Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has said that Islam does not forbid people from paying ransom to save themselves or their loved ones from the hands of kidnappers and terrorists.
The Islamic scholar said this while answering questions during his tafsir programme at the Sultan Bello mosque in Kaduna.
Gumi’s position contradicts that of Professor Ibrahim Maqari, the Deputy Chief Imam of the National Mosque Abuja who said contributing money to secure the release of individuals from the hands of kidnappers is prohibited in Islam.
Quoting a hadith by Abu Zarr al-Ghifary in which The Messenger of Allah said “Verily Allah (SWT) has pardoned my ummah (nation) for their mistakes, forgetfulness, and what they are coerced into doing”, Gumi said “So if terrorists kidnap you, and you pay ransom in order not to get killed, there is no blame on you.
“Indeed, not even money, if you are forced to renounce your faith to save your life, renounce it. Almighty Allah will only hold you to account if you take the renouncement to heart.”
The scholar also said that in Islam, “Necessity can make forbidden things permissible.”
Gumi called on scholars to avoid declarations without due consideration. “A person pays ransom to escape with his life and you accuse him of committing haram, putting doubt in his mind for saving himself from the hands of wicked people, for doing with Allah (SWT) and His Messenger allow?
“Some people want to fight terrorism in such a way that the victim should make the sacrifice by allowing himself to be killed, so that the kidnappers will stop abducting people. The reality is terrorism should be fought by the leadership and troops. They are the ones to make the sacrifice, not the victim. Why should a scholar try to appease some people and harm the commoners?
“In a nutshell whoever is forced to do anything to escape with his life has done nothing wrong. Even the authorities should do so if forced by circumstances or for the common good. In fact it is incumbent upon them to save the lives of the people and then follow up with the right actions to defeat the terrorists. If they are caught before they repent, they should be prosecuted in accordance with the law.”
Dateline Nigeria reports that Prof Maqari had said that “Since Allah (SWT) has forbidden the payment of money to an enemy who is at war with you, in order not to empower them to continue to fight you, then contributing money as ransom for the release of kidnapped persons, is haram (prohibited).”
Quoting a Hadith (prophetic tradition), Maqari narrated the story of a man who approached the Prophet Muhammad, asking about what to do if someone tries to rub him of his money and the Prophet told him to resist the resist the person.
The man then asked the Prophet “what if the person fights me and the Prophet told him to fight back.”
“What if I kill him,” he asked, and the Prophet said, “He goes to hellfire.” He asked again, “What if he kills me?” and the prophet said, “you enter paradise.”
The Hadith, the deputy chief Imam emphasized, upholds the impermissibility of giving ransom to kidnappers.
