Istihlal (Arabic: استحلال) is a term used in Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh, to refer to the act of regarding some action as permissible, or halaal; the implication is that such a regard is an erroneous and improper distortion of Islamic law. The word "istihlal" uses Form X of the Arabic conjugation of the radical ح-ل-ل meaning "to untie", "to solve", "to dissolve", "to open", "to release", etc. Arabic (العربية al-arabiyyah, or less formally arabi) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ...   Islam? (Arabic: الإسلام al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... Jurisprudence is the scientific and historic study of law, inclusive of: Legal history, including legal historiography and hermeneutics; Legal philosophy; Legal science, e. ... - Islamic jurisprudence, Fiqh (in Arabic and Persian: فقه) is made up of the rulings of Islamic jurists to direct the lives of the Muslim faithful. ... Halaal (حلال, halāl, halal) is an Islamic Arabic term for permissible, similar to the Jewish kosher. ... Sharia (Arabic: ; also SharÄ«ah, Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is the Arabic word for Islamic law, also known as the Law of Allah. ... Arabic is a Semitic language. ...

The term "istihlal" came to prominence in the Western news media on 11 March 2005, the first anniversary of the Madrid bombing attacks of 2004, when the Islamic Commission of Spain (La Comisión Islámica de España) issued a fatwa, or religious opinion, denouncing Osama bin Laden and Al Qa'ida for engaging in istihlal with respect to the waging of jihad through terrorism, and the killing of women, children, and noncombatants. 11 March is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... The scene of one of the Madrid bombings. ... A fatwa (Arabic: ) plural fatāwa (فتاوى), is a legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by a religious law specialist on a specific issue. ... Osama bin Laden Usāmah bin Muhammad bin `Awad bin Lādin (born March 10, 1957) (Arabic: ), commonly known as Osama bin Laden, or Usama bin Laden, (Arabic: ), is usually considered to be the figurehead of al-Qaeda, a Sunni Islamist terrorist network that has been involved in attacks against... Osama bin Laden Ayman al-Zawahiri Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة - al-Qāidah, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network and alliance of militant Islamist organizations. ... Jihad (ǧihād جهاد) is an Islamic term, from the Arabic root ǧhd (to exert utmost effort, to strive, struggle), which connotes a wide range of meanings: anything from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith to a political or military struggle to further the Islamic cause. ...

The relevant passages from the fatwa are as follows:

Que según la Sharia, todo aquel que declara halal o permitido lo que Dios ha declarado haram o prohibido, como es matar a personas inocentes en atentados terroristas, se convierte en Kafir Murtadd Mustahlil, es decir en apóstata, por haber pretendido hacer halal (istihlal) el asesinato de inocentes, crimen que el Sagrado Corán y la Sunna del Profeta Muhammad, Dios le bendiga y salve, prohíben expresamente.

En tanto que Osama ben Laden y su organización defienden la legalidad del terrorismo y pretenden fundamentarla en el sagrado Corán y la Sunna, están cometiendo delito de istihlal y se convierten ipso facto en apóstatas (kafir murtadd), que no deben ser considerados musulmanes ni ser tratados como tales.

Translated into English:

That according to the Sharia, anyone who declares halaal, or permitted, what God has declared haraam, or forbidden, such as the killing of innocent persons in terrorist attacks, turns into a Kafir Murtadd Mustahlil, that is to say, an apostate, by having claimed to make halal (istihlal) the murder of innocents, a crime that the Holy Qur'an and the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless and save him) expressly forbid. Halaal (حلال, halāl, halal) is an Islamic Arabic term for permissible, similar to the Jewish kosher. ... Haraam is an Arabic word, used in Islam to refer to anything that is prohibited by the faith. ... Apostasy (Greek απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is the formal renunciation of ones religion. ... The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al KarÄ«m or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Sunna can refer to: Sunne or Frau Sonne, a Scandinavian sun goddess, also known as Sol an alternate spelling of Sunnah, the life of Muhammad This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Muhammad is a common Muslim male name. ...

Insofar as Osama bin Laden and his organization defend the legality of terrorism and claim to base it in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunna, they are committing the sin of istihlal and become ipso facto apostates (kafir murtadd), who should not be considered Muslims nor be treated as such.

References

• Hans Wehr. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic: Third Edition. ed. J. Milton Cowan. Spoken Language Services, Inc. Ithaca, New York, 1976. ISBN 0879500018.
• C.C. Smith, G.A. Davies, H.B. Hall. Langenscheidt's New Standard Spanish Dictionary: Revised and updated edition. Langenscheidt KG, Berlin and Munich, 1988. Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St. Ives.
• "Bin Laden fatwa as Spain remembers." CNN, 11 March 2005.
• Full text of the fatwa issued by La Comisión Islámica de España against Osama bin Laden and Al Qa'ida.

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External links

• "Text of the Fatwa Declared Against Osama Bin Laden by the Islamic Commission of Spain." Translated into English by Liza Sabater.