Reverend sheikhs, as-salamu `alaykum.
As widely known, Egypt is now constructing a huge, indissoluble, bomb-proof steel barrier that will stretch about 14 kilometers along the Egypt-Gaza borders and go nearly 20–30 m deep into the ground. It has been stated that the purpose of this wall is to obstruct the tunnels and prevent the smuggling of aids to Gaza. Construction is supervised by the American, French, Israeli, and Egyptian intelligence agencies. About 6 kilometers of the wall have been built so far.
In an uncouth reply to those objecting to the steel wall, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit said, "No Arab whosoever has the right to tell Egypt, 'Do so and so' or 'Do not do so and so,' no matter what his argument or motive may be and no matter how much important the case he is addressing may be"! What is your opinion in this regard?
Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, thanks a lot for the confidence you placed in us. May Allah help all of us do our work satisfactorily for the sake of Him!
How sorrowful the reality of the Muslim Ummah is today. Wasn't it enough for Gazans to be subject to ceaseless attacks and irresistible raids by Israel ? Has Israel failed to crush Palestine so that Egypt offers its service to topple the unvanquished Gazan army? And what fault did Palestine commit for Egypt to do so with it?
Anyway, with regard to your question, Dr. Yusuf ibn `Abdullah Al-Ahmad, a prominent Saudi scholar, states,
Indeed, the construction of the steel wall to block the tunnels through which aids were transported to Muslims in Gaza is prohibited from the Shari`ah perspective, and it is among the gravest sins in Islam. This is because it implies siding with non-Muslims against Muslims, and involves injustice toward our fellow Muslims in Gaza, by tightening the siege over them and choking them. It was authentically reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "A woman was entered into Hellfire because of a cat that she had confined till it died of hunger; she neither fed it nor set it free to eat from the vermin of the earth." So, how would it be with those who lock up an entire Muslim community?
Undoubtedly, the sin comes upon all of those who participate in the crime of establishing such a wall, whether in word or deed, even the construction workers themselves, since it is a form of cooperation in sin and transgression. In this regard, Almighty Allah says,
(Help you one another in righteousness and piety, but help you not one another in sin and rancor: Fear Allah, for Allah is strict in punishment.) (Al-Ma'idah 5: 2)
As for the statement made by the Egyptian foreign minister, it contradicts the Shari`ah's injunctions of enjoining good and forbidding abomination, as Almighty Allah (be He Exalted) says,
(And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish Prayer and they pay Zakah, and they obey Allah and His Messenger [i.e. Prophet Muhammad]. As for these, Allah will have mercy on them. Indeed, Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.) (At-Tawbah 9:71)
Thus, it is obligatory for all Muslims in general, and those of authority and influence in particular, to spare no efforts in order to stop the construction of the wall, lift the siege, and remove the injustice suffered by our fellow Muslims in Gaza.
I ask Almighty Allah to strengthen our brothers in Palestine, grant them victory, and preserve them through Islam.
I also recommend those participating in the construction of the wall to fear Allah, the Exalted, and to remember that they will stand before Him on the Day of Judgment. No believer should sell his religious commitment for a worldly gain.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
The Arabic text of the fatwa is quoted from IslamLight.net
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