DOHA, Qatar, Sept 13 [2001]
Renowned Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi denounced the attacks against civilians in the U.S. Tuesday and encouraged Muslims to donate blood to the victims of the attack. In response to the bloody attack against civilians in the U.S., Sheikh Yusuf issued a statement Wednesday saying that:"Our hearts bleed for the attacks that has targeted the World Trade Center [WTC], as well as other institutions in the United States despite our strong oppositions to the American biased policy towards Israel on the military, political and economic fronts.
"Islam, the religion of tolerance, holds the human soul in high esteem, and considers the attack against innocent human beings a grave sin, this is backed by the Qur'anic verse which reads:
Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind," (Al-Ma'dah:32).
"The Prophet, PBUH, said, 'A believer remains within the scope of his religion as long as he doesn't kill another person illegally',".
Haphazard killing where the rough is taken with the smooth and where innocents are killed along with wrongdoers is totally forbidden in Islam. No one, as far as Islam is concerned, is held responsible for another's actions. Upon seeing a woman killed in the battlefield, the Prophet, PBUH, denied the act and said: "That woman shouldn't have been killed anyway!". Even in times of war, Muslims are not allowed to kill anybody save the one who is indulged in face-to-face confrontation with them. They are not allowed to kill women, old persons, children, or even a monk in his religious seclusion. That is why killing hundreds of helpless civilians who have nothing to do with the decision-making process, such as the victims of the latest explosions in America, is a heinous crime in Islam. The Prophet, PBUH, stated that a woman was qualified to enter Hell because of the cat she locked up to death. |