A terrorist can’t be a true Muslim and a true Muslim can’t be a terrorist. Islam is a religion of security and peace. When we (Muslims) stand in prayer, we cut our relations with the world and turn to our Allah to worship him in devout obedience. While finishing the prayer, almost like returning to the world, we give peace greetings to the angles on our right and left, and then return to human society with a wish for the well-being, security, and peace of all.
Greetings and wishing well-being to others is regarded in Islamic teaching as among the best deeds. One day, when the messenger of God was asked which deeds are more meritorious in Islam, he answered: offering meals to others, and greeting everyone, those you know as well as those you do not know.
There is, thus, no place for terrorism in Islam. A Muslim has a single purpose on earth, and n his life he orients all his thoughts and deeds to that purpose. He makes all his plans and projects for the sake of achieving it. What is that purpose? The blessing of God.
If a Muslim did understand Islam, then he would not think about anything but gaining God’s blessing. If a person claiming to be a Muslim commits violence, then it means that the person’s understanding of religion is incompatible with Islam. The noble Prophet (PBUH) stated, “A fornicator is not a believer at the moment when he is committing fornication. A drinker is not a believer at the moment when he is drinking wine. A thief is not believer at the moment when he is stealing.” In other words, a terrorist is not a Muslim while committing acts of terror.
Today we witness a lot of misunderstanding of Islam. It is necessary for Muslims to come out and say, “In Islam terror doesn’t exist, because in Islam the killing of a human is Kufr (not believing in Allah). You can’t kill the innocent, even in war.”
Allah considers the taking of even one life as equal to killing all of humanity. One can’t go to heaven by killing another. One can’t win Allah’s good pleasure by killing men. One of the most important goals of a Muslim is to please God, and the other is to make the almighty name of Allah known to the universe.
Terror can never be used to achieve Islamic goals. Islam prescribes the harshest penalty in this world for murder. It warns that those who have deliberately and unjustly killed another will face an eternal afterlife in hell. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) warned: “A time will come when he who kills will not know why he killed and he who was killed will not know why he was killed.” It is as if we are approaching that time step by step. Some people become suicide bombers and claim to be doing to be doing this in the name of religion, but they do so for revenge, to draw attention. If somebody blows himself up as a suicide bomber, he will fall straight into Hell.

The writer graduated from Aligarh Muslim University and is a native of Kulgam.

Nisar Ahmad