Wa `alaykum al-salam. Thank you so much for your comment and I am glad you asked this. Shaykh Salman’s answer was in the context of the standard consensus in Islamic Law in regards to Muslim lands being invaded: Defense of the land invaded becomes an obligation upon every single able bodied male in that land with some exceptions. Muslims in the rest of the world are to only get involved if the people of that land are not defending themselves adequately. In Islamic legal terms, it is Farḍ `Ayn upon the residents of that land and Farḍ Kifāyah upon the rest of the Muslim world. So, as there are significant resistance forces in the Muslim lands invaded, the rest of us should focus on improving ourselves as Muslims and productive members of society as a whole. God knows best.

How could you say that if a people’s land is invaded they should just strive to excel in their character and vocation? Why should they not defend themselves? Could you answer from the viewpoint of Islamic Law please? May God preserve you.

Mashallah, a very brilliantly and beautifully written piece with all the right ingredients to put a wandering mind to rest. May you keep writing more and more enlightening pieces and we benefit from your elaborated research and knowledge. Allah swt bless you for your efforts,Amen.

wa `alaykum al-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

Dear brother Abdul-Razzaq, it has been quite some time since I have seen the Noor of your face which, by God, always reminds me of your own inspiring story.

Thank you for your gracious prayers and I pray the same for you and your dear family. God bless you.

My beloved older brother, Jamil, may Allah always preserve you. I’ve always known that the event was a turning point in all of our lives and in many ways defined who we are today and the bonds of love we share as a family.

If I am anything it is only from the blessed rain drops that trickled down from the great towering trees —my parents and older brothers— who always guarded me from the elements and weathered the storms and strong winds above with steadfastness as I grew beneath as the shrubbery below.

1) “Don’t apologize!”

Why not? The word “apologize” comes from the Greek ἀπολογία. The Greek ἀπολογοῦμαι means “I speak in one’s defense”. Yet, Muslims have understood a reverse meaning as if to apologize is an admission of guilt. It is not. Furthermore, my choice of words should be clear. I said I was sorry. I feel sorrow for the loss I shared with my fellow Americans on that day. I thought I made clear that I will not allow anyone to misappropriate blame upon me for a crime I, and just about all Muslims, are far removed from. Nonetheless, I do feel shame, sadness and sorrow at the fact that these brigands chose to do this heinous crime in the name of my beautiful religion. What does make one look guilty is when they get overly defensive. What a Muslim does is express mercy and compassion. The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

من لا يرحم لا يُرحم
“Whomsoever does not express mercy shall not be shown mercy.”

2) “We don’t even know WHO committed 9/11!”

There are too many 9/11 conspiracy theories for me to keep up with. Allah tells us in the Qur’an:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا
“If a dubious source comes to you with a report then verify it..”

We Muslims are, also, a people who only trust sound witness, as the student of the Prophet’s Companions,`Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, said:

الإسناد من الدين، ولولا الإسناد لقال من شاء ما شاء
“Verifying the chain of transmission is part of this religion. If it weren’t for that, anyone would say whatever they wanted.”

Frankly, the mainstream media and the conspiracy theorists are equally questionable to me. As Muslims, we must go with the obvious and preponderent evidences and not suspicion. Allah says in the Qur’an:

إَنَّ الظَّنَّ لاَ يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئاً
“Verily, suspicion can not stand up to Truth.”

Also:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيراً مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ
“O believers, turn away from too much suspicion as some suspicion is sinful.”

The word for “suspicion” used here is “al-Ẓann” which is generally understood as “conjecture”. In Uṣul al-Fiqh (the principles of Islamic legal jurisprudence) this word is used, albeit differently as “theory”, in regards to al-Ẓann al-Rajiḥ (“The preponderent theory”) of which Qiyas is a part, and al-Ẓann al-Marjuḥ (“Non-preponderent theory”). For the sake of argument, both the “official” story of 9/11 vs. the conspiracy theories, are both conjecture (al-Ẓann). However, what demarcates one from the other is that the “official” would be “Rajiḥ” (preponderant), whereas, the conspiracy theories rely largely upon circumstancial evidence (i.e. “How could the passports have survived?!”, etc) making them “Marjuḥ” (non-preponderant and inferior). While some of the conspiracy theories are compelling, they remain largely based upon circumstance and not evidence that would be admissible in an Islamic —or any other— legal court.

So we Muslims must own up to the fact that there is a high probability and likelihood that —even in the scenario where Muslims are the least involved wherein the CIA steered Muslims with extremist and fanatical sentiments into committing this act— the perpetrators of this crime were of Muslim background. Should we accept collective blame for this? Absolutely not. Should we express remorse at our inability to stop them —even if such was impossible— and openly tell the American people that we are sorry that people claiming to be of our beautiful religion of Islam attacked them? Absolutey. That is mercy. It is compassion. It is what softens the hearts and eases the rage misdirected towards Islam and Muslims. God Almighty is the Omnipotent Knower of all things.