How Should Muslims Regard Jews Amid the War in Palestine?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

With the violence and suffering faced by Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon, should a Muslim hate Jewish people or feel glad when hatred toward Jews grows in their community?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Wa alaykum al-salam. No, a Muslim should hate oppression and stand against those who commit it.

Our faith does not teach us to hate an entire group of people, and being happy about such hatred spreading is the same as being happy about injustice.

The Central Verse

Allah (Most High) spoke about this situation, where believers are wronged and feel tempted to hate others without limits: “Do not let the hatred of a people lead you to injustice. Be just! That is closer to righteousness.” [Quran 5:8]

This verse does not say you cannot hate wrongdoing, but it warns against letting that feeling make you harm innocent people. “And no soul bears the sin of another” [Quran 35:18].

For example, a Jewish child in another country is not responsible for what an army does.

The Prophetic Example

Some Jews from Khaybar once poisoned the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) food, and its effects stayed with him until his last illness. Earlier, Banu Nadir had also tried to kill him. Still, he did not respond by hating all Jews.

He continued to interact with the Jews of Medina, showed respect at a Jewish funeral, and even passed away while his armor was pawned to a Jewish merchant for barley [Bukhari].

If anyone could have justified hating a whole group, it would have been him, but he chose not to.

Practical Guidance

Turn your anger about Palestine and Lebanon into acts of worship: pray, give charity, speak out, boycott, and stand against the oppressors and those who support them. This is where your anger should be directed.

Hating Jews just because they are Jews hurts innocent people, including many who also stand against oppression. It also gives oppressors an excuse to say this conflict is about hatred, not justice.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

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Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.