I think ISIS take their fatwas directly from IslamiQA! I was actually shocked to read the fatwa. The site is run by Munajjid who gave a fatwa against Mickey Mouse.
Obligation to destroy idols - islamqa.info
I would love to see people here challenging his fatwa on destruction of idols…please do so point by point.
Re: Destroying Idols
Here’s the first Hadith that Munajjid gives in favour of his fatwa.
"The evidence of sharee’ah indicates that it is obligatory to destroy idols, for example:
1 – Muslim (969) narrated that Abu’l-Hayaaj al-Asadi said: ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said to me: “Shall I not send you with the same instructions as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent me? ‘Do not leave any image without defacing it or any built-up grave without leveling it.’”
Re: Destroying Idols
Anyone knows what is the ful context of above Hadith and in what regard the major fuqaha in past have used this Hadith?
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Don’t know the context of hadees in post # 2, but a little history of Islam I know tells otherwise. Are these ISIS / Taliban/ random site owners better Muslims than Hazrat Omar (RA)? He didn’t destroy churches in Palestine as a conqueror. Churches carrying figures / statues of Jesus and Virgin Marry.
It is interesting to refer to the treaty between Hazrat Omar (RA) as a conqueror of Palestine and Patriarch Sophronius:
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The “idols” they are destroying aren’t being actively worshipped as idols. They’re just relics of history and they are property of museum trusts. So no, there is no Islamic basis in their actions. As usual , mullahs and their fatwas and their lack of clarity on their advice.
Hamza Yousuf is right. Knowledge of religion is possible and if improperly understood and misused, it’s like a nuclear reactor.
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Before looking at destroying idols … Look at this letter written in complaint about the destruction of relics and historical vestiges … Which are not idols but mistaken to be so by the sect in question …
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And now soon there will not be any saqeefa banu saedah and they are planning to block view of green dome as well. 
however as far as i know destroying idols is supported by quran and sunnah, sahbah :razi: were sent by our beloved :saw2: for this. i dont know any place during prophet :saw2: which was conquered through jihad and idols not destroyed. Can any one share one such instance for me?
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During the times of the Prophet (pbuh) the idols in Makkah and Madina were worshipped and after the conquering of Makkah everyone became muslim so they must have destroyed the idols as a symbol of leaving their jahiliya. In Egypt, during the reign of Sahaba (ra) the idols and statues were left untouched because no one worshipped them. This is my understanding…may be someone can correct me if I’m wrong.
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The idols which are being destroyed these days have survived 1400 years of muslim rule, it seems as if our generation has become better muslims as compared to our forefathers.
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What can I say about the issue, because my opinion would be for Muslims and not Kharjees. I would quote Quran but I doubt if Kharjees believe on words in Quran as it is mentioned in Quran.
Anyhow, answer to your question is clearly given in Quran, for idols (or anything that is taken as religious relics), that at time is getting worshipped or not.
Quran Surah 6, Ayah 108:
6:108 (Yusuf Ali): Revile not ye those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance. Thus have We made alluring to each people its own doings. In the end will they return to their Lord, and We shall then tell them the truth of all that they did.
6:108 (Shakir): And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Thus have We made fair seeming to every people their deeds; then to their Lord shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they did.
It is obvious that those who destroy idols what others worship (built for purpose of worship) are abusing (or reviling) what others worship, but in ayah 6:108 Allah has clearly told Muslims that not to revile or abuse whatever others worship besides Allah, or value as religiously important. Actually, anything to do with religion, Islam prohibit Muslims to abuse or revile that.
That excludes natural destruction of worshipping places, idols, or relics of religious importance, due to not having care and attention (that can happen when in area, most become Muslim and stop looking after their worshipping places, idols or relics).
[Here, I am talking about idols or relics in public places, whose ownership belongs to community or state, not individuals, as individuals have every right to keep or destroy what they own].
Question arises, if that was the case than why Prophet (SAW) destroyed idols in Kaaba. Answer is obvious. Kaaba was a place built by Adam (AS) for worshipping Allah. Later, Ibrahim (AS) rebuilt the place again for worshipping Allah. Idols were placed there afterword by people who did not built Kaaba. Thus, idols were occupying place they were not supposed to. So, you can say that Prophet (SAW) did not destroyed idols in Kaaba, but cleared Kaaba from idols that did not belonged in Kaaba.
Obviously, Prophet (SAW) would not have destroyed idols at any places (following ayah 6:108), and that is what later Muslims (of knowledge) did whenever such situation came.
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Peace brother bao bihari
Idols tend to only be destroyed by the owners of those idols who left their idolatry or their leader. Many things have not been destroyed that are equivalent to idols … For example the Buddah statue that was destroyed by the Taliban recently … It was not destroyed for all those years and it is in an area controlled by Muslims.
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I could not find this Hadith in Sahih Muslim compilation. It is suppose to be in the Book of Prayers (Kitab-as-Salaat).
I am not sure who this man is to give an extremely poor “fatwa”. I am not going to spend time and effort here to destroy this fatwa with Quran which is really easy even for the likes of us here…
Most shuyukh like the renowned Qaradawii and Hamza have not issued anything like that.
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This mufti impn question is one of the major scholars of Saudi…his names is Munajjid and he runs IslamiQA.
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oh..
Shaky Saalih al Munajjid is from a Salafist school of thought. The Salafists are a puritan revivalists movement of 20th century Saudized Islamist guise. I don’t care what title “Shykh, Mufti, Scholar, alarm” anyone has, but when the mind is narrow even Islam will become brutal and the words that come out are clear manifestation of narrow interpertations.
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The clear problem is that much of the worst interpretations are done through holding on to ones biases and inspecting confirmation into the scripture by finding evidence to support that view and ignoring evidence that conflicts with it. The proper way to interpret is to remove bias and compare all references of a matter together and to formulate an opinion after scripture has been analysed. They start with their opinion and find ways to confirm it, but they should start with the desire to find all matters concerning it both for and against, even direct mention and indirect mention, context, etc … and then create an opinion.
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A Qatari website has issued a fatwa saying that it’s obligatory to destroy the Egyptian pyramids and the Sphinx. The ISIS has also joined in saying that it’s a religious duty to destroy the pyramids. The fact that early Muslims didn’t do so doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do so now, according to them.
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Qatar can start with destroying the life size pictures of its Amir everywhere. Egyptian pyramids and Sphinx remained untouched by all the previous muslim rulers however none of them had their own pictures and statues built up like Qatari and Saudi rulers today. So Saudi and Qatari in this case are the biggest hypocrites on earth.
I think it’s very much to do with politics…Qatar and Egypt have become the arch enemies after Morsi’s oust by Sisi.
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“…This hadeeth indicates that it is prescribed to remove things that may tempt or confuse the people, whether they are buildings, people, animals or inanimate objects…”
So… why is esteemed Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid using internet to spread his message? Why not destroy it?
Why is ISIS using guns and bombs? Our Prophet (SAW) never used them.
Re: Destroying Idols
Peace hareem01,
The hadith is recorded in the Book of Prayer (Funerals), Hadith No. is 2115, Arabic version No. is 2287. Chain of transmitters are: Yahya bin Yahya bin Bukayr who heard from Yahya bin Sa’id bin Farroukh al-Qatan who heard from Waki’ bin al-Jarrah who heard from Sufyan bin Sa‘id Ath-Thawri who heard from Habib bin Abi Thabit who heard from Shaqayq bin Salmah al-Asadi who heard from Ali bin Abu Talib R.A., who narrated this hadith.
As per my knowledge, Harzat Ali r.a., sent Abu’l Hayaaj for said purpose because at that time, peoples make or made worship places of their pious people’s graves (shrines) as well as built statues (idols) for worship.
For remaining part, I’ll post my comments soon.
Re: Destroying Idols
^This hadith was used to allow the levelling of old graves to make space for new ones in Shafi madhab. No major Sunni fiqh has used this hadith to destroy idols or graves.
Point is, this hadith cannot be used to justify the destruction of tombs and historical artefacts by Saudis and ISIS…because no muslim jurisprudence and ruler has done it in past.