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A Dari-language booklet published by Maktabat-ul-Muwahideen [monotheists], a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP), argues that according to shari'a, burning of apostates and enemies is justified when such a punishment is qisas (retaliation in kind, i.e., an eye for an eye) for a similar act.[1]
The 20-page booklet, titled "The Ruling On Burning With Fire," prepared on September 10, 2024 in Kunar province of Afghanistan, and consisting of three parts and a preamble, cites Quranic verses and hadiths to illustrate the order to burn polytheists and apostates.
The booklet's cover page.
When the Islamic State (ISIS) seized control of parts of Iraq and Syria from mid-2014 onwards, it burned its opponents alive as a form of punishment, which it sought to justify according to shari'a rulings. The current booklet, "The Ruling On Burning With Fire," has a short introduction with the main topic beginning on the third page. Ibn Zahid Khurasani, the author of the booklet, seeks to explain why the Islamic State burns its enemies, arguing that, while burning unbelievers is forbidden in Islam, there are many justifications for its permissibility in a case of qisas. He cites Quran 16:126, which states: "If you retaliate, then let it be equivalent to what you have suffered. But if you patiently endure, it is certainly best for those who are patient."
He also cites Quran 2:194, which states: "So, if anyone attacks you, retaliate in the same manner. But be mindful of Allah and know that Allah is with those mindful of Him." By citing these verses, the author argues that in a case of retaliation, Muslims can burn unbelievers.
The author cites a book by 14th-century Islamic scholar and Sheikh Al-Islam Taqi Al-Din Ibn Taymiyya,[2] who said that Islam's first caliph Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq burned apostates with fire, and that Ali ibn Abi Talib (the fourth caliph of Islam) ordered the burning of some people who claimed divinity. Not only Ibn Taymiyyah but also many other Islamic scholars have been cited for having ruled that it is permissible to burn a person in a case of retaliation.
The book refers to Jordanian fighter pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh, whose plane crashed near Raqqa on December 24, 2013, before ISIS fighters captured him and the group recorded a video of its burning him alive on January 3, 2015: "And indeed, what happened to the apostate pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh was a religious matter based on religious foundations, because if they think about what the pilots do, those who execute their airstrikes on Muslims, they will see that by throwing fire from their bombs, they burn the bodies and destroy the houses. So based on that, the leaders of the Islamic State decided to do to this pilot what he did to the believing servants of Allah, a punishment in accordance with the deed he had done."
The 20-page booklet, titled "The Ruling On Burning With Fire," prepared on September 10, 2024 in Kunar province of Afghanistan, and consisting of three parts and a preamble, cites Quranic verses and hadiths to illustrate the order to burn polytheists and apostates.
The booklet's cover page.
When the Islamic State (ISIS) seized control of parts of Iraq and Syria from mid-2014 onwards, it burned its opponents alive as a form of punishment, which it sought to justify according to shari'a rulings. The current booklet, "The Ruling On Burning With Fire," has a short introduction with the main topic beginning on the third page. Ibn Zahid Khurasani, the author of the booklet, seeks to explain why the Islamic State burns its enemies, arguing that, while burning unbelievers is forbidden in Islam, there are many justifications for its permissibility in a case of qisas. He cites Quran 16:126, which states: "If you retaliate, then let it be equivalent to what you have suffered. But if you patiently endure, it is certainly best for those who are patient."
He also cites Quran 2:194, which states: "So, if anyone attacks you, retaliate in the same manner. But be mindful of Allah and know that Allah is with those mindful of Him." By citing these verses, the author argues that in a case of retaliation, Muslims can burn unbelievers.
The author cites a book by 14th-century Islamic scholar and Sheikh Al-Islam Taqi Al-Din Ibn Taymiyya,[2] who said that Islam's first caliph Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq burned apostates with fire, and that Ali ibn Abi Talib (the fourth caliph of Islam) ordered the burning of some people who claimed divinity. Not only Ibn Taymiyyah but also many other Islamic scholars have been cited for having ruled that it is permissible to burn a person in a case of retaliation.
The book refers to Jordanian fighter pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh, whose plane crashed near Raqqa on December 24, 2013, before ISIS fighters captured him and the group recorded a video of its burning him alive on January 3, 2015: "And indeed, what happened to the apostate pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh was a religious matter based on religious foundations, because if they think about what the pilots do, those who execute their airstrikes on Muslims, they will see that by throwing fire from their bombs, they burn the bodies and destroy the houses. So based on that, the leaders of the Islamic State decided to do to this pilot what he did to the believing servants of Allah, a punishment in accordance with the deed he had done."
