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Controversial miscellaneous issues related to Islam
"A Muslim is not killed in lieu of an infidel"…What does that Hadith REALLY mean?
Allegations
This hadith is often misinterpreted either by:
A- Claiming that it permits the Muslim to kill an infidel without being suitably punished as in Islam the one who kills a Muslim intentionally is to be executed. Does the above Hadith discriminates a Muslim from a non Muslim so that if a Muslim kills a non Muslim intentionally he is not to be executed but if he kills a Muslim he is to be executed…?
B- Claiming that it contradicts with another Hadith that says: "He who kills a muahid (a term used for Dhimmis and for pagans who had entered in a treaty with the Muslims to end a state of war) will never smell the fragrance of paradise, the fragrance of which can be smelled from a distance of 40 years travel".
Answer
Islam is the religion of justice where all kinds of discriminations are refused. Non Muslims and Muslims have equal rights in the Islamic society. As for the Hadith above it is by the consensus of all Islamic scholars that killing a non Muslim is a great sin. The hadith "A Muslim is not killed in lieu of an infidel" actually refers to a non Muslim who fights against Muslims in the battlefield.
Imams Malik and Al-Laith said: "A Muslim who intentionally kills a non Muslim for no reason will be put to death. If his action is justified, he shall not be killed". This is according to Ibn Uthman’s verdict, who was one of the eminent scholars and the governor of Madinah, He sentenced to death a Muslim who killed a Copt.
The fourth of the righteous Caliphs, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib who, after hearing witnesses testimonies, ordered that a Muslim who had killed a non Muslim be put to death. The deceased’s brother came and said, "I have forgiven him"
Ali said: "Perhaps they have threatened or frightened you"
He said: "Not at all, but his death cannot restore my brother’s life. They hav compensated me, and now I’m satisfied"
Ali said: "You know better. The blood of the person who is in our covenant is like ours and his blood compensation (diyah) is like ours"
(Related by Altabarani and Al-Baihaqi, as-Sunan Alkobra. Volume III).
Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib said, "They pay Capitation tax so that their blood and wealth become like our blood and wealth immune from all harm"
The Islamic caliphs Umar Ibn Abd Elaziz, once wrote to a governor concerning a Muslim who had killed a non-Muslim, telling them to hand the Muslim over to the legal heir of the slain person and give him the authority either to forgive the Muslim or to kill him. The heir later chose to behead the Muslim.
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
"Islam is indeed a religion of love and peace. Islam does not teach people to kill all those who disagree with them simply because they disagree with them. If certain bigoted Muslims did so that is not the fault of Islam. How unjust would it be to say that Christianity is a religion that teaches violence and blood shed by looking at the historical performance of some so-called Christians: After all, Hitler who committed genocide against the Jews, the white supremacists in South America who practiced barbarities against the blacks, the Serbs who committed genocide against the Muslims in Bosnia, those who systematically practiced mass slaughter of Muslims and Jews in Spain, and burned heretics, etc. all claimed to be Christians. What about the Christians still killing each other in Ireland? So why use double standards in judging Islam? Stereotyping is wrong regardless of against whom we use it.
Vast majority of Muslims have nothing to do with such violence or bloodshed that may or may not have been committed by those who claim to be Muslims. According to the strict verdict of the Qur’an, taking life of a single human being unjustly is akin to taking the life of all humanity. A good Muslim, therefore, is one who believes in sanctity of all life. The Prophet, peace be upon him, taught us that if a person were to kill even a single little sparrow, it would appear before the Lord of the worlds seeking God’s justice against the person!"
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