Wujub al-Adl wa Tahrim al-Zulm ala al-Nas Kafa
- Author died
- 1443 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Call and Guidance
Wujub al-Adl wa Tahrim al-Zulm ala al-Nas Kafa (The Obligation of Justice and the Prohibition of Injustice Against All People) is an Islamic legal treatise and official statement by the Saudi scholar Salih bin Muhammad al-Luhaydan (d. 1443 AH / 2022 CE), examining the legal ruling on the September 11 attacks under Islamic jurisprudence .
Background and Context
The work was issued as a formal statement and legal opinion (fatwa) classified under the jurisprudence of jihad and Islamic governance (fiqh al-jihad wa-al-siyasah al-shar'iyyah) by al-Luhaydan during his tenure as a member of the Council of Senior Scholars and President of the Supreme Judicial Council in Saudi Arabia . It was composed in response to widespread inquiries regarding the position of Islamic law on the attacks against the United States and whether recognized Muslim scholars could sanction such actions .
Content and Legal Arguments
Al-Luhaydan establishes that Islamic law is comprehensive and encompasses rulings for all contemporary crises and unprecedented events (nawazil) . He states that those who commit such acts are regarded in Islamic jurisprudence as among the most egregious perpetrators of crime, and he rejects the notion that any qualified scholar versed in the Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah could permit them . Drawing on Quran 5:8, وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَى أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى ("And let not the hatred of a people prevent you from being just; be just, that is nearer to righteousness"), he argues that hatred toward an adversary does not justify transgression or injustice .
The text emphasizes several legal principles regarding armed conflict, justice, and accountability:
- Prohibition of targeting non-combatants: The author notes that Islamic law explicitly prohibits killing individuals who do not take part in combat, specifically naming children, women, the elderly, and monks secluded in their hermitages for worship .
- Rejection of collective punishment: Al-Luhaydan argues that inflicting collective harm on innocent populations, including infants and pregnant women, is a severe injustice that contradicts the balance of justice upon which creation is established .
- Individual legal responsibility: Citing the Prophetic hadith لا يجن جان إلا على نفسه ("No perpetrator commits a crime except against himself") and the Quranic rule that no soul bears the burden of another, the treatise asserts that innocent people cannot be held accountable or punished for the crimes of others .
- Prohibition of aircraft hijackings: The treatise references earlier rulings by Saudi scholars prohibiting the hijacking of airplanes without distinguishing between aircraft carrying Muslim or non-Muslim passengers, classifying the terrorization of people and unlawful aggression as corruption on earth .
Al-Luhaydan concludes by stressing that prevention is a primary objective of Islamic law and calls upon public authorities in Western societies not to blame foreign states or suspect Muslim citizens and residents for actions executed by rogue individuals acting without their knowledge or authorization .
Answer updated