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.
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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).
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`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..
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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.
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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.
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