Suhaib Webb – Fatwa & Nuclear Weapons

Few of my students today brought up the

issue of nuclear weapons and what is the

ruling on nuclear weapons, the initial ruling of

scholars.

And that's something that we actually studied in

a class on modern fic issues in Al

Azhar. I remember it. And I'm just gonna

summarize what I recall that based on numerous

texts

that forbid wonton killing, like the prophet saying

that it's not allowed, alayhis salaam, to poison

the water supply of people because that would

lead to wonton killing. The killing of children,

of of women, of the elderly,

of religious figures. That wanton killing, when it's

brought together, would lead us to believe that

weapons of mass destruction are forbidden, specifically the

atom bomb or the nuclear bomb in this

discussion. So initially, scholars across the board, Sunni

and Shia,

largely said that these things were forbidden. It

wasn't really till the Cold War takes off

and you have the proliferation of nuclear weapons

that you see a change. And here, scholars

actually clearly say that as a means of

defense and to protect one's sovereignty,

there's no choice but to have them. However,

it's not allowed to use them as, like,

offensive weapons. It's just to me, it's to

balance power. So it's very interesting, and we

ask Allah to give us and to help

us to be allies to the earth, not

enemies to it.

But I hope that helps.