A father of four recently asked me if he should go to Iraq as a mujahid to defend his Muslim brothers there. Seeking my advice as both a preacher and a scholar, the man wanted to know if he would be considered a martyr if he were killed. He wanted to know what the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah — the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him — say about this.
I do not say that my answer to his question is necessarily the right one. Each one of us feels anger and frustration over this naked aggression but at the same time, we don’t want to make the tragedy worse by having more good people lose their lives.
Almighty God likes to see living believers so they can glorify him, offer prayers and do good for themselves and for others. The concept of a believer leaving this world forever is not a necessity in itself but is permissible when offering one’s life for the sake of Allah, which brings great benefit.
The Holy Qur’an tells us to stand firm when facing an enemy and never to retreat. The Iraqi people have every right and justification to defend their religion, themselves, their land and their resources. By falling into this quagmire, the American administration has committed a grave mistake, and time will prove it was also the kind of stupid and foolish act typical of the uninformed and inexperienced. I see, however, no reason for any Muslim to go to Iraq to join in the struggle. These are my reasons:
1. The war is being conducted by means of devastating air raids without differentiating between killing one or 1,000.
2. The Iraqis know the geography of their country better than anyone and for this reason, numerical superiority is not important.
3. The enemy may seek to arrest some of the volunteer fighters and use them for political and propaganda purposes and also to serve a domestic as well as a foreign agenda.
4. The picture of the war is not yet clear. No one knows for how long it will last or what the internal situation will be when it is over.
5. Conflicting powers are engaged in this war — the invading forces, the opposition, local sectarian and ethnic groups in addition to neighbors lying in wait for the regime. Those volunteering to fight in Iraq would be walking into a minefield; if one side misses killing them, the other may not.
6. We should frankly tell our brothers that despite bitterness and self-defeat, life must go on and the nation should not suspend its future projects, either at the individual or collective levels. All must join hands to create a better future through active and productive efforts. This does not mean we should not give the crisis our full attention or cease to express our feelings.
7. Our brothers in Iraq will be in dire need of assistance after a war, which will leave huge numbers of wounded and displaced in addition to refugees, miserable orphans and widows.
8. We don’t yet know what the invading forces plan for the Muslim nation after they finish the job in Iraq. They have ambitions everywhere and are working according to a clandestine and partly Israeli-inspired plan. It is wiser and better for us to be farsighted, diligent and calm while carefully planning our own next move.
I say all this with only one intention — to give sincere and honest advice.
Arab News From the Local Press 9 April 2003
