The Youth Asks “What is Holocaust Memorial Day?”
In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.
Allaah [The Exalted] said:
وَٱتۡلُ عَلَيۡہِمۡ نَبَأَ ٱبۡنَىۡ ءَادَمَ بِٱلۡحَقِّ إِذۡ قَرَّبَا قُرۡبَانً۬ا فَتُقُبِّلَ مِنۡ أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمۡ يُتَقَبَّلۡ مِنَ ٱلۡأَخَرِ قَالَ لَأَقۡتُلَنَّكَۖ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلۡمُتَّقِينَ
لَٮِٕنۢ بَسَطتَ إِلَىَّ يَدَكَ لِتَقۡتُلَنِى مَآ أَنَا۟ بِبَاسِطٍ۬ يَدِىَ إِلَيۡكَ لِأَقۡتُلَكَۖ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ ٱللَّهَ رَبَّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ
إِنِّىٓ أُرِيدُ أَن تَبُوٓأَ بِإِثۡمِى وَإِثۡمِكَ فَتَكُونَ مِنۡ أَصۡحَـٰبِ ٱلنَّارِۚ وَذَٲلِكَ جَزَٲٓؤُاْ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
فَطَوَّعَتۡ لَهُ ۥ نَفۡسُهُ ۥ قَتۡلَ أَخِيهِ فَقَتَلَهُ ۥ فَأَصۡبَحَ مِنَ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرِينَ
فَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ غُرَابً۬ا يَبۡحَثُ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ لِيُرِيَهُ ۥ كَيۡفَ يُوَٲرِى سَوۡءَةَ أَخِيهِۚ قَالَ يَـٰوَيۡلَتَىٰٓ أَعَجَزۡتُ أَنۡ أَكُونَ مِثۡلَ هَـٰذَا ٱلۡغُرَابِ فَأُوَٲرِىَ سَوۡءَةَ أَخِىۖ فَأَصۡبَحَ مِنَ ٱلنَّـٰدِمِينَ
مِنۡ أَجۡلِ ذَٲلِكَ ڪَتَبۡنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُ ۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفۡسَۢا بِغَيۡرِ نَفۡسٍ أَوۡ فَسَادٍ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَڪَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعً۬ا وَمَنۡ أَحۡيَاهَا فَڪَأَنَّمَآ أَحۡيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعً۬اۚ وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَتۡهُمۡ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرً۬ا مِّنۡهُم بَعۡدَ ذَٲلِكَ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ لَمُسۡرِفُونَ
And (O Muhammad ) recite to them (the Jews) the story of the two sons of Adam [Habil (Abel) and Qabil (Cain)] in truth; when each offered a sacrifice (to Allah), it was accepted from the one but not from the other. The latter said to the former: “I will surely kill you. ” The former said: “Verily, Allah accepts only from those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious). If you do stretch your hand against me to kill me, I shall never stretch my hand against you to kill you, for I fear Allah; the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns, and all that exists). Verily, I intend to let you draw my sin on yourself as well as yours, then you will be one of the dwellers of the Fire, and that is the recompense of the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers).” So the Nafs (self) of the other (latter one) encouraged him and made fair-seeming to him the murder of his brother; he murdered him and became one of the losers. Then Allah sent a crow who scratched the ground to show him to hide the dead body of his brother. He (the murderer) said: “Woe to me! Am I not even able to be as this crow and to hide the dead body of my brother?” Then he became one of those who regretted. Because of that We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind. And indeed, there came to them Our Messengers with clear proofs, evidences, and signs, even then after that many of them continued to exceed the limits (e.g. by doing oppression unjustly and exceeding beyond the limits set by Allah by committing the major sins) in the land! [Surah Al-Maa’idah. Aayaat 27-32]
Firstly, it is very clear from the above Aayaat that killing even a single human being without justification is a mighty crime in the sight of Allaah, as Allaah stated:
[مَن قَتَلَ نَفۡسَۢا بِغَيۡرِ نَفۡسٍ أَوۡ فَسَادٍ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَڪَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعً۬ا وَمَنۡ أَحۡيَاهَا فَڪَأَنَّمَآ أَحۡيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعً۬اۚ – if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind].
Secondly, the infallible Sharee’ah has not legislated any national or international days of mourning or memorial in Islam for any individual, group, nation, race, tribe or clan. Imaam Abdul Azeez Bin Baaz [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said, “Indeed, it has become the custom of many Islamic countries in this era to specify – by way of an order- a period of three days of mourning, or less or more, for the kings and leaders together with the cessation (of work) in government departments and flags flown at half-mast. There is no doubt that this act is contrary to Muhammad’s Sharee’ah, and it contains an imitation of the enemies of Islam. (see footnote a) It has been reported in the authentic hadiths – transmitted from Allaah’s Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] – that prohibit specifying days of mourning and cautioning against it, except in the case of a wife, because she mourns her husband for four months and ten days. As for other than this in relation to specifying days of mourning, it is not allowed by the Sharee’ah, and there is nothing in the perfected Sharee’ah that allows it to be done for a king, leader, or other than them.
Indeed, during the lifetime of the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him], his son Ibrahim, his three daughters and other individuals died, but he did not specify days of mourning for them. During his time, leaders were killed, but he did not specify days of mourning for them, such as Zaid Bin Haritha, Jafar Bin Abi Talib and Abdullah Bin Rawahah.
Then the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] died- and he was the most honorable of the creation, the best of the Prophets, the master of the children of Adam, and the calamity that afflicts humankind because of his death is the greatest of calamities, but the Companions did not specify days of mourning for him. (see footnote b). Then Abu Bakr As-Siddiq died – and he is the best of the Companions, and the most honorable of creation after the Prophets, but days of mourning were not specified for him. Then Umar, Uthman and Ali were killed, and they are the best of creation after the Prophets and after Abu Bakr, but days of mourning were not specified for them. And likewise, all the Prophet’s companions passed away, but days of mourning were not specified for them. The Imaams of Islaam and the leaders of guidance amongst the scholars of the Taabi’een and those after them died, such as Sa’eed Ibn al-Musayyib, Ali Ibn Al-Husayn Zain Al-Aabideen and his son Muhammad Bin Ali, Umar Bin Abdil Azeez, Az-Zuhree, Imaam Abu Haneefah and his two companions, Imaam Maalik Bin Anas, Al-Awzaa’ee, Ath-Thawree, Imaam Ash-Shaafi’ee, Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal, Ishaaq Ibn Rahaawayh and other than them amongst the Imaams of knowledge and guidance; but days of mourning were not specified for them.
If this was good, the righteous predecessors would have preceded in doing so, and all good is in following them, and all evil is in opposing them. The Sunnah of Allaah’s Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]-, which we have already mentioned- shows that what our righteous predecessors did by not specifying days of mourning for other than non-spouses is the truth and what is correct; and that what people do today by specifying days of mourning for kings and leaders is a matter that contradicts the pure Sunnah together with the many harms that it entails- the disruption of welfare and the imitation of the enemies of Islam. And due to this, one should know that what is obligated on the Muslim leaders and notables is to abandon specifying days of mourning and follow the path of our righteous predecessors – the Companions of the Prophet and those who followed their path. It is incumbent upon the people of knowledge to warn people of this, notify them and acquaint them with this, in fulfilment of the duty of advice, cooperation upon righteousness and piety. (1)
The Ruling On Minutes Silence – By The Scholars of Lajnah Daa’iamah
What some people do by standing for a while in silence – in order to pay homage to martyrs or dignitaries, or people of status, or to honor and show respect to their souls and specify mourning for them – is one of the evils and the initiated innovations in religious affairs, which was neither present in the Prophet’s era [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] nor during the era of the companions, nor during the era of the righteous predecessors. It is not in agreement with the etiquettes of pure Islamic Monotheism and sincerity in exalting Allaah; but rather some of the Muslims who are ignorant about their religion follow those – amongst the unbelievers – who innovated it, blindly follow them in their customs, exaggeration of the status of their leaders and notables -whether dead or alive. Indeed, the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] forbade us from imitating them. (see footnote c) And what is known in Islam from the rights of its adherents is to supplicate for the dead Muslims, give alms on their behalf, mention their virtues and refrain from speaking ill of them (see footnote d), and many of the etiquettes which Islam has clarified, urge the Muslim to observe them, whilst dealing with his brothers, living and dead; but it does not include standing in mourning with silence in order to pay homage to the martyrs or dignitaries; rather this is from that which the principles of Islam reject. (2)
Thirdly, there is no doubt that Hitler and the vile Nazis were violent oppressors who committed atrocities against Jews between 1941 and 1945. Likewise, between 1945 and 1962 the violent colonialists of France oppressed the Algerians. Oppression and tyrany is something well known in history.
Some Violent Oppressors
The Tyrants of Aad
Allaah [The Exalted] stated that Prophet Hud [peace be upon him] said to his people: [وَإِذَا بَطَشۡتُم بَطَشۡتُمۡ جَبَّارِينَ – And when you seize, seize you as tyrants]– Meaning, when you want to attack with a whip or sword, you attack like tyrants, completely overpowering and being savagely violent – neither compassionate nor aim to discipline (within justice as commanded by Allaah), nor contemplating on the consequences. (3) Allaah gave them great strength and it was obligated on them to use this strength in obedience to Allaah, but they became boastful and haughty, and they said: [مَنۡ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةًۖ – Who is mightier than us in strength? (Surah Fussilat. Verse 15]; and they utilized their strength in disobedience to Allaah, fruitlessly and foolishly, so their Prophet forbade them from that. (4) Their Prophet forbade them from that because it was done out of oppression. (5)
Fir’awn and His Blind Followers Murdered The Sons of Banee Israa’eel
Allaah [The Exalted] said:
إِنَّ فِرۡعَوۡنَ عَلَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهۡلَهَا شِيَعً۬ا يَسۡتَضۡعِفُ طَآٮِٕفَةً۬ مِّنۡہُمۡ يُذَبِّحُ أَبۡنَآءَهُمۡ وَيَسۡتَحۡىِۦ نِسَآءَهُمۡۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدِينَ
Verily, Fir’aun (Pharaoh) exalted himself in the land and made its people sects, weakening (oppressing) a group (i.e. Children of Israel) among them, killing their sons, and letting their females live. Verily, he was of the Mufsideen [i.e. those who commit great sins and crimes, oppressors, tyrants, etc.] [Surah Al-Qasas. Aayah 4]
The Believers Mentioned In Surah Al-Burooj Tortured By The Disbelievers and Their Tyrant King
Allaah [The Exalted] said:
قُتِلَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡأُخۡدُودِ
ٱلنَّارِ ذَاتِ ٱلۡوَقُودِ
إِذۡ هُمۡ عَلَيۡہَا قُعُودٌ۬
وَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفۡعَلُونَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ شُہُودٌ۬
وَمَا نَقَمُواْ مِنۡہُمۡ إِلَّآ أَن يُؤۡمِنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلۡعَزِيزِ ٱلۡحَمِيدِ
ٱلَّذِى لَهُ ۥ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ شَہِيدٌ
Cursed were the makers of the Ditch- the large ditch with the fire, given fuel (in abundance); when they sat around it, watching what they had (ordered to be done) to the believers, who they resented for no reason other than belief in Allah- The Almighty, the Praiseworthy, the One to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and earth. And Allah is a Witness over all things. [Surah Al-Burooj. Aayaat 4-9]
[قُتِلَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡأُخۡدُودِ – Cursed were the makers of the Ditch]: This is an invocation against them to be destroyed. The makers of the ditch were disbelievers and there lived amongst them believers, so they wanted to force the believers to accept their religion, but the believers refused. They dug a ditch in the ground, kindled fire in it, sat around it, oppressed the believers and exposed them to the fire; so whoever responded to their orders was released and whoever held onto their faith was casted in the fire. This is an intense act of waging war against Allaah and the believers, so Allah cursed, destroyed and promised them punishment, saying: [قُتِلَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡأُخۡدُودِ – Cursed were the makers of the ditch].
Then Allaah explained about the ditch and its makers, saying:
ٱلنَّارِ ذَاتِ ٱلۡوَقُودِ
إِذۡ هُمۡ عَلَيۡہَا قُعُودٌ۬
وَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفۡعَلُونَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ شُہُودٌ۬
The large ditch with the fire, given fuel (in abundance); when they sat around it, watching what they had (ordered to be done) to the believers.
This is one of the greatest types of despotism and hardheartedness, because they combined between their disbelief in Allaah’s signs and wilfully denied them, waging war against the believers, tortured them with this agonising torture and were present to witness the believers being casted in the fire. And reality is that they resented the believers for no reason other than a characteristic for which they are to be praised and through which depended their happiness (in this life and the next), which is that they were believers in Allaah -The Almighty, The Praiseworthy. (6)
Hajjaaj Bin Yusuf Ath-Thaqafee
After Abdullah Bin Zubayr [may allaah be pleased with him and his father] was murdered, Al-Hajjaaj sent someone to Asma [bint Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with her), Abdullah’s mother] to come to him, but she refused to come. He again sent the messenger to her with the message that she must come, otherwise he would bring her forcibly by dragging her by her hair, but she again refused and said: By Allah, I will not come to you until you send one to me who would drag me by pulling my hair. So, he said: Bring me my shoes. He put on his shoes and walked on quickly puffed up with vanity and pride until he came to her and said: How do you find what I have done with the enemy of Allah? She said: I find that you wronged him in this world, whereas he has ruined your afterlife. It has been conveyed to me that you used to call him (Abdullah B. Zubair) as the son of one having two belts. By Allah, I am indeed (a woman) of two belts. One is that with the help of which I used to suspend high the food of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and that of Abu Bakr (making it out of the reach) of animals and, so far as the second belt is concerned, that is the belt which no woman can dispense with. Verily Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) told us that in Thaqif, there would be born a great liar and great murderer. The liar we have seen, and as far as the murderer is concerned, I do not find anyone else besides you. He (Hajjaj) stood up and did not give any reply to her. [Saheeh Muslim 2545]
The Mongols Committed Genocide Against The Muslims
In the year 656 AH/1258 CE, Artughal’s son, Uthman, was born and it is to whom the Ottoman Empire was attributed. It was the year in which the Mongols, led by Hulagu, carried out a military expedition against Baghdad – the capital of the Ottoman Caliphate – which led to catastrophic events and great calamities. Imaam Ibn Katheer [may Allaah have mercy upon him] stated, “They (i.e. the Mongols) killed everyone they were able to kill, including men, women, boys, Shaikhs, the elderly and the young men. Many people entered the wells, the habitats of wild animals and the gutters, and they hid for days without appearing. A group of people would gather in the inns and shut the doors, but the Tartars either opened the doors by breaking them or setting them on fire; then they pursued the people who fled to the highest places and killed them on the rooftops until blood flowed in the alleys. Indeed to Allaah we belong and to Him we shall return! Likewise, in the local mosques and the big central mosques, no one escaped from them except the Jewish and Christian citizens of the Muslim land, and those who sought refuge with them”. (7)
Native Americans and Africans at The Hands of Colonialists
The 13 American colonies’ population grew from about 2,000 to 2.4 million between 1625 and 1775 while displacing Native Americans from eastern North America. After the colonies declared independence in 1776 from Great Britain and formed the US, the settlers started to move west, clashing with and eradicating the Apache, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chinook, Navajo and Sioux tribes. Some of the names today are sadly used for American warfare helicopters and ubiquitous sport utility vehicles. The national holiday, Thanksgiving, celebrated in November, is traced to the 1620s when European settlers invited Native Americans to a feast. The settlers later killed the population and gave thanks to God for allowing them to slaughter the “savages.” The surviving descendants of Native American tribes live in poverty on federally recognized Indian reservations across the US. Almost 100 million indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere have been killed or died prematurely because of the Europeans and their descendants in five centuries, according to David E. Stannard in his book, American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World. Around 12 million indigenous people died within present US geographical boundaries between 1492 and 1900, according to Russell Thornton in American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History since 1492. Despite having unalienable rights — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – as enshrined in the American Declaration of Independence, not all in the new colonies were considered equal. The colonies had a system of slavery, which European settlers carried as a practice into the Americas from the Old World, despite English Protestants praising themselves as Puritans. A conservative estimate of 35 million men, women and children were brought from Africa to the New World between the 16th and 19th centuries. Around 12.5 million of those brought to North America were used as free labor in fields and worked under grueling conditions, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. The systematic repression of Africans continues to the present day in the US government application of laws, health and education.
Colonialists and The Atlantic Slave Trade: By Shaikh Abu Khadeejah [may Allaah preserve him]: https://video.link/w/Qbaub https://video.link/w/lUZtb
Atomic bomb and Cold War coups: The US, along with allies in the UK and France, won World War II with the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany. But it was the end of the war that marked the American massacre against Imperial Japan in the Pacific and the advent of the atomic bomb. Japanese casualties were around 110,000 in the battle for Okinawa, the largest and bloodiest battle of the war. To end it all, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 that killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, according to the global civil society coalition International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. (8)
Colonialists In Australia: Professor Lyndall Ryan and her research team has found that there were at least 270 frontier massacres over 140 years of Australian history, as part of a state-sanctioned and organised attempts to eradicate First Nations people (3). For Ryan’s work, a massacre is defined as the deliberate killing of six or more defenceless people in one operation. If you investigate some of these massacres in depth you can see how systematic they were. Ryan’s work is in no means comprehensive as many massacres were not documented and many others covered up. Because of colonial genocidal actions like state-sanctioned massacres, the First Nations population went from an estimated 1-1.5 million before invasion to less than 100,000 by the early 1900s. (9)
Palestinians oppressed at present. Listen on this link:
https://soundcloud.com/salafi-publications/our-hearts-bleed-for-palestine-by-abu-hakeem-21052021?ref=twitter&p=a&c=0&si=d538397db5e346658a58b6097cafb9c6&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Finally, the Muslim is commanded to adhere to the Sharee’ah and not violate the blood or honour of anyone. Must read following articles:
The Life of the Muhammad in Madinah: Treaties, Conquests and his Death
https://abukhadeejah.com/the-life-of-the-muhammad-in-madinah-treaties-conquests-and-his-death/
Living With Non-Muslims In The West: With Fine Conduct
https://abukhadeejah.com/living-with-non-muslims-in-the-west-with-fine-conduct/
Alliance with the non-Muslims is of two types – misunderstanding this affair leads people astray: –
https://abukhadeejah.com/having-alliance-with-the-non-muslims-is-of-two-types-misunderstanding-this-affair-leads-people-astray/
Are Treaties With The Jews, the State of ‘Israel’ and other Non-Muslims Permitted? Is it Allegiance? Is it Apostasy?
https://abukhadeejah.com/treaties-with-the-non-muslims-do-they-necessitate-allegiance/
Greeting and Interacting with the Jews, Christians and Pagans ―Even if they are oppressive: https://abukhadeejah.com/how-to-conduct-oneself-with-the-jews-christians-others-even-if-they-be-tyrants/
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Footnote a: Muslim Identity, the Honour that Islam Brings and the Danger of Blindly Following Non-Muslim Cultures that Clash with Islam and the Sunnah: https://abukhadeejah.com/muslim-identity-honour-that-islam-brings-danger-of-following-non-muslim-culture/
Footnote c: Muslim Identity, the Honour that Islam Brings and the Danger of Blindly Following Non-Muslim Cultures that Clash with Islam and the Sunnah: https://abukhadeejah.com/muslim-identity-honour-that-islam-brings-danger-of-following-non-muslim-culture/
Footnote d: It Necessary to Mention The Names of The Misguided People – Whether Dead or Alife – If Required: https://salaficentre.com/2020/01/16/is-it-necessary-to-mention-the-names-of-the-deviants-when-refuting/
[Ref 2: Fataawa Lajnah Ad-Daa’imah. (Question Number 1674). 9/77-78]
[Ref 3:Roohul Ma’aanee by Imaam Vol 11. page 165. By Imaam al-Aloosee (may Allaah have mercy upon him)]
[Ref 4: Tafseer As-Sadi. By Imaam As-Sadi (may Allaah have mercy upon him)]
[Ref 5: Zaadul Maseer Fee Ilmit Tafseer. By Imaam Ibnul Jawzi (may allaah have mercy upon him)]
[Ref 6: An Excerpt from Tafseer As-Sadi. Slightly paraphrased]
[Ref 7 :An Excerpt from Ad-Dawlah Al-Uthmaaniyyah Awaamil An-Nuhood Wa Asbaab As-Suqoot. 44-45. slightly paraphrased]
[Ref 8: History records US genocide against Native Americans, Africans, massacres in Southeast Asia, Middle East – By Ovunc Kutlu 02.06.2021]
[Ref 9: https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/genocide-in-australia/ ]
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