Monday, January 16, 2006

Killing Believers - An Islamic Perspective

Dr. Maher Hathout, Sr. Advisor, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

I looked into the Quran in the area of "warning". In my humble
judgment, I haven't come across anything like this, which is the most
frightening verse that is ever delivered in the Quran.

The verse here is saying:

And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell;
he shall abide in it, and Allah will send His wrath on him and curse
him and
prepare for him a painful chastisement. (Quran 4:93)


For someone who kills a believer, Allah mentions about four
consequences:
1. Hell forever,
2. Allah will have His wrath on him,
3. Allah curses him and
4. Allah prepares for him a severe punishment.

If we internalize this verse one will wonder some of the things we see
happening around us, a person kills another person, puts a bomb in the
mosque, puts explosive packed car in the market place, goes to a
crowded school, blows up and kills children, one will wonder where did this
verse go, it is so frightening to the point that one will not be
willing to take such a chance.

Again this is not a simple warning where Allah won't like that or will
be upset with that person, but this is a very concentrated expression
of grievance, punishment, fear, wrath and hell to be the abode forever.

Who would like to take such a risk? Only those people who are
completely cut off from the Quran will be willing to do that.

Ideologue of those who kill the believers are "we are not killing
Muslims", "those" are not believers because they are Shias, Sunnis,
infidels, co-operating with the enemies etc. When the car explodes we do not
know actually who gets killed, probably the most pious person or the most
outrageous person, we do not know but we are taking a chance.


And the very next verse will go over the ideologue:


O you who believe! when you go to war in Allah's way, make
investigation, and do not say to any one who offers you peace: You are
not a
believer. (Quran 4:94)


Allah says, "Don't judge a person who is not fighting against you as a
non-believer." God took that right out from us.

The moment someone is not fighting against me and says 'assalamu
alaikum', to me, he is a believer. He might be the most wicked person, Allah
knows that, Allah will take care of that, not me. I am not supposed to
take a chance of killing a single believer needless to say a dozen of
them, needless to say in a mosque, needless to say in the month of
Ramadan, guess what, in my judgment "they (those who indulge in killing
Muslims) are not believers".

The person who has the direct connection with the Quran (not getting
the Quran from the pulpit or khutbah or article or teaching or jamaah or
party or hizb), but getting the Quran from the Quran will automatically
develop a taste that will resent that and will be so frightened that
there is a chance of going to hell by indulging in such an act.

If we reacquire the habit of getting our directions, directly from the
Quran without the transformers (scholars, mediators) who cut down the
current, our make, our culture will be different and will automatically
exclude certain things which can not be done by a group of Muslims,
anyways.

The only direct contact we have with Allah on this earth is the Quran.
Hence we need to establish the connectivity with the Quran directly
otherwise we will be at loss.


To listen to the audio, go to http://www.islamctr.org/ramadan2005.asp
and click on the link 'Dr. Maher Hathout - Part 5 - October 08, 2005'.

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