It Is Essential To Respond To Those Who
Defame The Prophet (Peace And Blessings Of Allaah Be
Upon Him)
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
There is no one among us who is unaware of what
the Christians say defaming the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), and we are not
unaware either of the gheerah (protective jealousy) of
the young men of the Muslim ummah towards their
religion and their Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). Is it permissible to respond to
those who defame the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) by insulting the speaker, knowing
that I insulted one of them and some of my relatives
advised me not to do that again, because it will make
them defame and mock him even more, so their sin will
be on me?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Defaming the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) is a kind of kufr. If that is done by a
Muslim then it is apostasy on his part, and the
authorities have to defend the cause of Allaah and His
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
by executing the one who defamed him. If the one who
defamed him repents openly and is sincere, that will
benefit him before Allaah, although his repentance
does not waive the punishment for defaming the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is
execution.
If the person who defames him is a non-Muslim living
under a treaty with the Muslim state, then this is a
violation of the treaty and he must be executed, but
that should be left to the authorities. If a Muslim
hears a Christian or anyone else defaming the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) he has to
denounce him in strong terms. It is permissible to
insult that person because he is the one who started
it. How can we not stand up the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)? It is also
obligatory to report him to the authorities who can
carry out the punishment on him. If there is no one
who can carry out the hadd punishment of Allaah and
stand up for the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) then the Muslim has to do whatever
he can, so long as that will not lead to further
mischief and harm against other people. But if a
Muslim hears a kaafir defaming the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he keeps quiet
and does not respond for fear that this person may
then defame him even more, this is mistaken thinking.
With regard to the verse (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship
besides Allaah, lest they insult Allaah wrongfully
without knowledge"
[al-An'aam 6:108],
this does not apply in cases where they defame Allaah
and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) first. Rather what is meant is that it is
forbidden to insult the gods of the mushrikeen first,
lest they insult Allaah out of ignorance and enmity on
their part. But if they insult Allaah and His
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
first, then we must respond and punish them so as
deter them from their kufr and enmity. If we leave the
kuffaar and atheists to say whatever they want without
denouncing it or punishing them, great mischief will
result, which is something that these kuffaar love. No
attention should be paid to the one who says that
insulting or responding to insults will make him more
stubborn. The Muslim has to have a sense of protective
jealousy and get angry for the sake of Allaah and His
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Whoever hears the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) being insulted and does not feel
any protective jealousy or get angry is not a true
believer – we seek refuge with Allaah from humility,
kufr and obeying the Shaytaan.
And Allaah knows best.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Barraak, Majallat al-Da'wah,
Muharram, issue no. 1933.
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