An Islamic cleric and deputy chief Imam of the National Mosque, Abuja, Professor Ibrahim Maqari, says God forbids payment of Ransom to kidnappers.

 

Maqari gave this warning in Abuja, while addressing the Muslim faithfuls in this year’s Ramadan Tafsir, monitored by Daily Nigerian on Monday.

According to the cleric, contributing money to pay as ransom for the release of kidnapped persons, is prohibited in Islamic law. He said God forbids payment of money to enemies in order to empower them to continue fighting.

 

Maqari maintained that kidnappers will continue to acquire more arms and carry out more crimes as long as they get paid ransoms.

“Since Allah has forbidden the payment of money to an enemy who is at war with you, in order not to empower them to continue to fight you, then contributing money as ransom for the release of kidnapped persons, is haram (prohibited).

 

“But as long as people will continue to give a ransom to secure the release of their loved ones, the recipients of the money will continue to use it to acquire more arms that they will use to perpetrate their atrocity and promote it as a business.

 

“So the best way of stopping it is for the criminal to know that if he kidnaps someone, he can choose to chop his body into pieces but he will not get what he wants” Maqari said.