Questions & Answers

Historical Background:
A brief historical background is necessary to understand the status and role of Hamas in the issue pertaining to the liberation of Palestine.

Many resistance groups were formed after the occupation of Palestine by the Jews in 1948. The official representative of the Palestinian people at the United Nations is the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Hamas Origins and Rise:
Hamas was founded in December 1987 during the First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. It originated as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, with the aim of establishing an Islamic state in historic Palestine.

It is no longer a secret that right-wing Israeli politicians were responsible for the rise of Hamas as a counterbalance to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which ruled the Palestinian territories. It was a policy of divide and rule employed by Israel.

The 2007 Conflict:
Hamas did engage in a conflict with the Palestinian Authority (PA). This conflict culminated in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took control of the Gaza Strip from the PA, which was dominated by the Fatah party. Palestinian unity was broken, and this was Israel's objective and purpose. Many were killed in this hostile takeover.

Hamas's Alignment and Actions:
Hamas entered its network of tunnels, safe from Israeli retaliation, leaving almost 2.5 million Muslims as exposed targets to Israeli retaliation.

It is well known and documented that the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, and the administration head at the time, Yahya Sinwar, had pledged their allegiance to the Rāfiḍah Shia of Iran, praising Iran's former General Qāsim Sulaymānī, who was responsible for killing thousands of Ahlus-Sunnah in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.

The Prophetic Methodology:
When the Prophet ﷺ started the daʿwah, Palestine was occupied by the Romans. There was no call by the Messenger ﷺ to free Palestine. The focus of the Prophet ﷺ was to call to tawḥīd, and Palestine was eventually freed by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb after tawḥīd had spread far and wide—indicating that Allah's help comes when the correct dīn is implemented.

We find that whenever the Muslims were in a state of weakness, the Prophet ﷺ engaged with his enemies by signing peace treaties and agreements, and always considered the safety of the Muslims without putting them in direct danger.

Conclusion:
Hamas is an organization of fitnah, followers of desires, and people of innovation. They rebelled against the Palestinian Authority in 2007, killing hundreds of Muslims, and their destruction of Muslims continues to this day.

There are no Salafi scholars who praise Hamas, and none of them have made takfīr of Hamas as far as we know.

Our duʿā is that Allah Subḥānahu wa Taʿāla grants the Muslims of Palestine righteous leadership that will guide its people to freedom and justice upon the methodology of the Prophet ﷺ.

May Allah Subḥānahu wa Taʿāla accept those killed from among our brothers and sisters as shuhadāʾ (martyrs) in His path. Āmīn.

Historical Background:
A brief historical background is necessary to understand the status and role of Hamas in the issue pertaining to the liberation of Palestine.

Many resistance groups were formed after the occupation of Palestine by the Jews in 1948. The official representative of the Palestinian people at the United Nations is the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Hamas Origins and Rise:
Hamas was founded in December 1987 during the First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. It originated as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, with the aim of establishing an Islamic state in historic Palestine.

It is no longer a secret that right-wing Israeli politicians were responsible for the rise of Hamas as a counterbalance to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which ruled the Palestinian territories. It was a policy of divide and rule employed by Israel.

The 2007 Conflict:
Hamas did engage in a conflict with the Palestinian Authority (PA). This conflict culminated in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took control of the Gaza Strip from the PA, which was dominated by the Fatah party. Palestinian unity was broken, and this was Israel's objective and purpose. Many were killed in this hostile takeover.

Hamas's Alignment and Actions:
Hamas entered its network of tunnels, safe from Israeli retaliation, leaving almost 2.5 million Muslims as exposed targets to Israeli retaliation.

It is well known and documented that the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, and the administration head at the time, Yahya Sinwar, had pledged their allegiance to the Rāfiḍah Shia of Iran, praising Iran's former General Qāsim Sulaymānī, who was responsible for killing thousands of Ahlus-Sunnah in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.

The Prophetic Methodology:
When the Prophet ﷺ started the daʿwah, Palestine was occupied by the Romans. There was no call by the Messenger ﷺ to free Palestine. The focus of the Prophet ﷺ was to call to tawḥīd, and Palestine was eventually freed by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb after tawḥīd had spread far and wide—indicating that Allah's help comes when the correct dīn is implemented.

We find that whenever the Muslims were in a state of weakness, the Prophet ﷺ engaged with his enemies by signing peace treaties and agreements, and always considered the safety of the Muslims without putting them in direct danger.

Conclusion:
Hamas is an organization of fitnah, followers of desires, and people of innovation. They rebelled against the Palestinian Authority in 2007, killing hundreds of Muslims, and their destruction of Muslims continues to this day.

There are no Salafi scholars who praise Hamas, and none of them have made takfīr of Hamas as far as we know.

Our duʿā is that Allah Subḥānahu wa Taʿāla grants the Muslims of Palestine righteous leadership that will guide its people to freedom and justice upon the methodology of the Prophet ﷺ.

May Allah Subḥānahu wa Taʿāla accept those killed from among our brothers and sisters as shuhadāʾ (martyrs) in His path. Āmīn.

Background on Palestinian Politics:
Some background on politics in the Palestinian territories is necessary to draw the correct conclusions.

After Hamas's victory in the January 25, 2006, Palestinian Legislative Council elections, President Mahmoud Abbas officially appointed Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as Prime Minister, and asked him to form a government on February 21, 2006.

The new Hamas-led government, with Ismail Haniyeh at its helm, was sworn in on March 29, 2006.

This indicates that Hamas's win in the Palestinian Legislative Council was acknowledged by the President of the Palestinian Authority.

Constitutional Structure:
Constitutionally, the Prime Minister is subordinate to the President of the Palestinian Authority, and in this case, the President was Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas, as the President, had the power to:
- Appoint or dismiss the Prime Minister
- Approve or reject ministerial appointments
- Oversee security forces

The Conflict Over Security:
At this point, Fatah (under the Palestinian Authority) still controlled the security portfolio in the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip. Since the greatest number of supporters for Hamas was in the Gaza Strip, the running of security in that region was sought after by Hamas, leading to a conflict between Fatah and Hamas, which resulted in Hamas driving Fatah out of Gaza.

Instead of uniting against the greater enemy, they became divided along partisan lines, and that was a sad day as many were killed on both sides. That was a fitnah, which caused a split between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas. This worked well for the Israeli Occupation Forces, as that is exactly what they intended by supporting Hamas, which was to reduce the strength of the Palestinian Authority and divide the Palestinian people.

Background on Palestinian Politics:
Some background on politics in the Palestinian territories is necessary to draw the correct conclusions.

After Hamas's victory in the January 25, 2006, Palestinian Legislative Council elections, President Mahmoud Abbas officially appointed Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as Prime Minister, and asked him to form a government on February 21, 2006.

The new Hamas-led government, with Ismail Haniyeh at its helm, was sworn in on March 29, 2006.

This indicates that Hamas's win in the Palestinian Legislative Council was acknowledged by the President of the Palestinian Authority.

Constitutional Structure:
Constitutionally, the Prime Minister is subordinate to the President of the Palestinian Authority, and in this case, the President was Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas, as the President, had the power to:
- Appoint or dismiss the Prime Minister
- Approve or reject ministerial appointments
- Oversee security forces

The Conflict Over Security:
At this point, Fatah (under the Palestinian Authority) still controlled the security portfolio in the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip. Since the greatest number of supporters for Hamas was in the Gaza Strip, the running of security in that region was sought after by Hamas, leading to a conflict between Fatah and Hamas, which resulted in Hamas driving Fatah out of Gaza.

Instead of uniting against the greater enemy, they became divided along partisan lines, and that was a sad day as many were killed on both sides. That was a fitnah, which caused a split between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas. This worked well for the Israeli Occupation Forces, as that is exactly what they intended by supporting Hamas, which was to reduce the strength of the Palestinian Authority and divide the Palestinian people.