theirs in the Hereafter."

The statement stressed the importance of clearly defining some Shari'ah concepts such as Jihad, war, the Muslim leader: his rights and his duties, covenants: fulfillment and breaching.

Sheikh Abdullah ibn Jibreen directed a gentle advice to the enthusiastic youth who follow their emotions and therefore do some reckless actions without caring about the Shari'ah limits saying: "Our advice to the enthusiastic fervent youth is that they should act more wisely and should not be rushed when they hear or see the aggressive and oppressive acts of the disbelievers. Such rushed attitude may expose your Muslim brothers to accusations, harm and severe punishment. I also advice that the Muslim youth should declare their rejection of these atrocious actions (committed by Muslims) along with expressing their hatred to the disbelievers and to their horrid actions against Muslims and disavowing adherence to and love of the disbeliever."