Questioner:

In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. May Allāh bless you Shaykh. What do you say about suicide operations in Palestine? Are those who do this martyrs?

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Sāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn:

What are these “suicide operations”?

Questioner:

They are…

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Sāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn:

What are they? What are they?

Questioner:

Bombings, O Shaykh bombings. They kill themselves along with the enemy.

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Sāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn:

You mean they blow themselves up?

Questioner:

Yes, O Shaykh.

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Sāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn:

Until they die? We previously addressed this issue and said that the individual who does this has certainly killed himself and will be perpetually tormented with whatever he killed himself with in the Hellfire as it has been authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ. This action is unlawful (harām) because Allāh ﷻ says:

۞وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ
“And do not kill yourselves” (Q 4:29).

However, those ignorant individuals who do what they do, if they are truly ignorant and think that they are drawing closer to Allāh ﷻ with this action; certainly I hope that they are not subjected to this torment. However, they will not receive any reward [for it] because what they did was sinful if they intended it; but if they had misinterpreted the action, then it is they are excused [from perpetual torment]. Then, after this, there is no place for us to discuss their intentions. Was this in order to make the word of Allāh uppermost or was it done solely in an effort to exact vengeance for themselves? We have no knowledge of this; the knowledge of this lies with Allāh ﷻ alone.

However, it is obligatory to differentiate between the one who kills the enemy with the intention of exacting revenge and the one who does so for the sake of Allāh ﷻ seeking to make the word of Allāh uppermost. Which is for the sake of Allāh? The one who fights in order to make the word of Allāh uppermost; as for the one who fights seeking vengeance for himself from a people who have transgressed against him then he is not considered someone who is fighting for the sake of Allah ﷻ. For this reason it is obligatory for us to deliberate and use discretion so that victory does not escape us. Certainly, the failure of the Islamic nation which includes millions and millions of people to achieve victory against the tyrants from amongst the Banī-Isrāʾil and the idolatrous pagans and other than them is due to this nation’s failure to move forward in a manner which is appropriate. Firstly, sinfulness with them is prevalent and you find that one of them goes out to fight the enemy but he himself doesn’t pray. It is imperative that we struggle (literally perform jihād) within ourselves before all else. We must correct our own path to Allāh ﷻ before we fight or attempt to correct the path of others.

In any event, the summarised answer to your question is that suicide is unlawful (harām) and the one who does so has killed himself and subjected himself to a grave punishment since the one who kills himself will be perpetually tormented with whatever he used to kill himself with in the Hellfire. However, whoever does this out of ignorance or due to misinterpretation, then certainly we hope that Allāh ﷻ will not subject him to this punishment.