The most prominent Islamic scholar in Gaza has issued a rare but powerful fatwa condemning Hamas’s attacks on October 7 last year, where Hamas fighters killed 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds of Israelis and foreigners hostage, which also triggered a devastating war that killed over 45,000 Gazans.
Gaza’s top Islamic scholar issues fatwa criticising 7 October attackhttps://t.co/KINd5iBHTm
— Matthew Levitt (@Levitt_Matt) November 8, 2024
Professor Dr. Salman al-Dayah, a former dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University of Gaza, is one of the region’s most respected religious authorities. Therefore, his legal opinions carry significant weight among Gaza’s two million people, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim.
A fatwa is a non-binding Islamic legal ruling from a respected religious scholar, usually based on the Quran or the Sunnah, the sayings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad.
Dr. Dayah’s fatwa was published in a detailed six-page document, which criticized Hamas for “violating Islamic principles governing jihad.”
Suspicious timing.
— Lady Winter (@WinterFeminist) November 9, 2024
Jihad means “struggle” in Arabic. In Islam, it can be interpreted as either a personal struggle for spiritual improvement or a military struggle against unbelievers.
“If the pillars, causes, or conditions of jihad are not met, it must be avoided in order to avoid destroying people’s lives. This is something that is easy to guess for our country’s politicians, so the attack must have been avoided.” Dr. Dayah said.
He argued that the huge civilian casualties in Gaza, along with the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and a humanitarian disaster that followed the October 7 attacks, meant that it was in direct contradiction to the teachings of Islam.
He does not criticize the attack at all. He criticizes the damage to the Palestinians due to the attack.
— Eyal Rozenman (@eyalroz) November 9, 2024
Hamas, according to Dr. Dayah, has failed in its obligation of “keeping fighters away from the homes of defenseless [Palestinian] civilians and their shelters, and providing security and safety as much as possible in the various aspects of life... security, economic, health, and education, and saving enough supplies for them.”
The religious scholar referenced verses in the Quran and the Sunnah that set strict conditions for the conduct of jihad, including the necessity of avoiding actions that provoke an excessive and disproportionate response by an opponent.
How long will the militants let him live?
— Monica Kaufman (@Kaufman1776) November 8, 2024
His fatwa also highlighted that, according to Islamic law, a military raid should not trigger a response that would exceed the intended benefits of the action. Dr. Dayah also stressed that Muslim leaders are obligated to ensure the safety and well-being of combatants, including by providing food, medicine, and refuge to those not involved in the fighting.
“Human life is more precious to God than Mecca,” Dr Dayah stated.
His opposition to the October 7 attacks is especially significant, given his deep influence in Gaza, where he is not only seen as a key religious figure but also a fierce critic of Islamist political movements, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
For Hamas, the fatwa represents an embarrassing and potentially damaging critique, especially as the group often justifies its attacks against Israel through religious arguments to win support from Arab and Muslim communities in Palestine and elsewhere.
The Trump effect
— Thomad Lund (@LundThomad) November 8, 2024
The fatwa also adds to the growing internal debate within Gaza and the broader Arab and Muslim world over the moral, religious, and legal implications of Hamas’s actions. The fatwa would also most likely fuel further divisions within Palestinian society regarding the use of armed conflict against Israel.
