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Why Is A Suicide Bomber Not Guided By God?
It is understood that only Allah will decide if a person will go to heaven or hell. Still, Allah tells us that those who commit suicide or kill innocent will go to hell.
Furthermore, Allah promises numerous times that he will guide belivers and those who sincerely ask for his guidance.
In this case an illiterate but sincere Muslim with an extremely strong belief, so much so that he is willing to give his life for Allah, who perhaps has been misguided by a religious leader. Why such person commits suicide and kills several innocent people?
Why Allah didn’t guide him to the right path?
Based on the understanding of Quran, will the person go to heaven or hell? Please explain why?
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24 Replies
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Why Is A Suicide Bomber Not Guided By God?
updated 3 years, 8 months ago
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24
Replies
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Please refer to the following:
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Faisal, it doesn’t seem to answer my question. Why Allah didn’t guide that person to a good scholar to guide him to the straight path. Why that person fell into the guidance of evil who convinced him that suicide and killing innocent people will earn him Junnah?
The premise that our nature tells us right from wrong is not correct or proven by any reluable research. Also I believe in Quran Allah says that the concept of one god is put into human nature. I do not remember Quran stating that concept of right or wrong is built into human nature. Even if it is, the evil was successful in misgiding the person to believe that suicide and killing innocent will earn him Junnah. Why Allah did not help his believer?
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Did you watch the videos in their entirety?
Quran verse 91:8 tells us that the guidance to distinguish between good and evil is innate in every human being. Quran verse 30:30 further elaborates that this guidance can’t be corrupted. It also commands us to act in accordance with this guidance.
That said, the videos I shared with you in the above discussion are about Quran’s law of guidance – not fitrah.
I did answer the question why apparently God doesn’t guide people. It’s because people themselves are not ready to pay the price. They want to cling to their own beliefs. Further details are in the videos.
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Thank you Faisal, I am clear now with your answer as to your approach.
I believe in Quran and believe it is a book of Allah and it can never be wrong, but we can be wrong in understanding it.
Both the translations of 91:8 and 30:30 are correct but based on my experience being on both sides, I can attest to it that I was always a humble person and I did not feel my inner consciousness of one god, neither anyone else I knew who were non-Muslims. My understandng of right or wrong came from my culture and it was different from other people from other cultures. I can attest to it that this info is not built in. There is no study out there confirming this either. I am sure we are misunderstanding these verses.
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Morality is universal – it doesn’t change in time and space. It’s not a learned behavior that peace, justice, and freedom are positive values. Similarly, no one has to teach anyone that lying, stealing, and cheating are negative values. While there are various studies on morals – it really doesn’t require evidence from studies – it’s something that we have empirical evidence for. What you might be referring to is ethics, which are based on morals but do vary in time and space.
Humility is not the only attribute required to initially discover that we and everything around us is created, hence the concept of a Creator. It also requires awareness and inquisition which might take different amounts of time for different people to develop. Everyone at some stage in life (generally around the age of maturity) start to wonder about existential questions, for example, what life really means, what’s their place in this universe, what will happen after they die, etc. These questions, if addressed, lead us to the realization of a Creator.
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I looked at all references, except for several hours of videos that seem to be off topic.
Is there any brief and summarized video or transcript that specifically describes who receives guidance, when receives guidance and how receives the guidance.
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This post contains a summarized version in text:
It also has the video lectures specific to this very topic. They’re only a couple of hours in length, and I highly recommend that you watch them in entirety. At one point I even raised a question similar to yours in one of the videos, and Ghamidi sahab’s response is included in the recording.
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Faisal, I went through all the references and videos, but it does not answer my question.
A suicide bomber meets all the requirements for guidance that Ghamidi Sahib stated, except the he is an illiterate person, who is being guided by an evil person. Why Allah didn’t guide the bomber to go to the right person for guidance?
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Just some thoughts on this:
I think such questions come “naturally” to us because we ask them from our human/worldly perspective. Quran tells us over and over that there is an eternal life after this (and this life is like one afternoon or less in comparison), there is a LOT more that we don’t know (and even stuff that we don’t even know that we don’t know).
With that in mind, everyone has their own circumstances and tests. And we are in no position to say how Allah will certainly judge them. We don’t even know how Allah will judge us, we just try to do the right thing and pray for His Rahmah!
We ask similar questions about why kids die of cancer, or why a poor kid died of hunger when Allah is “Rabb/sustainer”. The key is that we don’t know what their eternal life would be like. The poor kid who died of hunger in this world may be MUCH better off than the rich folks who dint come to help etc
So whether Allah guided someone or not, we don’t know. We dont know what the person actually went through internally. Its a test for them and indirectly a test for the society. We know He is Al-Rahmaan, His Justice and his Sunnah as described in Quran. We know we cannot comprehend his Hikmat. We need to educate ourselves and then try to help others with the same. As Ustadh Ghamidi points out, True knowledge includes knowing your own limits and the acknowledgement that you cannot know everything.
Allah Knows Best.
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Between this discussion and the previous one (referenced below) I thought that I have already answered your question and shared the appropriate resources. Let me attempt again:
According to the law, first the person has to appreciate the guidance that he has already been given. Then not only that he has to sincerely ask for further guidance, but he also has to patiently work towards it. When such guidance comes his way, he has to rise above his ego, fears, and emotions to accept it. This is extremely hard. Once he accepts it, he has to show appreciation for what he has received thus far, and continue to sincerely ask for more and patiently work towards it. This way the cycle continues till his last breath, and there’s a chance of stumbling and falling at any point.
Why a bomber is not guided has nothing to do with his illiteracy. The knowledge of good and evil is universal, and inherent in every human being. The person who unjustly kills others, even if illiterate, is not innocent. He inherently knows that killing others is wrong. However, he ignores his innate nature and gives into his emotions in order to carry out the killings.
For reference, here’s our previous discussion:
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I totally agree with brother Imran and I believe in exactly what you stated. I am just curious to see if someone has come up with an answer yet?
Perhaps my thought pattern is different, so what brother Faisal mentioned, I understand but it doesn’t seem to answer the question. To me it is a list of requirements for guidance and who is a better believer and devoted to Allah but the person willing to give his life.
Seems like brother Faisal is stating that the bomber knew what he is doing is wrong and he still did it. That does not make sense. The person who committed suicide belived that he is participating in Jihad and will go streight to Junnah. His belief is no different than those who go to a ligitimate Jihad and die.
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Brother Faisal’s answer is the scholarly answer and it does make sense and I believe he has answered the principle behind the question – I just shared my layman thoughts. Brother Faisal is stating the “Just” nature of Allah and the usool/conditions on which He guides. Allah says over and over even for the nations He destroys after itmam-hujjat – “Un per zarra barabar bhi zulm nahi kiya jaata”.
So brother Faisal is giving you the usool of how one properly presents oneself to Allah for guidance, the guidance is still in His hands according to His will/scheme or test/hikmat and He alone knows everything that goes in the heart. That’s why we are better off not to judge… and focus on ourselves first, then do as much good as we can for others.
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On the flip side, some people do things thinking they are out of divine guidance. Last year a young man killed an elderly man in Pakistan (who allegedly claimed prophethood if I am not mistaken and he seemed to be having mental health issues). The killer’s explanation was that our Prophet PBUH came in his dream and told him to do so – and even gave him the gun to do so.
So yeah, we just need to read and understand Quran. May Allah protect us all from severe tests.
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No, I did not say that the bomber knows what he’s doing is wrong and he still does it. For some, that could very well be the case. For others, the doors for guidance might have already been closed because they repeatedly ignored the guidance that was given to them. Yet others might not have sought guidance at all, not used their resources to get it, not be patient about it, given into pressure from others or their own emotions and desires, or any other such reasons.
Every individual case is different so we can’t generalize. However, God’s law of guidance is the same for everyone and it doesn’t change. On that basis we can say with complete certainty that there’s no one who unjustly kills while still being innocent. The only exception is if someone kills another human being by mistake.
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I agree with Ghamidi Sahib’s and Brother Faisal’s cycle of guidance and wholeheartedly agree with brother Imran.
There may be a different explanation to the question I posed.
Let me state this first that a suicide trainer claimed on camera with conviction that he can turn anyone to be a suicide bomber in 30 minutes.
So, basically like hypnosis somehow he disabled a person’s soul. In such case the suicide bomber is not doing the act, but body only. The soul inside that person may not be held responsible. The act of suicide bombing may be part of Allah’s will and test for others.
This is just as somewhere in Quran it states about how people misguide innocent and illiterate people, calling it a word of Allah when it is not.
Anyhow, the possibilities that brother Faisal stated can be true too. We just don’t know.
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Of course my response did not account for hypnosis, being drugged, insanity, etc. since in those cases one is not able to exercise their free will so there’s no question of guidance or misguidance.
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Continuing on the topic of guidance. Let me share my experience before I ask the question. I feel like guidance is not an ongoing linear process.
Here is the process I noticed
1. Being mature (around 40), humble, sincere and receptive
2. Seeking for answers about our creation. Looking for a creator who created us and the universe
Just the above two seem sufficient to have guidance started. The culmination of guidance seems to be Allah creating an opportunity for a person to read Quran with meaning. It felt like suddenly I understood everything and all the questions are answered.
In comparison to that feeling, everything else that we discuss on various forums feels like insignificant details that add very little.
I do not see what is next. Is there another chapter? What would be next?
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Every person’s case might be different, so I can speak only in general terms. In general, the person’s beliefs will continue to get challenged. This can happen from within or without. Situations might arise where the person shall be tested with varying degrees of strength. As the person continues to prove himself by denying his own desires and emotions in favor of the truth, he can be granted more opportunities to learn and get closer to the truth. Sincerely seeking guidance, continued contemplation and effort to address own shortcomings, and self accountability are some of the tools that prove very helpful. In general the deeper we know our own selves the closer we get to the truth. Seeking truth is a lifelong journey, not an event.
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You are right Faisal, once in a while belief gets challenged, but here is a thought process I go through that helps me get back on track. It might be helpful to someone else too.
1. It completely doesn’t make sense that all this universe came to existenace by itself and we we will die and be nothing. It is not possible that all that we are going through in this life is meaningless. Whatever force created the universe is god. So aetheism is out naturally.
2. Now if you look into all other religions and you will find that nothing makes sense in comparison to Islam. Not even a single religion has an authentic book, let alone a book that could provide a better evidence than Quran that it is from god. So the best choice remains to be Islam.
3. What if Islam is not the truth, Quran is not a book from god. There is nothing that can prove with 100% certainty that it is all true. What then?
Well, when such thoughts and uncertainty creeps in my mind I think this way…
Let’s use analogy of insurance for a valuable item. More specifically, let’s take an example of fire insurance of a property. Most of the properties never burn, but since monthly payment for insurance premium is low enough, we buy fire insurance just in case the property is destroyed by fire.
Similarly, since the insurance premium to avoid eternal hell fire is so low that it doesn’t make sense not to pay. In fact the insurance premium is unimaginably low. It just requires believing in one god to avoid eternal hell fire. If you decide to pay a slightly higher premium and avoid hurting any soul physically , financially and psychologically, it is possible to avoid hell fire altogether and go to Junnah streight. Beyond this if you continue to pay higher and higher premium by helping poor (zakat) and perform prayer and fasting, there is a good chance a person may earn better and better quality Junnah.
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It’s perfectly fine to think in those terms.
As for #3 I can tell you that once one starts to understand the Quran from the same perspective that it presents itself from, then it doesn’t allow any wiggle room whatsoever. It makes it’s argument in a way that takes us to the same level of certainty as we have for our own existence.
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They really arent sinsere, they just follow the emotions of there leaders like you said the “imams”. They might not be aware of it, but are you going to say god isnt, ofc god knows. cmon man
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Sorry brother Anis. I can’t understand your messager, especially this part
“They might not be aware of it, but are you going to say god isnt, ofc god knows. cmon man”
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im answering this part….
“In this case an illiterate but sincere Muslim with an extremely strong belief, so much so that he is willing to give his life for Allah, who perhaps has been misguided by a religious leader. Why such person commits suicide and kills several innocent people?”
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Brother Anis, it is the texting slang that I can’t figure out. If you please restate the last 2 sentenses, I would appreciate.
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