Burning Someone With Fire, Part 2

Proof One:

In his letter to the Murtadeen of the Arabian Peninsula during the riddah wars, Abu Bakr threatened to burn them alive if they did not repent from their apostasy. In it he states:

“I have sent you so and so (Khalid Ibn Waleed) with an army of the Muhaajireen, the Ansar, and their good followers and I’ve ordered him not to fight anyone or kill anyone until he calls him to the call of Allaah.

Whoever answers him, accepts the truth, halts his evil and does good, my envoy will accept this from him and will aid him in it. If he refuses, I’ve ordered him to wage war againat them over such, to not spare anyone he is able to kill, to burn them alive with fire, to kill them in a severe manner using all means, to enslave their women and children, and to not accept from any one of them anyhing but Islam.”

[Taareekh At-Tabaree: Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah]

Note: This was done by the best of all men after the Prophets (as), and it was carried out after the death of the Messenger (saw), so this cancels out the possibility of this being abrogated by the hadeeth. And indeed such an order by Abu Bakr was given to an entire army of Muhaajoreen, Ansar, and Taabi’een, and not a single objected to this order.

Burning Someone Alive With Fire, Part 1

Many people believe it is absolutely haraam to burn someone alive with fire due to the narration of Ibn Abbaas found in Bukhari. However just because a narration is found in Bukhari, it does not mean that we should not look elsewhere for further narrations on the topic, narrations which may restrict the meaning, or give exceptions to the rule.

There are many narrations which the Da’ees either hide away from the people (acting as the Jewish Rabbis did to their followers – hiding part of the scripture), or are in fact themselves unaware of (in which case they are not fit to be Da’ees).

Islamically speaking, it is haram to give a fatwa (i.e. to declare something is haram or halal) without sound knowledge on the topic. Furthermore, before declaring your brothers as ignorant or extreme, we must clarify with them the reasons for their actions (which we believe are erroneous), as many times the one who got criticised is indeed upon the haqq and the one criticising was the one lacking knowledge, being hasty to label others without ilm. And hence, the criticiser has done nothing but publicly expose his ignorance as well as leading others astray for which he will be queationed on the day where we will all be accounted for our own sins.

In the upcoming posts I will present the proofs to show the permissibility of burning someone alive with fire, through authentic sources. Narrations which clearly show that the prohibition is not an absolute one, but is in fact exempted in the case of Qisas and Maslahah.

NOTE: This is just an academic study on the fiqh ruling. Please stay on topic when commenting on this and the upcoming posts, jazaakAllaahu khairan.

Burning The Books Of Innovations, By Ibn Al-Qayyim

Ibn Al-Qayyim said:

Chapter: Likewise There Is No Insurance To Be Paid For Burning And Destroying Deviant Books.

Al-Marwazee said, ‘I once said to Ahmad, ‘I borrowed a book that has evil and wicked things in it. Do you think I should tear it apart and burn it?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ So I burned it.’

The Prophet (saw) once saw a book in the hand of ‘Umar (ra) that he had transcribed from the Torah and which caused him to be fascinated at how much it conformed to the Quraan. So the face of the Messenger of Allaah became very angry to the point that’Umar went over to the fire and threw it in.

So how would it be if the Messenger of Allaah (saw) saw what was written after him from the books that oppose and contradict what is in the Quraan and the sunnah?! And we ask Allaah to aid us.

The Prophet (saw) commanded everyone that recorded anything from him apart from the Quraan to erase what they had written down. However, afterward, he allowed his sunnah to be written, but did not grant permission for anything besides that.

Therefore, all those books which contain opposition to the sunnah in them, have no permission to be written. Rather, they only have permission to be erased and destroyed, for there is not anything more harmful to the ummah than these books. The Companions burned all the copies of the mus-haf that contradicted the mus-haf of ‘Uthmaan out of fear that differing would spread amongst the ummah. So how would it be if they were to see the books of today that cause disunity and division amongst the ummah…?!”

Ibn Al-Qayyim then goes on to mention:

“The objective is for these books, which contain lies and innovations, to be annihilated and destroyed. Destroying these books takes a greater precedence than destroying musical instruments ad alcoholic containers, since their harm is much greater than the harm caused by these things (musical instruments etc.). And there is no insurance to be paid for their loss, just as there is no insurance to be paid for breaking the vessels in which alcohol is drunk out of.”

[At-Turuq Al-Hukmiyyah, p.282]

Words Of ‘Alee On His Deathbed

When death was imminent, he gave the following advice:

“…I advise you, O Hasan and all my children and family, to fear Allaah your Lord, and never die except in a state of slam, [3:102] and hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah (this Qur’an), and be not divided among yourselves [3:103]. I heard Abu Al-Qaasim say: ‘Reconciling between people is better than supererogatory prayers and fasts.’ Check on your relatives and uphold ties with them, then your reckoning with Allaah will he easier. I urge you by Allah to he kind to orphans, and do not silence them or ignore them when they are with you. I urge you by Allah to b e kind to your neighbours, for your Prophet (saw) enjoined that, and he continued to enjoin that until we thought that he would make the neighbour an heir.

I urge you by Allaah to take care of the Qur’an, and do not let others he better at putting it into practice than you. I urge you by Allaah to take care of the prayer, for it is the foundation of your religion. I urge you by Allaah to take care of the House of your Lord; do not forsake it as long as you live.

I urge you by Allaah to engage in jihaad for the sake of Allaah with your wealth and your lives.

I urge you by Allaah to take care of zakaah, for it extinguishes the wrath of the Lord. I urge you by Allaah to take care of those whom your right hands possess (female slaves).

Death Is The Greatest Calamity

Qurtubi said:

“Know that death is the greatest calamity, the most terrifying thing, the cup whose taste is most hateful and bitter. It is the destroyer of delights, which puts an end to all comforts and brings all that you dislike.

The thing that cuts off your limbs, separates your body parts and destroys your strength is indeed a terrifying thing, an immense calamity, and the day when it happens is a terrible day.”

[Tadhkirat Al-Qurtubi, 99]

Mu’aawiyah’s love for Islaam

During the reign of the caliphate of ‘Alee, the ruler of Byzantium tried to take advantage of the difference of opinion that occurred between Amir al-Mu’mineen ‘Ali and Mu’aawiyah (may Allah be pleased with them both) by acquiring some of the lands that were under Mu’aawiyah’s control.

Ibn Katheer said:

“The ruler of Byzantium got his hopes up of attacking Mu’aawiyah, after Mu’aawiyah had scared and humiliated him and had defeated him and his troops. When the ruler of Byzantium saw that Mu’aawiyah was preoccupied with fighting ‘Ali, he marched to some Muslim territory with a large number of troops, hoping to gain control of it. Mu’aawiyah wrote to him, saying: ‘By Allaah, if you do not give up and go back to your own country, O cursed one, I shall reconcile with my cousin against you, and I shall drive you from all of your land and leave you no room on earth, vast as it is.‘ At that point, the ruler of Byzantium got scared and refrained from fighting, and he sent a message asking for a truce.”  [Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah, 8/122]

This is indicative of Mu’aawiyah’s integrity and his love of Islam. [page 178-9]

Also the men of Syria who were with Mu’aawiyah swore that they would not be intimate with their wives or sleep on their beds until they killed the murderers of ‘Uthmaan and those who tried to prevent them from doing so, or they died trying. [Taareekh At-Tabaree, 5/600] [page 143]

Having The Love of Allaah In One’s Heart

If there is some weakness in a person’s faith, that weakens his love for Allaah. The love of this world becomes stronger in his heart and takes over until there is no room left for love of Allaah, except for the smallest trace, which has no apparent effect in counteracting the nafs or in restraining it from committing sin or urging it to do acts of obedience.

So the person indulges his desires and commits sin, and darkness of sin piles up in his heart and keeps on covering up what light of faith is present, although it is weak. When the stupor of death comes, the love of Allaah grows weaker in his heart because he sees that he is departing this world which is so dear to him. His love for this world is so great that he does not want to leave it and it hurts him to depart from it. Allaah sees that from him.

There is the fear that hatred may displace the love of Allaah in his heart, and that weak love may turn to hatred. If his soul departs at this moment of great danger, his end will be a bad one and he will be doomed for eternity.

The reason for this bad end is love of this world, being content with it and rejoicing in it, whilst also being weak in faith which means that one’s love for Allaah is weak. This is a chronic problem which may affect most people. If a person’s heart is overwhelmed with some worldly matter at the point of death, this is what will fill his heart and mind, leaving no room for anything else. If his soul departs at that point, his heart will be filled with that worldly matter and his face will be turned towards it, and that will form a barrier between him and his Lord.

[The Minor Resurrection, by ‘UMar Sulaymaan Al-Ashqar, p. 55]

Being Free Of All Needs From The People, By Ibn Al-Jawzee

Sacred knowledge raises the status of the lowly. Indeed many scholars used to be unknown and unappreciated before becoming scholars. ‘Ataa Ibn Abee Rabaah (1) for example was black and not pleasant looking. Sulaymaan Ibn ‘Abdul Maalik (2) who was the caliph at that time came to him with his two sons and asked him about the rites of pilgrimage. He answered whilst turning his face away from them. The caliph said to his sons, “Get up and do not be indolent or lazy in seeking knowledge, as I shall never forget this humiliation in front of this black slave.”

Al-Hasan Al-basree (3), Ibn Sireen (4), Makhool (5) and others were slaves as well, but were still given honor and attained high status through knowledge and fear of Allaah.

Strive hard to protect your honor from running after this world and having to lower yourself to its people. Be content and you shall live honorably. A saying goes, ‘Whoever is content with bread and vegetables will not be subjugated by anyone.’

A bedouin passed by Basra and said, ‘Who is the master of this city?‘

It was said to him, ‘Al-Hasan Al-Basree.’

He said, ‘And how did he become their master?‘

They said, ‘He had no need of their worldly effects but they were in need of his knowledge.’

[“Sincere Counsel To Students Of Sacred Knowledge” by Ibn Al-Jawzee, p.70]

Footnotes:

(1) Adh-Dhahabee said, “The Imaam, Shaykh Al-Islaam and the Muftee of Haram… their freed slave from Makkah. He was born during the caliphate of ‘Uthmaan.” [Siyar, 5/78]’Ataa was black, one eyed, snub nosed, lame and limping and finally became blind as well. He was the most knowledgeable concerning the rites of pilgrimage.

(2) Ibn Sireen said, “Allaah have mercy on Sulaymaan. He started his caliphate by reviving the prayer and finished it by appointing ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdil-‘Azeez as his successor.” [Siyar, 5/111]

(3) Al-Hasan Al-Basree was the freed slave of Zaid Ibn Thaabit. He died in 110H. Ayyoob As-Sakhteeyaanee said, “Had you seen him you would have said that you never sat with a scholar of fiqh.” Aboo Ja’far Al-Baaqir said, “That is a person whose speech resembles that of the Prophets.” [Siyar A’laam An-Nubulaa, 4/563]

(4) Ibn Sireen was the freed slave of Anas Ibn Maalik, he died in 110H. [Siyar, 4/606]

(5) Makhool was from the middle Taabi’een and died around 112, 113 or 114H. Aboo Haatim said, “Nobody in Syria is as knowledgeable in fiqh as Makhool.” [Siyar, 5/115]