ISLAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY ONLINE
(Revised Edition)
Volume 5, May, 2009
St. Louis, Missouri

Hajji. Mohamed Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

FOCUS OF THE WEEK:
PART – I
VIEWING THE SUICIDE BOMBERS THROUGH THE ISLAMIC LENS: ARE THEY TRULY MARTYRS OR MISGUIDED MUSLIMS ?

(a) Prophet Mohamed (SAW) stated: ‘Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. SO YOU SHOULD NOT BE EXTREMISTS, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded.” Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 38.

(b) Prophet Mohamed (SAW) stated: “Sometimes, I enter prayer and I intend to prolong it, but then I hear a child crying, and I shorten my prayer thinking of the distress of the child’s mother”. Fiqh us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 51

(Imagine if our loving Prophet Mohamed (SAW) was willing to cut down on the time for his prayer being sensitive to the distress of the crying child’s mother, then do you really believe that he would have ever approved the barbaric and atrocious act of suicidal bombing that involves innocent women and children being blown to pieces?)

INTRODUCTION:

It is not just the mainstream media that lacks a proper understanding of Islam but also many non-Muslim professionals from the Healing Arts Profession. Well known politicians, close-minded Christian fundamentalists and non-Muslim psychologists still believe the laughable myth that the suicide bombers kill themselves in order to go to Paradise since there is the promise of 72 virgins waiting on heaven for any martyr in Islam. Does their myth also apply to Muslim female suicide attackers from “Black Widows of Chechnya”, “Palestinian and Turkish female suicide attackers” who blow up themselves to get seventy-two (male) virgins? OR if they postulate that it is a “MAN”S WORLD” even in the HEREAFTER, then perhaps they may believe that the female suicide attackers were lesbians.

Above misinformation is all the more reason why Muslims should take a personal responsibility to educate the non-Muslims of what the peaceful religion of Islam is really about.

The facts that they don’t know is that as per Prophet Mohamed (SAW), a woman who dies during childbirth obtains the rank of a shaheed (martyr). A woman who exercises patience when her child dies, will be destined to enter Paradise immediately and even the partly-formed child in a miscarriage will take his or her mother to Paradise…Difficulties and calamities should not, therefore, lead to impatience, frustration and ingratitude or to any destructive acts.

Unfortunately certain Muslim Psychologists instead of integrating their learned contemporary psychology along with the gems of Islam and using such combination to work on solving problems, they have abandoned Islam and have joined a (may I add “pseudo”) elite group. On the other hand there are very good Muslim professionals from Psychology and related disciplines that may want to combine the two but find it new and too cumbersome to venture into applying such combination in their professional practice.

OUR UMMAH HAS BEEN LITERALLY TAKEN AS HOSTAGE BY AN EXTREMELY THIN MINORITY OF EXTREMIST ELEMENTS WHO HAVE INADVERTENTLY MISINTERPRETED CERTAIN GEMS FROM OUR HOLY QURAN AND HADITH.

THEIR ACTIONS FOCUSED ON VIOLENCE, AGGRESSION, SUICIDE BOMBING IN OPEN MARKET PLACES, MOSQUES, COLLEGE CAMPUSES ET.C. THEIR KILLING HELPLESS INNOCENTS, HAVE UNNECESSARILY CAUSED OUR UMMAH A LOT OF PAIN, GRIEF, SUFFERING, AND ALL THE MORE BAD PUBLIC RELATIONS WITH THE NON-MUSLIM WORLD.

THEY ARE PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MUSLIMS TO BECOME VICTIMS OF BOTH:
(1) THEIR RELENTLESS CAMPAIGN OF TERROR, VIOLENCE, DESTRUCTION AND DEATH OF INNOCENT CHILDREN & WOMEN ET.C
(2) AS WELL AS FROM BEING VICTIMS OF “SECONDARY TERROR” FROM IGNORANT AND EXTREMIST ISLAM BASHERS.

The repeated emphasis from ISLAM to SEEK KNOWLEDGE has not been seriously implemented and this has resulted in the extremist elements trying to utilize every opportunity to misguide the UMMAH. Their world view is exclusively rooted in the past with deliberate rejection of the realities of the contemporary times and they have repeatedly defamed Islam by drawing international attention and condemnation to their extremely violent, anti-Islamic and destructive acts and thereby pushing the UMMAH into further hardship and misery.

Imam Al-Ghazali was a specialist in treatment of bad conduct and he concluded that the treatment of all misbehavior among the people would not come only by wishes, but by the use of medicine formed from two ingredients.

(1) The first is KNOWLEDGE and
(2) The second is IMPLEMENTATION OF KNOWLEDGE.

"If either of these two is missing, this problem will not be cured. He also added that because the taste of most medicines is sour, people don’t use it. Or if they use it, they will not complete the dosage. And who does not have enough patience to use the sour medicine, he will not reach the sweetness of the cure".

The suicide bombers attempt all short cuts and end up NOT ONLY destructing themselves against the will of Allah but also destructing the lives of other innocent individuals around them, especially women and children.

In terms of above two highlights by Imam Al-Ghazali, the extremist elements basically closed their door of learning to KNOWLEDGE from the PRESENT. By so doing, they had not only lost the golden opportunity to integrate the gems of ISLAM with the KNOWLEDGE of the present but also lost the ability to “IMPLEMENT” SUCH COMBINED KNOWLEDGE. Their exclusive focus and obsession to the past roots of ISLAM in the absence of facing the CURRENT realities, has already turned the tide of their long-term outcome towards their own downfall.

In reality, they give a hoot to Islam’s emphasis on PEACE, LOVE, and UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD but instead focus on destruction. Such a destruction starts by them blowing themselves up to begin with, followed by destroying the lives of hundreds of other innocents including women, children and worshipers who came to the HOUSE OF ALLAH to pray.

Such victims HAPPENED TO BE IN THE WRONG PLACE AND IN THE WRONG TIME by being around the suicide bombers. Despite being an extremely small minority, they have through their destructive acts created a new generation of orphans, widows and loss of breadwinners of the family creating multiple economic and social stressors in the society.

It is not important what the writer has to say, but it is IMPORTANT WHAT THE HOLY QURAN and HADITH had to say on this matter. Let’s begin our analysis below:

(1) Holy Quran (5:32)
“ WHOSOEVER KILLS A HUMAN BEING (for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth), IT SHALL BE AS IF HE HAS KILLED ALL MANKIND, and whosoever saves the life of ONE, it shall be as if he had saved the life OF ALL MANKIND”.

(From the above Quranic verse, it is obvious of the tremendous emphasis that Allah has given to avoid killing a human being and multiplying the rewards of saving the life of a human being. Needless to say a suicide bomber has the destructive power to symbolically kill “all human beings” multiple times. If the suicide bomber accurately received the message from the Holy Quran he would implement acts of kindness to symbolically SAVE the life of HUMANITY multiple times).

(2) Holy Quran (2:152-153):
“O you who declare faith, seek divine assistance through patience and prayer. Surely, Allah is with those who patiently persevere”.

(The suicide bomber through his destructive act has showed that he is not willing to “seek divine assistance through patience and prayer”, even though Allah clearly states that He is “with those who patiently persevere”).

(3) Prophet Moses asked: “Oh, my Lord, WHO IS DEAREST TO YOU AMONG YOUR SERVANTS? Allah said: THE ONE WHO FORGIVES WHEN ABLE TO PUNISH”. Al-Bayhaqi.

(Many of the suicide bombers feel that by doing such a destructive act they are punishing their enemies. From the above, when Allah had told Prophet Moses that the DEAREST to HIM are the ones “who forgives when able to punish”, then, is not this a paradox? The suicide bomber feels that he is going straight to PARADISE when Allah through the above indicates exactly the opposite).

(4) Holy Quran (12:90)
“Indeed he who fears Allah, and is PATIENT, then surely Allah makes not the reward of the doers of good to be lost”

(The destruction brought on by a suicide bomber is a violation of above Quranic guidance because if one were to be PATIENT, then one would not destruct self and other innocents nearby. On the contrary suicide bombing is a clear act of SEVERE IMPATIENCE. Allah not only encourages one to be patient but also promises that when one fears him and remains PATIENT, he would not make the rewards of doers of such good be lost).

(5) Holy Quran (4:85)
“Whosoever aids and encourages goodness is a partner to it, and whosoever aids and abets wrongfulness is a partner to it; and Allah has supremacy over all”.

(Is blowing oneself in a marketplace or other public places involving loss of lives to innocents around – an act of “goodness” or “wrongfulness”? For sure, it is an act of WRONGFULNESS. If majority of the UMMAH feels it is wrong, then they have a historical responsibility to speak out against it and not be passive spectators or observers. Further they are encouraged to aid and encourage acts of kindness and goodness and work towards PEACE as the gem of Holy Quran indicates above)

(6) Holy Quran (6:82)
“Secure and rightly-guided are those that have faith and taint not their faith with injustice and wrongfulness.”

(Killing innocents through suicide bombing is an act of wrongfulness and injustice not only to the innocents who died but also their families)

(7) Holy Quran (42:37-39)
“(Such put their trust in Allah)…. who avoid the greater sins, shun shameful deeds and FORGIVE EVEN WHEN ANGRY. …Those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation…. Those who, when an oppressive wrong is inflicted on them (are not cowardly, but) HELP AND DEFEND THEMSELVES”

(SUICIDE to begin with, is against ISLAM. Suicide accompanied by killing innocents especially women and children is indeed a very shameful deed. As indicated in above verse, Quran encourages FORGIVING WHEN ANGRY; a suicide bomber’s act is OPPOSITE of forgiveness. Concealing one self with bombs and deceiving the public and entering a peaceful public place such as a marketplace or House of Allah and then blowing oneself is DEFINITELY not defending oneself when an oppressive wrong has been done)

(8) Holy Quran (7:199)
“Be forgiving, command what is right and avoid (indulging in the ignorance of) the ignorant.

A suicide bomber’s act is NOT FORGIVING but rather an act of (indulging in the ignorance of) the ignorant.

(9) Holy Quran (16:97)
“ALLAH WILL REWARD THE DOERS OF GOOD, WHETHER MALE OR FEMALE, WITH THE REVIVAL OF A GOOD LIFE AND WITH APPROPRIATE REWARD ACCORDING TO THE BEST OF THEIR DEEDS”

(An act of killing innocents through suicide bombing is not act of DOERS OF GOOD and is definitely NOT THE BEST OF ONE’S DEEDS. Instead it is an act of double sin - self destruction and destruction of other lives).

CONCLUSION:

The writer recognizes the fact that above is only one such perspective of viewing the horrible act of a suicide bomber and fully understands that there are many other perspectives. It is encouraged for the UMMAH to have an open mind and be receptive to different perspectives without being judgmental and immediately giving a negative label to a person whose opinion does not mirror theirs.

It will be difficult for the UMMAH to successfully move forward unless it exercises more tolerance to different perspectives of a particular burning issue for the UMMAH. Let this perspective be ONE OF THE MANY perspectives in the intellectual marketplace of ideas. The Ummah has its own synergy to pick up momentum behind a certain perspective that has a judicious mixture between the historical Islamic roots and the fluid, dynamic and ever changing contemporary realities.

It is an established fact that globally the majority of the UMMAH are following Prophet Mohamed’s (SAW) recommendation of being MODERATES. The global UMMAH has two extremes, one extreme is the Muslims whose life is anchored to history and are disconnected to the present, and the other extreme are secular or anti-Islamic Muslims who luckily are also a very negligible minority.

Most of the Muslims fall in between and continue their struggle to lead a lifestyle that has a balance of both.

Above Editor concludes by recalling Prophet Mohamed’s (SAW) advice:
“He is NOT the best among you who NEGLECTS HIS WORLDLY LIFE for the SAKE OF THE HEREAFTER, or NEGLECTS THE HEREAFTER FOR THE SAKE OF HIS WORLDLY LIFE, UNTIL HE WORKS FOR BOTH. Realize that this life is a path that leads to the Hereafter, so do not become a burden on others”. IBN ASSAKIR.

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