Harun Yahya
All forms of terrorist attack are roundly con¬demned in Islam. According to the Our'an, it is a great sin to kill an innocent person, and anyone who does so will suffer great torment in the Hereafter:
"... If someone kills another person-unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth-it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind. Our Messengers came to them with Clear Signs, but even after that, many of them committed outrages in the earth". (Our'an, 5:32)
This verse equals the killing of one inno¬cent to slaughtering all of humanity! Another verse expresses the importance that the faithful attach to life:
Those who do not appeal to any other deity besides God [alone]; nor kill any soul whom God has forbid¬den [them to] except with the right to do so; nor for¬nicate. Anyone who does so will incur a penalty. (Our'an, 25:68)
In yet another verse, God issues the follow¬ing commandment: "Say: "Come, and I will recite to you what your Lord has forbidden for you": that you do not associate anything with Him; that you are good to your parents; that you do not kill your chil¬dren because of poverty-We will provide for you and them; that you do not approach indecency-outward or inward; that you do not kill any person God has made inviolate-except with the right to do so. That is what He instructs you to do, so that hopefully, you will use your intellect." (Our'an, 6:151)
Any Muslim who believes in God with a sin¬cere heart, who scrupulously abides by His verses and fears suffering in the Hereafter, will avoid harm¬ing even one other person. He knows that the Lord of Infinite Justice will suitably reward him for all his ¬deeds. In one of the hadiths, our Prophet (S) listed the kinds of people who are not pleasing to God:
"Those who act cruelly and unjustly in the sacred lands, those who yearn for the ways of the ignorant, and those who wrongly shed human blood." (Sahih Bukhari Hadith)
In the Our'an (32:9), God reveals that He has breathed His Spirit into man, His cre¬ation, and that man is His representative on Earth (Our'an, 6:165). One of the most important dif¬ferences between man and the ani¬mals is that man was cre¬ated with both earthly desires and with a con¬ science. Every person possesses desires that incite him to evil, along with a con¬science that inspires him to avoid it. Alongside such pleasing attributes inspired by that conscience-love, sacrifice, compassion, humility, affection, honesty, I loyalty and kindness-he also possesses destructive and undesirable tendencies, stemming from his earthly desires.
I Thanks to his conscience, however, the believer can distinguish between right and wrong and opt for what is morally right. Strong belief in fear of God, faith in the Hereafter, pow¬erful fear of the endless torments of Hell and a yearning for Paradise all keep the temptations of his earthly desires at bay. Therefore, he always behaves well towards people, is forgiving, responds to wickedness with good, assists those in needs, and shows compassion, love, affection and tolerance.
Terrorists, on the other hand, listen to their earthly desire for violence instead of their con¬sciences, and can easily turn to all forms of wicked¬ness. They become loveless, aggressive people who easily hurt others without the slightest pang of conscience. Having no fear of God, they do not know the morality of religion, nor do they prac¬tice it. Nothing can stop them from commit¬ting crimes.
Terrorist organizations can't possibly have any place in a society whose people avoid evil of their own free will. Where religion's morality prevails, problems that give rise to organizations supporting the use of violence will disappear natu¬rally. If the whole society possesses superior virtues like honesty, sacrifice, love and justice, there can be no place for such things as poverty, unequal distri¬bution of income, injustice, the oppression of the weak, or limitations on freedoms. On the contrary, a social order will emerge that meets the wants of the needy; where the wealthy protect the poor and the strong, the weak; where everyone can enjoy the very best health care, education, and transport sys¬tems. There, tolerance and understanding will dom¬inate the relationships between different ethnic groups, religions and cultures.
For these reasons, proper morality is the key to solving so many social problems. The source of that key, in turn, is the Our'an, which God has revealed as a guide for mankind.
The ideological fight against terrorism, therefore, must be started with great urgency, to include very great numbers of people. This fight will be fought on the level of ideas-between people who believe in God, who love, forgiving, compas¬sionate and in full possession of their conscience; and those who draw their strength from ignorance and violence. In one verse, our Lord reveals, “Why were there not people with good sense among the generations of those who came before you, who for¬bade corruption in the earth..." (Our'an, 11:116). Believers should possess the virtue that God describes in that verse.
While terrorists hope to achieve their aims by violence, true Muslim believers know that true success can be achieved only by clinging tightly to the religion of God, and acting accordingly. Jews, Christians, and Muslims will join together in that struggle, in a spirit of respect for all beliefs and ideas and, by the will of God, enjoy definitive success. This is God's promise to all His believing servants, which will definitely come true.
Sincere believers in all parts of the world can help end the ignorance that breeds terrorism by searching for solutions, writing books and articles, promoting educational activities and teaching about the Islamic heritage. The prevalence of tolerance, peace and security on the Earth, as commanded by God, will make terrorism disappear into the pages of history forever. Adopting a defeatist, pessimistic atti¬tude in the face of terror is unacceptable. Our hope is that this suffering will not be repeated, and that all measures will be adapted to that end.
May God have mercy on those who died in those hateful attacks, and may He heal the injured. Our sincere condolences are to all mankind.
All forms of terrorist attack are roundly con¬demned in Islam. According to the Our'an, it is a great sin to kill an innocent person, and anyone who does so will suffer great torment in the Hereafter:
"... If someone kills another person-unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth-it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind. Our Messengers came to them with Clear Signs, but even after that, many of them committed outrages in the earth". (Our'an, 5:32)
This verse equals the killing of one inno¬cent to slaughtering all of humanity! Another verse expresses the importance that the faithful attach to life:
Those who do not appeal to any other deity besides God [alone]; nor kill any soul whom God has forbid¬den [them to] except with the right to do so; nor for¬nicate. Anyone who does so will incur a penalty. (Our'an, 25:68)
In yet another verse, God issues the follow¬ing commandment: "Say: "Come, and I will recite to you what your Lord has forbidden for you": that you do not associate anything with Him; that you are good to your parents; that you do not kill your chil¬dren because of poverty-We will provide for you and them; that you do not approach indecency-outward or inward; that you do not kill any person God has made inviolate-except with the right to do so. That is what He instructs you to do, so that hopefully, you will use your intellect." (Our'an, 6:151)
Any Muslim who believes in God with a sin¬cere heart, who scrupulously abides by His verses and fears suffering in the Hereafter, will avoid harm¬ing even one other person. He knows that the Lord of Infinite Justice will suitably reward him for all his ¬deeds. In one of the hadiths, our Prophet (S) listed the kinds of people who are not pleasing to God:
"Those who act cruelly and unjustly in the sacred lands, those who yearn for the ways of the ignorant, and those who wrongly shed human blood." (Sahih Bukhari Hadith)
In the Our'an (32:9), God reveals that He has breathed His Spirit into man, His cre¬ation, and that man is His representative on Earth (Our'an, 6:165). One of the most important dif¬ferences between man and the ani¬mals is that man was cre¬ated with both earthly desires and with a con¬ science. Every person possesses desires that incite him to evil, along with a con¬science that inspires him to avoid it. Alongside such pleasing attributes inspired by that conscience-love, sacrifice, compassion, humility, affection, honesty, I loyalty and kindness-he also possesses destructive and undesirable tendencies, stemming from his earthly desires.
I Thanks to his conscience, however, the believer can distinguish between right and wrong and opt for what is morally right. Strong belief in fear of God, faith in the Hereafter, pow¬erful fear of the endless torments of Hell and a yearning for Paradise all keep the temptations of his earthly desires at bay. Therefore, he always behaves well towards people, is forgiving, responds to wickedness with good, assists those in needs, and shows compassion, love, affection and tolerance.
Terrorists, on the other hand, listen to their earthly desire for violence instead of their con¬sciences, and can easily turn to all forms of wicked¬ness. They become loveless, aggressive people who easily hurt others without the slightest pang of conscience. Having no fear of God, they do not know the morality of religion, nor do they prac¬tice it. Nothing can stop them from commit¬ting crimes.
Terrorist organizations can't possibly have any place in a society whose people avoid evil of their own free will. Where religion's morality prevails, problems that give rise to organizations supporting the use of violence will disappear natu¬rally. If the whole society possesses superior virtues like honesty, sacrifice, love and justice, there can be no place for such things as poverty, unequal distri¬bution of income, injustice, the oppression of the weak, or limitations on freedoms. On the contrary, a social order will emerge that meets the wants of the needy; where the wealthy protect the poor and the strong, the weak; where everyone can enjoy the very best health care, education, and transport sys¬tems. There, tolerance and understanding will dom¬inate the relationships between different ethnic groups, religions and cultures.
For these reasons, proper morality is the key to solving so many social problems. The source of that key, in turn, is the Our'an, which God has revealed as a guide for mankind.
The ideological fight against terrorism, therefore, must be started with great urgency, to include very great numbers of people. This fight will be fought on the level of ideas-between people who believe in God, who love, forgiving, compas¬sionate and in full possession of their conscience; and those who draw their strength from ignorance and violence. In one verse, our Lord reveals, “Why were there not people with good sense among the generations of those who came before you, who for¬bade corruption in the earth..." (Our'an, 11:116). Believers should possess the virtue that God describes in that verse.
While terrorists hope to achieve their aims by violence, true Muslim believers know that true success can be achieved only by clinging tightly to the religion of God, and acting accordingly. Jews, Christians, and Muslims will join together in that struggle, in a spirit of respect for all beliefs and ideas and, by the will of God, enjoy definitive success. This is God's promise to all His believing servants, which will definitely come true.
Sincere believers in all parts of the world can help end the ignorance that breeds terrorism by searching for solutions, writing books and articles, promoting educational activities and teaching about the Islamic heritage. The prevalence of tolerance, peace and security on the Earth, as commanded by God, will make terrorism disappear into the pages of history forever. Adopting a defeatist, pessimistic atti¬tude in the face of terror is unacceptable. Our hope is that this suffering will not be repeated, and that all measures will be adapted to that end.
May God have mercy on those who died in those hateful attacks, and may He heal the injured. Our sincere condolences are to all mankind.
