(Series of Answers by the Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to his Facebook Page)
To: Muneeb Shere
Question:
I am one of the youth of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Pakistan. I have received some knowledge of ijtihad, such as Arabic and Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence). I have studied Usul from your book. Once, in our environment, one of the brothers asked about the "electric racquet"—is it permissible to use it to kill insects? My supervisor asked me to conduct research on this issue to apply what I have learned, and to send the issue to the party as well. The details of my research and its results are in the file attached to this message.
After a while, the party answered, and the answer was contrary to the result of my research. I hope you will be kind enough to look at my research and inform me of your opinion on it and where the error in deduction lies according to the Usul and other matters... and may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
I have reviewed the research, and I have three observations:
1- First, you have a keen interest and concern for the deduction of rulings. Your research method is good, as you study the evidences and deduce the ruling from them according to our method in Usul... This is a promising matter, and I pray to Allah (swt) for your help and success.
2- The tahqiq al-manat (verification of the case) regarding burning was not exhaustive. You distinguished between burning by fire and burning by electricity, even though the issue is the same. Lighting wood creates heat that leads to burning in a certain way, and connecting electricity creates heat that leads to burning in a certain way. Therefore, what applies to burning by fire applies to burning by electricity.
3- In your review of killing insects by burning them with electricity, you concluded that the killing of the insect occurs before it is burned by electricity. You said: "The cause of combustion is the flow of electricity in the insect's body, which generates heat... that heat causes the insect's body to burn... so the insect dies from the flow of electricity, not from the combustion, as the combustion occurs after the insect's death." This means that the burning of the insect occurred while it was dead... This, my brother, is questionable and requires deeper research from specialists. The insect was shocked by electricity and burned; it was alive and not dead, and then when it was shocked by electricity, it became dead and burned. So why the claim that the insect died by electric shock and then was burned by electricity afterward? The insect was found dead and burned after being shocked by electricity by the electric racquet. We need the opinion of specialized experts regarding the cause of death of insects by the electric racquet: is it burning by electricity, in which case the texts regarding the prohibition of burning living beings apply to it, or was the burning done after the death of the insect? Based on this tahqiq al-manat, the Shari'ah ruling can be given.
4- The evidences for the prohibition of killing by burning are explicit. Among these evidences:
Al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurayrah (ra) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) sent us on an expedition and said:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ: بَعَثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي بَعْثٍ فَقَالَ: «إِنْ وَجَدْتُمْ فُلاَنًا وَفُلاَنًا فَأَحْرِقُوهُمَا بِالنَّارِ»، ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عليه الصلاة والسلام حِينَ أَرَدْنَا الخُرُوجَ: «إِنِّي أَمَرْتُكُمْ أَنْ تُحْرِقُوا فُلاَنًا وَفُلاَنًا، وَإِنَّ النَّارَ لاَ يُعَذِّبُ بِهَا إِلَّا اللَّهُ، فَإِنْ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمَا فَاقْتُلُوهُمَا»
"If you find so-and-so and so-and-so, then burn them both with fire." Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) said when we were about to depart: "I had ordered you to burn so-and-so and so-and-so, but indeed fire—none punishes with it except Allah. So if you find them, kill them." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from Abu Hurayrah:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: بَعَثَنَا رَسُولُ اللهِ عليه الصلاة والسلام فِي بَعْثٍ، فَقَالَ: «إِنْ وَجَدْتُمْ فُلَانًا وَفُلَانًا لِرَجُلَيْنِ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ فَأَحْرِقُوهُمَا بِالنَّارِ». ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ عليه الصلاة والسلام حِينَ أَرَدْنَا الْخُرُوجَ: «إِنِّي كُنْتُ أَمَرْتُكُمْ أَنْ تُحْرِقُوا فُلَانًا وَفُلَانًا بِالنَّارِ، وَإِنَّ النَّارَ لَا يُعَذِّبُ بِهَا إِلَّا اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَإِنْ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمَا فَاقْتُلُوهُمَا»
"The Messenger of Allah (saw) sent us on an expedition and said: 'If you find so-and-so and so-and-so'—referring to two men from Quraish—'then burn them both with fire.' Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) said when we were about to depart: 'I had ordered you to burn so-and-so and so-and-so with fire, but indeed fire—none punishes with it except Allah (azj). So if you find them, kill them.'" (Musnad Ahmad)
Thus, burning living beings with fire is haram (prohibited). It is general and not restricted to humans; therefore, it covers every creature. The Shari'ah ruling is the prohibition of torture by fire and killing by fire, and everything that carries the same meaning, such as torture by electricity or killing by electricity.
5- As for the hadith you mentioned, from which you understood that killing and burning with fire is makruh (disliked) and not haram based on the phrase "I feel shy before Allah," this deduction is outweighed (marjuh) because the Messenger (saw) says after it: "No one should punish with the punishment of Allah." This is the text of the hadith:
Sa'id bin Mansur narrated in his Sunan from Ibn Abi Najih:
عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي نَجِيحٍ، قال: (... فَبَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عليه الصلاة والسلام سَرِيَّةً، فَقَالَ: «إِنْ وَجَدْتُمُوهُ فَاجْعَلُوهُ بَيْنَ حِزْمَتَيْ حَطَبٍ، ثُمَّ أَشْعِلُوا فِيهِ النَّارَ» ثُمَّ قَالَ: «إِنِّي لَأَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ اللَّهِ لَا يَنْبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ أَنْ يُعَذِّبَ بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ...»)
"...The Messenger of Allah (saw) sent a military detachment and said: 'If you find him, place him between two bundles of wood, then light the fire on him.' Then he said: 'I feel shy before Allah; no one should punish with the punishment of Allah...'" As you can see, the Messenger (saw), after saying "I feel shy before Allah," said: "No one should punish with the punishment of Allah." When this is combined with the hadith of Al-Bukhari, it becomes clear that torture and killing by fire is haram.
The conclusion is that the Shari'ah ruling depends on the tahqiq al-manat of killing with the "electric racquet" to know if it kills insects by burning, or if the burning occurs after the insect is hit ("shocked") and then dies, and subsequently electricity flows through its body and burns it. This requires more research from specialists, and based on that, the Shari'ah ruling is deduced.
I repeat what I began my letter with: "You have a keen interest and concern for the deduction of rulings. Your research method is good, as you study the evidences and deduce the ruling from them according to our method in Usul... This is a promising matter, and I pray to Allah (swt) for your help and success."
Your Brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
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