What Does Islam Teach About...

Suicide Attacks

(and Islamic Paradise) Are suicide bombings justified or condemned under Islam?



Suicide is against Islam. Martyrdom is not. "Suicide bomber" is a derogatory term invented in the West to describe what in Islam is known as a Fedayeen or Shahid - a martyr. The point of the bomber isn't suicide - it is to kill infidels in battle. This was not only permitted by Muhammad, but encouraged with liberal promises of earthy rewards in heaven including food and sex.



Quran Quran (4:74) - "Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward." Quran (9:111) - "Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Quran: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme." Quran (2:207) - "And there is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah..." This would not be in the Quran if it were not permissible. Quran (3:140) - If a wound (and killing) has touched you, be sure a similar wound (and killing) has touched the others. And so are the days (good and not so good), We give to men by turns, that Allah may test those who believe, and that He may take martyrs from among you. And Allah likes not the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers). Quran (61:10-12) "O ye who believe! Shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty? That ye believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that ye strive (your utmost) in the Cause of Allah, with your property and your persons: That will be best for you, if ye but knew! He will forgive you your sins, and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in Gardens of Eternity: that is indeed the Supreme Achievement." This verse was given at the battle of Uhud and uses the Arabic word, Jihad.



The dark-eyed virgins are mentioned in several places as well, including verses 44:54 and 52:20. For those who swing the other way, there are "perpetual youth" verse 56:17, otherwise known as "boys" in verses 52:24 and 76:19. Quran (17:33) "And do not kill anyone which Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause." An important verse that is used by martyrdom bombers to not only justify their own deaths, but that of other bystanders who might be believers as well. The end justifies the means, with the goal being the defeat of the kafir and the establishment of Islamic rule. There is only one verse in the Quran that directly discourages suicide (apart from martyrdom): 4:29



Hadith and Sira Sahih Bukhari (52:54) - The words of Muhammad: "I would love to be martyred in Allah's Cause and then get resurrected and then get martyred, and then get resurrected again and then get martyred and then get resurrected again and then get martyred." This is why modern-day Jihadists often say that they love death.



Sahih Bukhari (52:46) - "Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty."



Sahih Muslim (20:4678) - During the battle of Uhud, Muhammad was desperate to push men into battle. He promised paradise for those who would martyr themselves, prompting a young man who was eating dates to throw them away and rush to his death.



Sahih Muslim (20:4655) - A man asks Muhammad "which of men is the best?" Muhammad replies that it is the man who is always ready for battle and flies into it "seeking death at places where it can be expected." (The next most saintly man in Islam is the hermit who lives in isolation "sparing men from his mischief.")



Sahih Muslim (20:4681) - "Surely, the gates of Paradise are under the shadows of the swords." After hearing Muhammad say that martyrdom leads to paradise, a young man pulls his sword and breaks the sheath (indicating that he has no intention of returning) then flings himself into battle until he is killed.



Sahih Muslim (20.4635) - Muhammad: "Nobody who enters Paradise will (ever like to) return to this world even if he were offered everything on the surface of the earth (as an inducement) except the martyr who will desire to return to this world and be killed ten times for the sake of the great honor that has been bestowed upon him." (also Bukhari 52:53)



Sahih Muslim (55:93) - A lengthy parable told by Muhammad, in which a boy chooses to die in order to spread religion, thus legitimizing the practice.



Sahih Bukhari (64:211) - I said to Salama bin Al-Akwa`, "For what did you give the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Messenger on the day of Al-Hudaibiya?" He replied, "For death (in the Cause of Islam.)



Sahih Muslim (19:4450) - In the process of trying to kill a man who is protecting his community, a Muslim loses his own life due to a tactical error. "So I came to the Prophet weeping and I said: Messenger of Allah. Amir's deed has been wasted. The Messenger said: Who passed this remark? I said: Some of your Companions. He said: He who has passed that remark has told a lie, for 'Amir there is a double reward."



Jami' At-Tirmidhi, Vol. 3, No. 1663, p. 410 - Al-Miqdam bin Ma'diykarib narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: "There are six things with Allah for the martyr... he is married to seventy-two wives among Al-Huril-'Ayn [virgins] of Paradise..." This hadith verse attributes the origination of the '72 virgins' teaching to Muhammad himself.



Sunan Ibn Majah - The Messenger of Allah said, "There is no one whom Allah will admit to Paradise but Allah will marry him to seventy-two wives, two from houris and seventy from his inheritance from the people of Hell, all of whom will have desirable front passages and he will have a male member that never becomes flaccid (i.e., soft and limp). This is considered a weaker hadith, but of the same category as others promoted by apologists..

