The Sanctity of the Muslim: His Blood, Wealth, and Honour – Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan

Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Fawzān (b. 1354 AH / 1933 CE), may Allah ﷻ preserve him, said: The Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ said: “All of a Muslim is prohibited for another Muslim.” Allah ﷻ has made the Muslim sacred. The meaning of the statement “all of a Muslim” refers to his blood, his wealth, and his honour. Thus, the latter part of the statement explains the first part. Concerning his statement, “His blood,” this means that Allah ﷻ has prohibited the killing of a believer.

Allah ﷻ said:

۞ وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا ۞

“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to abide therein, and the Wrath and Curse of Allah are upon him, and a great punishment is prepared for him.” (Sūrat al-Nisāʾ 4:93) ۞

The Prophet ﷺ also said: “It is not permissible to spill the blood of a Muslim except in three cases: the married person who commits adultery, a life for a life, and the one who forsakes his religion and separates from the community.”

In these three situations, it is permissible for his blood to be shed.¹ The prescribed Islamic punishment is applied to him. The punishment for adultery is applied to the married adulterer, and if a person apostatises from his religion, he is executed. However, if none of these three circumstances are found in him, then his blood is inviolable and impermissible to spill. Concerning his statement, “His wealth,” likewise, the wealth of a Muslim is sacred.

Allah ﷻ said:

۞ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلَّا أَن تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً عَن تَرَاضٍ مِّنكُمْ ۞

“O you who believe! Do not consume your wealth among yourselves unjustly, except that it be a trade amongst you by mutual consent.” (Sūrat al-Nisāʾ 4:29) ۞

Thus, the wealth of a Muslim, like his blood, is sacred. It is not permissible to take it except with his mutual consent. It has been reported in the ḥadīth: “The wealth of a Muslim is not permissible except by his consent.” Meaning: with his approval, and not by force, theft, betrayal, or deception. It is not permissible to cheat him in transactions or to take his wealth unlawfully. His wealth is forbidden to take except through correct and lawful dealings, such as a valid and approved transaction. Likewise, he is not to be forced to buy or sell unjustly. However, if he has outstanding debts and refuses to repay them, then the ruler² may intervene by taking from his wealth, selling his assets, and settling the debt, because this is done justly. Outside of this, it is not permissible. Forcing him to buy or sell is unlawful without his consent. Allah ﷻ said: “by mutual consent.” (Sūrat al-Nisāʾ 4:29)

Concerning the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “His honour,” honour includes everything that may be subject to praise or slander. A Muslim must not speak about the honour of his brother through backbiting, tale-carrying, insults, or belittlement. He must not curse him, demean him, or humiliate him, for his honour is sacred. Rather, he should defend him and refute slander spoken against him. This is an obligation upon all Muslims. It is impermissible for a person to speak about the honour of his brother in gatherings and assemblies and to spread matters concerning him, even if he has committed errors or fallen into sins. One must not publicise his faults. Instead, he should advise him privately, in what is between himself and his brother. This is his right over him. However, speaking about him in sittings and gatherings, and mentioning his sins and shortcomings, is not permissible. This is backbiting.

Allah ﷻ said:

۞ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ ۖ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا ۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ ۞

“O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion; indeed, some suspicion is sin. And do not spy, nor backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance, Most Merciful.”
(Sūrat al-Ḥujurāt 49:12) ۞

The Prophet ﷺ also said: “Do you know what backbiting is?” They said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “To mention your brother with that which he dislikes.” They said: “What if my brother actually has what I say about him?” He said: “If he has what you say about him, then you have backbitten him. And if not, then you have slandered him.” This means that speaking about people in gatherings inevitably leads to one of two things: Either a person becomes a liar by fabricating lies about his brother, or he becomes a backbiter by mentioning his faults. Both are impermissible, because the Muslim is sacred. It is obligatory to advise him secretly, without spreading his faults or circulating rumours.³

Allah ﷻ said:

۞ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِيعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ۞

“Verily, those who love that immorality should be spread among the believers will have a painful punishment in this world and in the Hereafter. And Allah knows, and you do not know.”
(Sūrat al-Nūr 24:19) ۞

The remedy for evil is not to spread it, speak about it publicly, or circulate rumours. Rather, its remedy lies in sincere advice, enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil, in accordance with the guidance of Islamic legislation, as Shaykh al-Islām Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) mentioned in al-ʿAqīdah al-Wāsiṭiyyah.

¹ Translator’s Note: The Islamic punishments are implemented only under an Islamic ruler or authority. Cases are presented before an Islamic judge in an established court. It is not permissible for the general public to take such matters into their own hands.

² Translator’s Note: The ruler or lawful Islamic authority.

³ Translator’s Note: With regard to innovators and the people of innovation, backbiting may be permissible when required for warning and clarification. Imām Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī (d. 676 AH / 1277 CE) stated in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, Chapter: “What Is Permissible in Backbiting,” no. 5, that it is permissible to criticise narrators of ḥadīth, witnesses in court when necessary, to mention faults in marriage counselling when advice is sought, and to warn a student of knowledge who frequents innovators in order to protect him from harm.

References

Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Fawzān, al-Minḥah al-Rabbāniyyah fī Sharḥ al-Arbaʿīn al-Nawawiyyah, Dār al-ʿĀṣimah, Riyadh, 1st edn, 2004.

1. Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256 AH / 870 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, ed. Muṣṭafā Dīb al-Bughā, Dār Ibn Kathīr, Damascus and Beirut, 1993.

2. Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Naysābūrī (d. 261 AH / 875 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, ed. Muḥammad Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Bāqī, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, Beirut, n.d.

3. Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE), al-ʿAqīdah al-Wāsiṭiyyah, Dār al-ʿĀṣimah, Riyadh, 1999.