 | Dr. Nabil Seyam is director of the Board of Administration of the Islamic Society of Wichita and Co-Founder of the Annoor Islamic School. He was the recipient of the Leader of the Year in 2002 in Wichita and most recently was the recipient of the Community Servant Award by the University United Methodist Church in 2003. Dr. Seyam was selected for the Community Servant Award because of his active role in peace-building and multiculturalism throughout Kansas. He is an adjunct instructor for Pittsburg State University and Wichita State University. He is married and has six children. He can be reached at (316) 630-9222 , by e-mail at nabil@seyam.org, or visit his website at www.seyam.org |
Religion
2005-09-01 07:39:00
What happens to suicide bombers who die for their faith?
: My question is on suicide bombings. If a young man is raised in his faith to believe that he will immediately enter heaven if he dies for God, what happens to him when he does? Most all of us, of course, would say that he is wrong and misguided, as are the people who misguided him; but where will his soul go if that is all that he knew, and he followed what his faith had taught him?
ANSWER: There is no faith on earth that would condone any type of killing, whether it is an act of suicide or murder. There is no verse in the Holy Quran nor the teaching of the prophet that would allow suicide or killing at all. Killing IS allowed in Islam under one condition and one condition only; for self defense. The Holy Quran is full of verses that explicitly give importance to life and promises hellfire and severe punishment to those who kill others without an excuse. Many non-Muslims (mainly Pastors) have quoted the Holy Quran saying that Allah will grant martyrs seventy virgins in paradise. I would challenge anyone who could find a verse like that in the Holy Quran. Suicide for a specific cause is not a new phenomenon that started with Muslims. As we know, the Japanese utilized suicide bombings to perfection in the form of the infamous kamikaze pilots. They were feared and hated by Americans just as much as Muslim suicide bombers today. Are most suicide bombers Muslim? Yes. The question is who allows it and on what basis? Well, Muslim scholars have two different opinions on this issue, and is a major dispute among scholars. Some deplore it and others condone it. Scholars who work for Muslim governments are among the few who deplore it whereas non-government scholars have condoned it under certain conditions. For example, in the Holy Land, many Muslim scholars view Israeli citizens as militants and since the land is occupied then the whole land is a battle field; therefore they've permitted suicide bombing/ killing. We see the same edict in other occupied lands like Iraq and Afghanistan. The destiny of a suicide bomber - the martyr - the killer - etc. depends on many factors, but mainly his/her intention. I am not in a position to make an edict on this issue. Many Pastors, Sheiks, Reverends, etc. have decided others fate and have acted as God. Judgment should be declared by God. In the Holy Quran, a verse states that whosoever takes a life; it is as if he killed all humanity, and whosoever saves a life, it is as if he saved all of mankind. Placement of the soul is dependent on the faith of each individual. Only the believers shall inherent paradise. The puzzle is that each individual believes that his/her faith is the only salvation.
