Killing a Soul
Blog Post 39
January 18, 2021
It’s simple really!
"For this reason did We prescribe to the children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, other than for a soul or for spreading corruption in the Earth, it is as though he killed all the people; and whoever saves it, it is as though he saved all the people; and certainly Our Messengers came to them with clear arguments, yet indeed even after that many of them transgress extravagantly in the Earth." - Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:32
Choose the correct answer:
A. Countries invade other countries and kill people.
B. Countries kill their own people.
C. Both of the above.
Now if you chose the correct answer, you can easily see which countries are worse. And against that, you can see which countries are better.
But to add to the question, think about why countries invade other countries and kill people.
Choose the correct answer for the following sentence.
Countries invade other countries and kill people to:
A. capture their land.
B. change their government and way of life.
C. wipe out their population.
D. destroy their means of living – water, crops, homes, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, etc….
E. terrorize the population so they’ll do what they demand.
F. get rid of leaders they don’t agree with.
G. get rid of their religious and spiritual beliefs.
H. steal their resources, including people, water, oil, minerals, treasures, money, etc…
I. destroy their history.
J. intimidate other countries and their people into compliance.
K. All of the above.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala advises us in the Holy Qur’an to study history and see what happens to people, resources, buildings, towns and nations.
Have they not travelled in the Earth to see
how the consequence was for those who
were before them? Allah wiped them out.
And for the disbelievers there will be the like thereof.
- Surah Muhammad, 47:10
Certainly, there have been many examples
from before you. So travel through the Earth
and see how the consequence was for the rejecters.
- Surah Ale-Imran, 3:137
How many a town have We destroyed
while it was sinful, so that they lie in ruin,
with a deserted well and lofty mansion.
Have they not travelled in the Earth,
so that they may have hearts to reason with
or ears to hear with? For indeed it is not
the eyes that are blinded, but it is the hearts
in the chests that are blinded.
- Surah al-Hajj, 22:45-46
And how many a generation have We destroyed
before them, who were mightier than these
in prowess so that they overran the lands.
Is there any place of escape?
Surely therein is a reminder for the one who has
a heart or gives ear and is a witness.
- Surah Qaf, 50:36-37
It is bad enough that countries invade other countries and kill people. We can see what makes them do that.
Some people might read these ayats and think that it is Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala Who destroys the people rather than people who destroy people. True. But which people does Allah destroy? Reread these ayats and you’ll get the answer.
What makes countries kill their own people though? Are the reasons the same as for killing other countries’ people? Reread the choices above and use them to answer this question:
Countries kill their own people to:
Most or even all of the answers are true.
But there is something more to think about. How can countries kill other countries’ people and how can countries kill their own people? First off, when a country invades another country and kills the people of that country, more times than not the invaders’ people also are killed. While that is true, we’re talking about killing their own people in their own country. How can a country kill its own people?
Let’s talk about the meaning of country. Let’s define it. Country means: 1) land (region); 2) a political state, nation or territory; 3) people of a state or nation (populace); 4) rural area. In this blog post, we are using country to mean a political state, nation or territory. That is not to say that the people of the state or nation are not included because there is no political state, nation or territory if there are no people.
In order for a person to kill another person, there must be a reason. For a country to invade another country and kill people, there must be a reason. For a country to kill its own people, there must be a reason.
Certainly a country kills its own people to get rid of them permanently. They do this to:
1.take their land.
2. stop them from changing the government and way of life.
3. keep them from reproducing .
4. terrorize them into submission.
5. get rid of their leaders.
6. destroy their religion and spiritual beliefs.
7. destroy their history.
8. intimidate others into compliance.
The country kills them by: destroying their means of living; imprisonment and torture and execution; mass extermination and genocide; poisoning their water, food and air; brainwashing; poverty, lack of education and jobs; manipulation of their access to other people, places of worship, family; denial of health care, travel, participation in government; chaos, insecurity and fear; control of the media; flooding them with alcohol and drugs and disease….
But why would a country kill its own people? Aren’t the people valuable resources to the country? Aren’t the people needed to keep the country running? Aren’t the people human beings who deserve to live?
We’re not talking about a country killing all of their own people. A country decides which of their own people to kill. This decision is made by people who can’t be called people really. Rather they are shaitans (satans). These shaitans decide who amongst the people must die. They decide it based on their evil espousals of white supremacy, racism, hatred, bigotry, criminality, arrogance, revenge, anger, wickedness, immorality, selfishness, disbelief, darkness, ignorance, brutality, bullying, terror, disobedience, envy, delusion, abuse, lying, slander, gossip, prejudice, greed, lust, egoism, rape, theft, enslavement, contempt, oppression, abomination, obscenity, exploitation, rebelliousness…
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala explains in the Holy Qur’an that again and again warners have come to the people. These warners come to explain that Allah’s laws are the same laws from the beginning of time – good is good and evil is evil.
But when a warner came to them, it increased
in them nothing but repugnance, on account of
their arrogance in the Earth and plotting of the evil.
And the plot of the evil does not engulf except its own
people. So do they expect anything except the practice
of the former people? But you will never find any
change in Allah’s practice and you will never find
any substitute in Allah’s practice.
- Surah al-Fatir, 35:42-43
And We did not send to any town a warner,
but its affluent ones said, ‘Surely we are
disbelievers in that which you have been
sent with.’ And they say, ‘We have more
wealth and children and we will not
be punished.’
- Surah Saba, 34:34-35
And when We wish to destroy a town, We
command its affluent people, but they
commit abominations therein, and so
the word proves true against it and We
annihilate it with utter destruction. And
how many have We destroyed from the
generations after Nuh! And sufficient is
your Sustainer concerning the sins of His
servants, All-Aware, All-Seeing.
- Surah Bani Isra’il, 17:16-17
And if the people of the towns had believed and
were Allah-conscious, surely We would have
opened blessings upon them from the Heaven
and the Earth. But they rejected. So We
seized them because of what they used to earn.
- Surah al-A’raf, 7:96
And indeed they almost scare you from the Earth
so that they may drive you out from it. But then
they will not stay there after you except a little.
Such is Our practice for whom verily We sent
of Our Messengers before you. And you
will not find any substitute in Our practice.
- Surah Bani Isra’il, 17:76
Certainly, the shaitans are doomed in this world and in the Hereafter. It is up to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala as to when their end will come. We pray that it is soon, inshallah.
If Allah were to seize all the people for
their injustice, He would not have left
upon it a single living creature, but He
respites them until an appointed term.
Then when their term comes, they
cannot delay it by an hour
and they cannot advance it.
- Surah al-Nahl, 16:61
And yet, we must also be wary. We must ensure we are on the good side of history. We must fight against the shaitans, the oppressors, the murderers, those who kill people around the world, those who kill their own people in their own countries. If we do not differentiate ourselves from the oppressors, the taghut, the mustakbireen, the munafiqeen, the shaitans, then we will find ourselves caught up with them. We must align with the right side of history, the side of Prophet Muhammad and his family, peace and blessings be upon them, the side of the righteous ulama, the hizbullah, the party of Allah. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala keep us forever on the Straight Path.
There is no compulsion in the religion.
Surely, the right way has become distinct
from the wrong. Then whoever disbelieves
in the taghut and believes in Allah, then surely
they have grasped the firm handhold which will
never break. And Allah is All-Hearing,
All-Knowing. Allah is the Protecting Guardian
of those who believe. He brings them out of
the darkness into the light. And those who
disbelieve, their guardians are the taghut.
They bring them out of the light into
the darkness...
- Surah al-Baqarah, 2:256-257
And be Allah-conscious of the trial which
will not befall exclusively on those who do
wrong among you. And know that Allah
is severe in retribution.
- Surah al-Anfal, 8:25
Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, who was martyred along with his sister Amina al-Sadr Bint al-Huda in 1980 by the murderous tyrant Saddam al-Tikriti of Iraq, writes in Trends of History in Qur’an:
When as a result of their misconduct [the] Israelites were doomed
to roaming about in the desert, this punishment did not remain
confined to the wicked. It equally affected Prophet Musa
[peace be upon him], who was the most pure and active
person of his time and who most courageously had faced
the tyrant and his tyranny. Prophet Musa [peace be upon
him] being a member of the community had to share
the chastisement inflicted on the community as a whole
for its wickedness. Consequently he also had to wander
about in the desert for 40 years along with [the] other Israelites.
Where as a result of their deviation from the right path the
Muslims were afflicted with a calamity and Yazid ibn
Mu’awiyah was imposed on them to ride roughshod over
their lives, property, honour and creed, it [was] not the
wrongdoers among the Muslim society alone who suffered.
Even the infallible Imam Husayn [peace be upon him],
the grandson of the Holy Prophet [peace be upon him
and his family], who was the most virtuous and the most
upright person on the face of the earth, was killed along
with his companions and the members of his family.
All this was in consonance with the logic of the norms
of history. When a punishment in this world comes
to a society in accordance with the norms of history,
it does not remain confined to the unjust of that society.
Find out who your Mu’awiya and Yazid are today and fight against them. Find out who the Great Shaitan is. Stand on the side of truth and justice! Stand up for Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala! Be like Imam Ali, peace be upon him, who said: “What is important to me is to establish some truth or to destroy some falsehood.” Do everything fi sabil Allah!
There is no power except by Allah.
- Surah al-Kahf, 18:39
‘Allah is sufficient for us!
And He is the Most Excellent Guardian!’
- Surah Ale-Imran, 3:173
Resources
Ayatullah al-Sadr, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir. Trends of History in Qur’an. Islamic Seminary Publications. Accessed from Al-Islam.org @ https://www.al-islam.org/trends-history-quran-muhammad-baqir-al-sadr/norms-history-mentioned-quran
Ayatullah al-Sadr, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir. Trends of History in Qur’an. Islamic Seminary Publications. Accessed from Al-Islam.org @ https://www.al-islam.org/trends-history-quran-muhammad-baqir-al-sadr/ayatullahs-heart-to-heart-talk-religious-scholars
“Country.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/country