20 Muharram 1423 AH
4 April 2002
Question: Are we allowed to buy items from Israeli sources,
even though this money may be used to help the Jewish "war
machine"?
Answer by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi:
It is Jihad to liberate the Islamic lands from those who attack
or conquer them. These are enemies of Islam. This Jihad is an
absolute obligation and a sacred duty; firstly on the people of
that land. If the Muslims of that land can't offer
sufficientresistance, then Muslims of neighboring countries are
obliged to assist. If this is still not sufficient then all the
Muslims of the world must assist.
Palestine is the land of the first Qiblah of the Muslims, the
land of Isra' and Mi`raj, the land of Al-Aqsa and the blessed
territory. The conquerors are those with the greatest enmity to
the believers, and they are supported by the strongest state on
earth - the USA, and by the world Jewish community.
Jihad is obligatory against those who take land and expel the
inhabitants, spill the blood, violate the honor, destroy the
houses, burn the fields, and corrupt the land. Jihad is the first
obligation of all obligations, and the first duty of the Ummah.
Muslims are commanded to do this, first those from the land in
question, after that their neighbors, and finally all Muslims. We
must all be united against the aggressors. We are united in Islam,
including unity of belief in the Shari`ah, unity of belief in the
Qiblah, and also united in pain and hope. As Allah Almighty says:
"Verily this Ummah of yours is one Ummah." (Qur'an, 21:92). Allah
Almighty also says: "Surely the believers are a single
brotherhood." (Qur'an, 49:10). There is a Hadith of the Prophet,
peace and blessings be upon him, that states: "The Muslim is the
brother to the Muslim, he can't oppress him, he can't give him up,
he can't let him down." [Transmitted by Muslim].
Now we see our brothers and children in Al-Aqsa and the blessed
land of Palestine generously sacrificing their blood, giving their
souls willingly in the way of Allah. All Muslims must help them
with whatever power they have. (See the Noble Qur'an, 8:72).
If people ask in the name of religion we must help them. The
vehicle of this support is a complete boycott of the enemies'
goods. Each riyal, dirham …etc. used to buy their goods eventually
becomes bullets to be fired at the hearts of brothers and children
in Palestine. For this reason, it is an obligation not to help
them (the enemies of Islam) by buying their goods. To buy their
goods is to support tyranny, oppression and aggression. Buying
goods from them will strengthen them; our duty is to make them as
weak as we can. Our obligation is to strengthen our resisting
brothers in the Sacred Land as much as we can. If we cannot
strengthen the brothers, we have a duty to make the enemy weak. If
their weakness cannot be achieved except by boycott, we must
boycott them.
American goods, exactly like "Israeli" goods, are forbidden. It
is also forbidden to advertise these goods. America today is a
second Israel. It totally supports the Zionist entity. The usurper
could not do this without the support of America. "Israel's"
unjustified destruction and vandalism of everything has been using
American money, American weapons, and the American veto. America
has done this for decades without suffering the consequences of
any punishment or protests about their oppressive and prejudiced
position from the Islamic world.
The time has come for the Islamic Ummah to say "NO" to America,
"NO" to its companies, and "NO" to its goods, which swamp our
markets. We are eating, drinking, wearing and riding whatever
America produces.
We must all be united
against the aggressors. We are united in Islam, including
unity of belief in the Shari`ah, unity of belief in the
Qiblah, and also united in pain and hope. As Allah
Almighty says: "Verily this Ummah of yours is one Ummah."
(Qur'an, 21:92).
|
`Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "You have three
enemies; your enemy, the friend of your enemy, and the enemy of
your friend". The USA today is more than friends to our enemy;
they would destroy themselves for Israel. The world wide Muslim
Ummah numbering 1.3 billion, could cause pain to the USA and its
companies by boycotting them. This is an obligation of our
religion, and the way of Allah. Every Muslim that buys "Israeli"
or American goods, when there is an alternative from other
countries is committing a haram act. They are clearly committing a
major sin, which is a crime against Allah's law, which invokes
punishment from Allah, and the contempt of the people.
Our brothers in "Israel" and America are forced to deal with
them and buy their products. Allah does not ask you to do what you
can't do; only what you can.
Allah says: "Fear Allah as much as you are able." (Qur'an,
64:16).
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "If I order
you to do something, do however much you can". Muslims in America
must work with companies who are least hostile to Muslims, least
allied to the Zionists. Boycott Zionist companies as much as you
can.
Arabs and Muslims must boycott all companies that are biased
towards Zionism and support Israel, whatever the national origin
of that company (e.g. Marks and Spencer), and anyone like this who
supports the Zionists and helps the "Israeli" state. The boycott
is a very sharp weapon, used in the past and recently. It was used
by the pagans in Makkah against the Prophet Muhammad, peace and
blessings be upon him, and his companions. It caused great harm to
them; they even had to eat leaves. It was also used by companions
of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to fight against
the pagans in Madinah. In recent times we saw nations use boycotts
in their struggle for the liberation from colonialism. A famous
example is Gandhi who asked the vast Indian nation to boycott
English goods, which was very effective. A boycott is in the hands
of the nation and masses alone. Governments can't force people to
buy goods from a particular country. Let us use this weapon to
resist our national and religious enemy, and make them know we are
still alive, and that this Ummah will not die, God willing. The
boycott has many different effects; it renews the education of the
Ummah in how to liberate themselves from enslavement to other
people's taste. They encourage us to be addicted to these things
of no benefit, indeed they cause us harm. The boycott is a
demonstration of Muslim brotherhood and unity of the Ummah. It is
our duty to say we are not going to betray our brothers, who make
sacrifices every day. We will not participate in making profits
for our enemy. This boycott is a lesser resistance, which will
help the greater resistance carried out by our brothers in the
land of Messengers, and the fortified frontier of Jihad. If every
Jew in the world thinks himself a soldier, supporting Israel as
much as he can, surely every Muslim using his very soul and wealth
is a soldier to liberate Al-Aqsa. The least [the Muslim] can do is
boycott his [the enemies'] goods. Allah says: "Oh you who believe,
you are protectors of each other. If you don't do this there will
be great division and corruption.
Our sisters and
daughters, who control the houses, have a role to play in
this matter, which may be more important than the role of
the man, because women supervise the needs of the house,
and buy what must go inside the house. She is on hand to
guide the boys and girls. She plants the Jihadic spirit in
the children, and educates them in what they must do for
their Ummah and its causes, and what they must do to the
Ummah's enemies, especially in the area of boycott. When
the children understand this they will carry on the
boycott enthusiastically, and later will lead the parents.
|
If the consumer buying Jewish or American goods is committing a
major sin, surely the merchant buying these goods and acting as an
agent is the greatest sinner. Even if the company works under a
different name, they know they are deceiving people. The Muslim
Ummah all over the world is being asked to demonstrate its
existence, and show its desire to protect what is sacrosanct. The
Islamic Ummah must know who are its allies, and who are its
enemies. The Ummah is forbidden to give in to weakness, and
depression, and accept the tyrannical peace, which the Zionists
want to impose.
Allah says: "Don't be humiliated and ask for peace, while you
are on the Uppermost and Allah is with you." [Qur'an, 47:35]. Our
sisters and daughters, who control the houses, have a role to play
in this matter, which may be more important than the role of the
man, because women supervise the needs of the house, and buy what
must go inside the house. She is on hand to guide the boys and
girls. She plants the Jihadic spirit in the children, and educates
them in what they must do for their Ummah and its causes, and what
they must do to the Ummah's enemies, especially in the area of
boycott. When the children understand this they will carry on the
boycott enthusiastically, and later will lead the parents.
I ask all the believers in Allah, Christians and others, and
all the free and noble people in the world to stand beside us, and
support the right and truth against falsehood, and justice against
injustice. Help to victory the weak, who are being killed every
day in the way of Allah, protecting the Noble Sanctuary.
Also, I request the workers of the Arab and Muslim countries
around the world to support the Palestinians in the their just
cause, and show their anger by demonstrating against the powerful
tyrants, by disturbing their businesses as much as they can.
Finally I ask the wise, reasonable and experienced in every
country to organize cells to build a boycott, to create
alternatives and avoid the negative things, and carry on educating
the masses, until the word of truth is raised up and falsehood is
destroyed. Surely it will perish.
"Say 'work', surely Allah will see your work and His Messenger
and the believers, you will return to the Unseen world and
witness, and you will know what you were doing."
"This Fatwa is based on the proofs of the Book and Sunnah and
Consensus of the Ummah." Allah Almighty knows best.
