Fatwa of His Eminence Sheikh Ibn Jibreen

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet, his family and Companions!
Allah, the Exalted, stressed fulfilling the covenant, as He said:
"And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily, the covenant, will be questioned about."
He also said: "…and fulfill the Covenant of Allâh,…"
And He said: "And fulfill the Covenant of Allâh (Bai‘ah: pledge for Islâm) when you have covenanted…"

The 'Covenant' is defined as follows: When Muslim(s) give a pledge, to the non-Muslims or the disbelievers, neither to wage war against them nor to kill them. The scholars said that the relation between Muslims and non-Muslims takes four forms:

First: When non-Muslims are considered Dhimmis (non-Muslims who live in Islamic lands and enjoy protection of the Muslims); they can be regarded so if paid the Jizyah .

Second: When non-Muslims are given a covenant like the covenant given by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the Quraish.

Third: When the non-Muslims enter any Muslim land securely: "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."
 
Four: When non-Muslims are at war against Muslims. Non-Muslim fighters may be secured if they seek amnesty. The protection given by a male or female Muslim to a non-Muslim fighter is to be honored. The Prophet (peace be upon him): "We too have given protection to whom you have given protection, O Umm Hani."  

The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: "The lives of all Muslims are equal. The lowliest of them can guarantee their protection."

Dhimmah or protection in Islam is a pledge; if any non-Muslim enters a Muslim state for work or otherwise and is protected by the state or by any of its people  the Muslims should not act treacherously against him because breaking covenants is hypocrisy. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the hypocrite is the one: "Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous."

The disbelievers testified that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not treacherous. 

Allah the Exalted ordered Muslims to fulfill their covenants with non-Muslims, saying:

“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 that the believers should respect their covenants to the extent that he said: "Whoever kills a Mu'ahad (a non-Muslim given a pledge of protection by Muslims) will not experience the fragrance of Paradise" whether those Mu'ahads were Jews, Christians or other non-Muslims; we should fulfill the covenants and secure them until they return to their countries. 

The recent bombing that killed and injured many people is considered an atrocious crime. It killed and injured secured people and those who live in this neighborhood. Undoubtedly this is considered a break of the covenant of peace given to non-Muslims and a type of harm directed to them. The doers of these crimes are criminals; anyone of them who thinks that such acts are Jihad (strife for the sake of Allah) and that those who live in such buildings should be killed because of their disbelief is mistaken. They should not be fought or killed until they do something that requires breaking our covenant with them. Allah the Exalted said:

“If you (O Muhammad peace be upon him) fear treachery from any people, throw back (their covenant) to them (so as to be) on equal terms (that there will be no more covenant between you and them). Certainly, Allâh likes not the treacherous."

Killing the secured non-Muslims is not beneficial; on the contrary it is considered an offense to Islam because Muslims will falsely be accused of being treacherous and terrorists.

We say to those who want to kill foreigners because they invaded some Muslim countries: this is not true because those who invaded the Muslim lands are not the foreigners who live amongst us. Thus, we should not break the covenants of those who do not kill or fight us. Allah the Exalted said: "…and no bearer of burdens shall bear another’s burden…"    

All those who participated in any way in this criminal operation are sinful and should be punished.

They are included in the meaning of the ayah that states:

"Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwâ (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression."

Allah forbade us to be unfair with the secured disbelievers, He said:

"and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety; and fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is Well-Acquainted with what you do."

He also said:

"…and let not the hatred of some people in (once) stopping you from Al-Masjid-Al-Harâm (at Makkah) lead you to transgression (and hostility on your part)..." 

I advise Muslim youth to be kind and compassionate to their Muslim brothers by not opening a door of Fitnah (ordeal) and just to do their duty by calling to Islam according to the Book of Allah that states:

"Invite (mankind, O Muhammad peace be upon him) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islâm) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Revelation and the Qur’ân) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better."

The disbelievers could embrace Islam if the Muslims treated them respectably and kindly. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective."

When some of the Jews came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said to him, "As-Samu 'Alaika (i.e., Death be upon you)." He replied, 'The same on you." 'Aisha said to them, "Death be upon you, and may Allah curse you and shower His wrath upon you!" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Be gentle and calm, O 'Aisha! Be gentle and beware of being harsh and of saying evil things."

Those youth who are enthusiastic and angry for their religion should be patient and should not haste. You should not be aggressive and unjust because of what you see or hear of the non-Muslim actions against Islam. This will cause your Muslim brothers to be accused, injured or severely punished. You will cause all the righteous people to be accused of being extremists and harsh, which is against Islam. The Muslim youth should also declare their opposition to these atrocious actions together with their hatred to the disbelievers who attack Islam severely and they should also declare their denial from taking disbelievers as friends, protectors or helpers because Allah forbade loving them and raising their ranks in our hearts. He, the Exalted, said:

"O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliyâ’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but Auliyâ’ of each other. And if any amongst you takes them as Auliyâ’, then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allâh guides not those people who are the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers and unjust)."
This means that we can have them work for us or make covenants with them to avoid their evil because such actions do not require loving them. Allah forbade this close relation between the believers and the disbelievers even if they were relatives but He did not forbid working with them or giving them covenants to show them the beauty of Islam. It was narrated that some of the Companions were kind to their non-Muslim relatives; ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab gave a garment to his brother, who was a disbeliever, as a present. The Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered Asmaa bint Abi Bakr to treat her disbelieving mother kindly because this will let the disbelievers understand Islam and know that it is the religion of justice and equality and that it is far from injustice. And Allah is the one sought for help.
Said and dictated by
‘Abd Allah bin ‘Abd Al Rahman bin Jibreen
13/3/1424 AH