Are Suicide Missions a way to Invite to Islam? Q&A by Dr. Saalih bin Fawzaan bin ‘Abdullah al-Fawzaan

Question:  Are bombings and suicide missions a way to invite to Islam?

Answer: Those who do these kinds of acts are in more need of following the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace be upon him, and of being invited to Islam. How can they propagate Islam amongst the people and they engage in bombings and destruction? This is not propagation of the religion, this is a means of alienating people from Islam, we seek refuge in Allah, and it is a way of destruction. 

Did the Prophet, peace be upon him, propagate Islam this way when he was in Makkah? Did his companions? Did they destroy things? Definitely not! Instead, he invited to worship his Lord using wisdom, beautiful sermons, and debating using good manners. He sought the people’s assistance without using acts of destruction, because this harms the Muslims in the end and makes the non-Muslims happy. Therefore it is not permissible at all and not tolerable. It is a way that invites to Satan, an invitation to the hellfire. 

Allah Most High says: {And We placed leaders for them, inviting to the hellfire.} al-Qasas: 41

And the Most High says: {They are ones who invite to the hellfire, but Allah invites to paradise.} al-Baqarah: 221

This form of propagation is one calling to the hellfire, we seek refuge in Allah. They call to misguidance as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: (The one who calls to misguidance shares the likeness of the sin that is committed by the one who engages in sin, not one sin from the sins of misguidance that he commits will be removed in any way.) Related by Muslim no. 2674 from Aboo Hurayrah. Therefore this form of propagation is one to misguidance, not to the truth. 

Dr. Saalih bin Fawzaan bin ‘Abdullah al-Fawzaan, Member of the Major Scholars and Permanent Committee for Religious Rulings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
Source: al-Ijaabaat al-Muhimmah fee al-Mashaakil al-Mulimmah (Arabic), copyright: Muhammad Fahd al-Hussein, 1425 A.H. corresponding with 2004 C.E., pgs. 83-84.
Translated by Thomas Maldonado