Fatwa Of Aala Hazrat In The Context Of The Udaipur Incident: Anyone Who Takes The Law Into One’s Hands By Killing For Blasphemy In A Muslim Or Non-Muslim Country Would Be Punished According To Islamic Sharia
By
Mufti Saleem Noori for New Age Islam
Translated
into English and edited by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
7 July 2022
Islamic
Sharia Deems Everyone Who Takes The Law Into His Hands To Be Criminal And
Deserving Of Punishment, According To A Fatwa Issued By Aala Hazrat
Main
Points:
1. In
accordance with Islamic Sharia, anyone who murders a citizen by taking the law
into his hands, whether in a Muslim or non-Muslim country, is subject to
punishment.
2. Aala
Hazrat’s Fatwa implies that in democratic countries, our task is to abhor
criminal behaviour, prevent ordinary people from cohabiting with criminals, and
work to have the offender brought to justice.
3. Through
their publications, lectures, and Friday sermons, the Ulama and Imams must
educate the people of the fact that taking the law into their own hands is
strictly prohibited in Islamic Sharia, whether in connection with the charges
of blasphemy or apostasy.
4. After the
brutal murder of Kanhaiyalal, Mufti Saleem Noori, a Senior Teacher of
Dargah-e-Aala Hazrat Bareilly's Madrasa Manzar-e-Islam, made a vital
contribution to disseminating this fatwa to the general public in order to
curtail potential legal violations.
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Bareilly Sharif Dargah. Photo: Wikipedia commons.
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The most
revered scholar and jurist of Islam in India is Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmed Raza
Khan Faazil-e-Barelvi, whose shrine is located in the Indian city of Bareilly
in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He is well-known for promoting Sunni Sufi
Khanqahi ideas worldwide. He is regarded as one
of the greatest Sunni revivalists of Islam, and a Master of both Modern and Islamic
Sciences, having a significant global influence, particularly in the Indian
subcontinent. He has contributed significantly, particularly
to the building of peace and tranquillity in India..
Some people
nowadays have come to believe that killing, beheading, or executing someone who
diminishes the majesty of our Prophet is an Islamic, religious, and rewarding
deed as a result of emotional slogans and frightening ideas. They believe that
doing so will allow them to enter Paradise.
Therefore,
allow us to inform you that in accordance with the Fatwa issued by Aala Hazrat
Imam Ahmad Raza Barelvi Sahab,
“Killing a
criminal and taking the law into one’s hands is a crime. Any common man who
does so is a criminal in the eyes of Islam and will be punished by the
judiciary.”
Additionally,
Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Fazil-e-Barelvi made it clear that blasphemy
punishment only applies in nations with an Islamic government and judiciary,
and that even under these circumstances, the Hakim or Sultan of Islam alone has
the authority to impose punishment. He clarified that no common individual has
the right to use force to impose punishment on any criminal. Similar to how
many crimes in India are punishable by death, only Indian courts have the
authority to impose such punishments.
In a
country where Islamic law is in effect and blasphemy carries a death sentence,
if a common citizen murders a criminal for blasphemy there, that citizen will
be seen as a murderer and a criminal, and as such, he will be subject to punishment
by the Islamic government or court.
Aala Hazrat
further stated that in democratic countries, our only task is to abhor criminal
behaviour, prevent ordinary people from cohabiting with criminals, and keep
people away from illegal activity, and work to have the offender brought to
justice.
This clear
fatwa of Ala Hazrat is mentioned in the Arabic language on page 137 of his book
'Husamul Haramain' which has been recently translated and published into
several other languages, including Urdu, Hindi, Nepali, and others. [In the
most recent case, Mufti Saleem Noori, a Senior Teacher of Dargah-e-Aala Hazrat
Bareilly's Madrasa Manzar-e-Islam, made a vital contribution to disseminating
this fatwa to the general public in order to curtail potential legal violations.
Additionally, the comments clarified by Mufti Saleem Sahib in this article are
also accurate interpretations of Aala Hazrat's fatwa, which is contained on the
same page of the book.]
It is the
responsibility of the Muslims to make sure that everyone is aware of the
Shariah principles and teachings that Aala Hazrat has accurately articulated in
order to prevent breaching the law. Through their publications, lectures, and
Friday sermons, the Ulama and Imams must notify the people that Aala Hazrat had
issued a fatwa regarding the circumstance as in the present case [e.g. the
merciless murder of Kanhaiyalal] in his book "Husamul Haramain"
and inform them plainly that taking the law into one's own hands is strictly
prohibited, whether in connection with the charges of blasphemy or apostasy.
They must
convey the message of Aala Hazrat's Fatwa, which states that even under an
Islamic government, killing a person, who has insulted the prophet, without the
approval of the Sultan or Hakim constitutes a serious crime under Islamic law.
The murderer or lawbreaker shall not be referred to as a Ghazi or given any
other honorific title. Instead, the Sultan or Hakim must punish him in
accordance with Islamic law as a deterrent to others from enforcing the law themselves.
“This edict
is applicable wherever there is Islamic administration,” Aala Hazrat continues
in his fatwa, “If this is true with the Islamic government, it [taking the law
into one’s hands] will be much more unjustifiable in countries without an Islamic
government”.
Aala Hazrat
goes on to argue that while killing the individual who has insulted the Prophet
will require him to risk his life and get into difficulties, Islam forbids
doing this because Allah Almighty makes this clear in the Quran:
“Do not
throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction” (2:195)
When
directing ordinary Muslims, Aala Hazrat stated in the fatwa that, in accordance
with Islamic Sharia, it is sufficient for them to verbally denounce anyone who
has insulted the beloved Prophet, forbid common people from associating with
him, and file a complaint with the appropriate government officials and bring
the blasphemy matter to courts so that the offender may be brought to justice.
Aala Hazrat
explains the rationale as being that it is not permissible for them to take the
law into their own hands in order to punish that criminal and insulter.
The
aforementioned Fatwa of Aala Hazrat makes it abundantly apparent that it is a
criminal and punishable act to take the law into one’s hands in order to punish
and kill the person for insulting the beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). Such
a person truly deserves to be punished by the law.
…
The
original version of this article by Mufti Saleem Noori Sahab appeared in the
July 2022 issue of Mahnama Aala Hazrat, a renowned monthly Urdu publication.
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Mufti
Saleem Noori is a Senior Teacher at Madrasa Manzar-e-Islam, Dargah-e-Aala
Hazrat, Bareilly, and an influential scholar of Islam. He is well-known in the
mainstream media for issuing Fatwas condemning terrorism and violent acts
committed in the name of Islam.
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