| Content of Reply |
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we hope our efforts, which are purely for Allah's Sake, meet your expectations.
Although civilians are considered part and parcel of the warring nation, Islam does not permit attacking them at all. Islam does not permit aggression against innocent people, whether the aggression is against life, property, or honor, and this ruling applies to everyone, regardless of post, status and prestige. In Islam, as the state’s subject is addressed with Islamic teachings, so is the ruler or caliph; he is not allowed to violate people's rights, lives, honor, property, etc.
In the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, declared the principle that people's lives, property, and honor are inviolable until the Day of Judgment. This ruling is not restricted to Muslims; rather, it includes non-Muslims who are not fighting Muslims.
However, if the enemy of Islam attacks Muslim civilians, only then it becomes permissible for Muslims to drag the civilians of the enemy into the battle, based on the principle of reciprocity. Even in this situation, the high morals of Muslims dictate that they should give preference to the Islamic manners and to adopt a forgiving and patient approach to the dictates of fighting.
In this regard, Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, Deputy Chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states the following:
"The majority of Muslim jurists, though they differed concerning what is exactly meant by civilians, state that Islam does not permit attacking non-combatant civilians in war time. They also state that if the Muslims’ enemy attacks Muslim civilians, then it is permissible for us Muslims to apply the rule of reciprocity and attack the enemy civilians.
I would like to state here that although Muslims are permitted to attack the enemy civilians in this latter case, it is better for Muslims to stick to patience and forgiveness, as Allah Almighty says, “If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient.” (An-Nahl: 126)
The aforementioned verse does stress giving more weight to Islamic morals over the dictates of war. To all and sundry, it is well known that the Russian troops are occupying Chechnya without any justifiable reason.
Moreover, there is no any national or religious link that joins the two countries. Hence, it is the duty of the Chechen people to resist this occupation until independence is achieved. The Chechen people have been and still are sparing no pains in this regard, and because of this, the war between the two countries is far from being over.
Viewing the way Russian troops shell, attack and kill millions of Chechen civilians and render them homeless, the situation has become so terrible to the extent that no one can deny the Chechens’ right of applying the rule of reciprocity here against the Russians. But at the same time we shouldn’t overlook the fact that the Chechen fighters considered holding Russian civilians as hostages in Moscow as a means of driving the Russians out of their homeland, i.e. they didn’t intend to kill the hostages in the first place. The fact that they released children and non-Russian civilians is enough to confirm this."
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write back!
May Allah guide you to the straight path, and guide you to that which pleases Him, Amen.
Allah Almighty knows best.
|
