the-islamic-ruling-on-the-permissibility-of-self-sacrificial-operations-suicide-or-martyrdom

The majority of Hanafīs and Mālikīs, as well as Imām Sufyān Ath-Thawrī, have permitted
attacking when <strong>the</strong> enemies have used Muslims as human shields, whe<strong>the</strong>r or not abstaining
would be detrimental or lead to defeat, reasoning that o<strong>the</strong>rwise Jihād would never take
place. 81 The weakness of this position is clear, in that <strong>the</strong> sanctity of a Muslim life is greater
than to allow its taking without a clear proof, and moreover such shields are not universally
used, and so Jihād would not necessarily come to a halt.
In <strong>the</strong> case of women children and old men from among <strong>the</strong> kuffār being used as shields, <strong>the</strong>
majority of Ahnāf, Shawāfi’ and Hanābilah have permitted attacking <strong>the</strong>m even if it is not a
dire necessity, as long as it is just a need. 82 The Mālikiyyah differed, despite <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>y
permit fighting <strong>the</strong> kuffār even if <strong>the</strong>y use Muslims as human shields, even if <strong>the</strong>re is no dire
necessity, and it leads to <strong>the</strong> killing of those Muslims as human shields – and this is a strange
disparity; but for brevity we will not mention <strong>the</strong>ir reasoning. 83
81 Refer to Fat’h Al-Qadīr (5/448), Ahkām Al-Qur’ān of Al-Jassās (5/273) and Minah Al-Jalīl (3/151).
82 Refer to As-Siyar Al-Kabīr (4/1554), Mughnī Al-Muhtāj (4/224) and Al-Mughnī (10/504).
83
Refer to Dardīr’s Ash-Sharh Al-Kabīr (2/178) and Minah Al-Jalīl (3/150).
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