Ruling on blowing oneself up
Question

                What is the ruling on a person blowing himself up in order to kill a number of the kaafir enemy, in a so-called martyrdom mission?
Praise be to Allah.
    
    Blowing oneself up is suicide, which is haraam (forbidden) because Allah, 
    may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And do not kill 
    yourselves” [an-Nisa’ 4:29]. And the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) said: “ … “Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron 
    will have that iron in his hand, thrusting it into his belly in the Fire of 
    Hell for ever and ever.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5442; Muslim, 109. 

    
    This cannot be compared to the child in the story of al-Ukhdood (the ditch), 
    because he did not kill himself; rather he was killed by the disbelieving 
    king. And it cannot be compared to the story of al-Bara’ (may Allah be 
    pleased with him) being thrown over the wall (to open the gates of the 
    fort), or the hadeeth about charging into the midst of the enemy, for the 
    same reason. In those cases there was the possibility of surviving, unlike 
    when a person blows himself up. Moreover, such operations sometimes result 
    in the death of a person for no benefit or very little benefit, or they 
    cause the death of innocent people, or they lead to far greater revenge from 
    the enemy. 

    
    This is what has been stated in fatwas by a number of senior contemporary 
    scholars. The great scholar Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have 
    mercy on him) was asked: What is the ruling on one who blows himself up in 
    order to kill a number of Jews thereby? 

    
    He replied: 

    
    What I think, and I have pointed out on more than one occasion, is that this 
    is not acceptable, because it is killing oneself, and Allah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): “And do not kill yourselves” [an-Nisa’ 
    4:29]. And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: 
    “Whoever kills himself with something will be punished with it on the Day of 
    Resurrection.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5700; Muslim, 110. When there is a 
    legitimate jihad, then he may strive in jihad with the Muslims, and if he is 
    killed, then praise be to Allah. But to kill himself by attaching explosives 
    to himself, so that he is killed with them, this is wrong and is not 
    permissible.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hciR4pl-odk 

    
    The faqeeh Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on 
    him) was asked about the ruling on suicide missions. 

    
    He replied: 

    
    We think that the suicide missions in which a person is certain that he is 
    going to die are haraam; in fact they come under the heading of major sins, 
    because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: 
    “Whoever kills himself with something in this world will be punished with it 
    on the Day of Resurrection.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5700; Muslim, 110. He 
    did not make any exceptions; rather this is general in application. Moreover 
    the purpose behind jihad for the sake of Allah is to protect Islam and the 
    Muslims, but this suicide bomber is destroying himself and by committing 
    suicide is causing the loss of a member of the Muslim community. Moreover, 
    it involves causing harm to others, because the enemy will not kill only one 
    person (in retaliation); rather because of him they will kill as many as 
    possible. Furthermore, this will result in pressure on the Muslims because 
    of this suicide bomber who may kill only ten or twenty or thirty others. So 
    it results in a great deal of harm to the Muslims, as is happening now in 
    the case of the Palestinians with the Jews. 

    
    The view of those who say that this is permissible has no basis; rather that 
    is based on a wrong perspective, because the negative consequences are many, 
    many times worse than whatever can be achieved by that. They have no proof 
    in the story of al-Bara’ ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) in the 
    campaign of al-Yamaamah, when he instructed his companions to throw him over 
    the wall so that he could open the gate for them. The actions of al-Bara’ 
    were not bound to lead to certain death, hence he survived and opened the 
    gate, and the people entered the fort. So there is no proof in this story. 

    
    End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il al-‘Uthaymeen, 25/358 

    
    In fact he (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his fatwa for Majallat 
    ad-Da‘wah (1418 AH), when he was asked about this issue: My opinion 
    concerning that is that he is killing himself and that he will be punished 
    in Hell for having killed himself, as is mentioned in a saheeh report from 
    the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)… 

    
    And Allah knows best.