Murderer Most Definitely No Saint!

Paul Salahuddin Armstrong, Co-Director, AoBM

Horrified… I honestly don’t know where to begin… In the Holy Qur’an it is written, “…if anyone slays a human being – unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth – it shall be as though he had slain all mankind…” (Qur’an 5:32). So how therefore, can a murderer be a lover of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, to whom these words were revealed?

Or the words of Abel (Habil) related in the Qur’an, “Even if you stretch your hands to kill me, I will not stretch out my hands to kill you, for I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” (Qur’an 5:28).

I’m disappointed that there are any Muslims celebrating the murderer Mumtaz Qadri as a martyr, but I was both shocked and appalled to find Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif among them! I am a mureed (student) of Shaykh Sufi Muhammad Abdullah Khan, who passed away last year, under whose guidance the mosque was founded back in 1992.

I have been with Sufi Abdullah for the past 15 years, the Shaykh was a veteran of WW2, honourable man and wise teacher. I’m sure the Shaykh would be horrified to see a convicted murderer celebrated as an Ashiq Al Rasul (lover of the Prophet), and especially by the very people he left to run the mosque he founded in his absence… To drag the memory and tariqat of Sufi Abdullah into this farce is especially insulting to our dearly departed Shaykh, a man I grew to respect and love, and whose wise guidance I live by to this day.

All I can think is the mosque has lost its way in the absence of Shaykh Sufi Abdullah, may Allah bless his soul…

Under no circumstances should anyone be celebrating the death of a convicted murderer as a saint. A murderer has committed the most heinous of crimes; against Allah for taking that which belongs to Allah alone before its time, against our Human Family for disregarding the innate Human Rights of the person they killed, and against the family whose family member they cruelly took away; a child from their parents, a parent from their children, a sibling, a cousin, everyone has a family…

What is the rational that motivates those who celebrate the life of a murderer? What kind of message are they giving to their children and our youth? What message are they giving to the wider society? Murder is evil, it is never to be excused, and certainly not celebrated or glorified! Beyond what should be obvious to any sane individual, this is grossly irresponsible and foolish, and only goes to demonstrate further that those who behave with such lack of thought or consideration are unsuited to the office they claim to represent.

I don’t celebrate the execution of a murderer, I’ve deep misgivings about capital punishment. I know this was used in more primitive times, but so were holes in fields instead of toilets; doesn’t mean it’s the best approach… But at the same time, I certainly don’t mourn the execution of a murderer. Mumtaz Qadri was no saint, and he paid the price in judicial system of Pakistan for the crime he committed.