Download
0 / 0

Ruling on jumping out of an aeroplane with a parachute

Question: 138420

Is it permissible to jump out of an aeroplane with a parachute, and if that person dies when he jumps is it regarded as suicide?.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Firstly: 

If jumping out of the aeroplane with a parachute is done with
the aim of training in modern methods of fighting and warfare, there is
nothing wrong with it; rather it is something that is enjoined, because
Allah says: 

“And make ready against them all you can of power,
including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery) to threaten the
enemy of Allaah and your enemy…”

[al-Anfaal 8:60].

Shaykh al-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

This means, “make ready” against your kaafir enemies
who are trying to destroy you and eradicate your religion “all you can of
power”, meaning everything that you are able to prepare of mental and
physical strength, and all kinds of weapons and the like which will help you
to fight them. That includes different kinds of industries in which various
kinds of weapons and equipment are made, such as guns, machine guns,
bullets, aircraft, land vehicles, boats and ships, fortifications, citadels,
trenches, defensive equipment, and everything by means of which the Muslims
may advance and defend themselves against the evil of their enemies;
learning how to shoot; courage and training. 

Hence the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “Verily, strength is archery.” That includes preparing the
transportation means that are needed at the time of fighting. Hence Allah
says (interpretation of the meaning): “including steeds of war (tanks,
planes, missiles, artillery) to threaten the enemy of Allaah and your
enemy…”[al-Anfaal 8:60]. This is the reason which is present in our
times, which is to threaten the enemy and the ruling depends on the reason. 

If there is something that will cause a greater deterrent
than that, such as land and air craft which are prepared for fighting which
could give the Muslims an extra edge against their enemies, then it is
enjoined to prepare them and strive to obtain them, and if they cannot be
acquired except by learning how to manufacture them, then it becomes
obligatory to do that, because whatever is essential to enable one to carry
out an obligation is also obligatory. End quote. 

Tafseer al-Sa‘di, p. 324-325 

But if jumping out of the aircraft is done merely for fun and
excitement, then it is not permissible. The least that can be said about it
is that it is makrooh in the case where it is thought most likely to be
safe. If it is thought most likely that the person will die or be harmed,
physically or mentally, then it is haraam in that case. 

It was narrated that Abu ‘Imraan al-Jawni said: One of the
companions of Muhammad told me, when we were going out on a campaign towards
Persia: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “If a person spends the night on a roof which has no surrounding wall,
and falls down and dies, no one is responsible for his death and if a person
travels by sea when it is stormy and dies, no one is responsible for his
death.”

Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, 20224; classed
as hasan by al-Albaani. 

Ibn Battaal (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

What it means, in sha Allah, is that he is no longer under
the protection of sharee‘ah, because he brought his own destruction upon
himself and he exposed himself to danger, and did not protected himself, so
he is not protected by sharee‘ah, and no one could be regarded as not
protected by sharee‘ah except in case of kufr. End quote. 

Sharh al-Bukhaari, 5/89 

Even though the hadeeth definitely does not mean that the
person who does that is a kaafir, it is one of the hadeeths which serves as
a warning to those who commit major sins; it does not refer to that kufr
which puts one beyond the pale of Islam. 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

It is permissible when there is no risk. This is the
well-known scholarly view. And if it is thought that it is most likely safe,
then land and sea are regarded as the same. End quote. Fath al-Baari,
6/88 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked: 

Is it permissible to take risks or put oneself in danger, as
we see nowadays in some kinds of extreme sports which may lead to the death
of those who engage in them? 

He replied: 

This is haraam. It is not permissible for a person to risk
his life in doing things in which there is the fear of death or harm,
because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And do not kill
yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allaah is Most Merciful to you”
[al-Nisa’ 4:29]. If Allah has forbidden that and said “And do not
kill yourselves”, then anything that leads to death or leads to harm is
also haraam. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Your blood, your wealth and your honour are sacred to one another.” Just as
it is not permissible for a person to transgress against others, it is not
permissible for him to transgress against himself by exposing himself to
that which may cause death or harm. End quote. 

Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb,
13/252 

To sum up: 

The person who does this kind of action or takes this kind of
risk, if it is for the purpose of training in modern methods of fighting in
order to prepare strength against the enemy, there is nothing wrong with him
doing that; rather it is enjoined in sha Allah, but the one who is in charge
of that should choose those who are suited for this kind of mission and are
physically and mentally prepared for it and able to do this kind of mission
and train them properly before letting them embark on this kind of mission
for real. 

If he dies or is harmed by doing that, he is not killing
himself; rather he will be rewarded for his intention and his action, in sha
Allah. 

As for doing it as a sport and for fun, as is common
nowadays, it is not permissible. 

And Allah knows best.

Source

Islam Q&A

Was this answer helpful?

at email

Our newsletter

To join our newsletter please add your email below

phone

IslamQA App

For a quick access to our content and offline browsing

download iosdownload android
at email

Our newsletter

To join our newsletter please add your email below

phone

IslamQA App

For a quick access to our content and offline browsing

download iosdownload android