Jazib Mehmood, Ghana
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old political activist, was shot dead in Utah on 10 September 2025 in broad daylight. He was a close ally of Donald Trump and was frequently seen galvanising support for the Republican Party among young American university students, with whom he often engaged.
Kirk was known for holding strong opinions on topics like race, gender, and immigration. He often engaged in culture-war debates and was accused of holding racist, Islamophobic and misogynistic positions.
It is worth noting that Kirk was a vocal supporter of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which grants Americans the right to bear arms. In an interview in 2023 that has often been quoted since his death, he said, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
Despite his controversial record, his death prompted many to express condolences over his passing, most notably President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Even his ideological and political rivals expressed sorrow at his passing, reaffirming their support for free speech and condemning this act of political violence.
In contrast, since some of his stances had made him into a bit of a hate figure, quite a few have celebrated his death online. Many left-wing Americans and liberals have expressed no empathy for the incident, particularly because of his views on gun laws in America, abortion, and gender, among others.
Many Muslims have also not expressed much sympathy for his death. Kirk was quite vocal in his condemnation of Islam, which he believed was being used to “slit the throat of America.” An account on X called Kirk “an enemy of Islam” because of his anti-Islamic views, and many Muslims suggested that a wrong had been righted by his killing.
Many Muslims and non-Muslims were particularly unsympathetic towards Kirk’s death due to his views on Palestine and Israel’s role in the Gaza genocide. They said that since he did not care for the lives lost in Palestine, he deserved no sympathy.
But as a Muslim, how should I react? Do I celebrate his death or condemn it? Has the world gained anything from his passing?
The teaching of the Holy Quran on suppressing anger
Islam tells us that it is best to show patience when someone hurts us. As a rule, Allah the Almighty tells believers clearly:
“You shall surely hear many hurtful things from those who were given the Book before you and from those who set up equals [to God]. But if you show fortitude and act righteously, that indeed is [a matter] of strong determination.” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.187)
This clearly means that, regardless of what Kirk said against Islam, no matter how he hurt the sentiments of Muslims or others, Muslims could never think of silencing him. Muslims are also taught to suppress their anger. Allah states:
“And those who suppress anger and pardon men; and Allah loves those who do good.” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.135)
Thus, Islam preaches peace, regardless of hurt sentiments. In fact, when a Muslim is insulted or taunted by an ignorant person, the Holy Quran instructs Muslims:
“And when they hear vain talk, they turn away from it and say, ‘Unto us our works and unto you your works. Peace be to you. We seek not the ignorant.’” (Surah al-Qasas, Ch.28: V.56)
Where man is silent, the angels reply
Once, Hazrat Abu Bakrra, who would later become the first Khalifa of Islam, was being inflicted with intense verbal abuse from a non-Muslim. The Holy Prophetsa was seated nearby. Hazrat Abu Bakrra bore this abuse patiently and in silence. Observing this, the Holy Prophetsa smiled.
Eventually, Hazrat Abu Bakrra began to reply, at which point the Holy Prophetsa stood up and walked away. Later, Hazrat Abu Bakrra asked the Holy Prophetsa why he walked away when he began to reply to the abuse. The Holy Prophetsa replied, “While you remained quiet, the angels were replying on your behalf, but when you spoke, the angels went away and Satan appeared instead. Therefore, how could I have remained present?”
He continued, “O Abu Bakr, […] if a person is wronged and he forbears it (without seeking revenge) just for the sake of Allah the Almighty, Allah will honour him and give him the upper hand with His help.” (Mishkat al-Masabih [Arabic], 1985, Vol. 3, p. 1411, Narration 5102)
This remarkable incident reminds us of the statement of the Promised Messiahas, who was the greatest follower of the Holy Prophetsa. One day, Huzooras said: “I possess such control over myself, and God Almighty has made my soul so true a Muslim, that if someone were to sit before me and went on uttering – for an entire year – the most filthy and obscene profanities that one could imagine, ultimately, they would be embarrassed themselves and would have no choice but to concede that they were unable to weaken my patience.” (Life of the Promised Messiahas by Hazrat Maulvi Abdul-Karim, p. 88)
Both these incidents prove that no matter what sort of abuse one has to bear, patience and fortitude is the highest moral excellence.
How Islam teaches us to respect the dead
Charlie Kirk’s death prompted many people to outline his bigotry, and use his words against him to somehow justify his death. But Islam teaches us to respect the dead. The Promised Messiahas states:
“Even if an enemy of yours meets their death, so what? And if he remains alive, then what? To cause benefit or harm lies within the power and control of God Almighty. No human being can cause harm to another.
“Sa’di has written an anecdote in his Gulistan that someone brought the good news to Nusherwan that a certain enemy of his had been killed, and that his country and fortress had been taken over by Nusherwan’s forces. Nusherwan gave a marvellous response:
مرا بمرگ عدو جائے شادمانی نیست
که زندگانی ما نیز جاودانی نیست
“[The death of my enemy brings me no joy; for even our own life is not forever.]
“A person ought to reflect, what benefit and happiness can be reaped from such schemes and conspiracies? This train of thought is extremely dangerous and its cure is repentance, seeking forgiveness from God, reciting la hawl, and studying the Book of God. (Malfuzat [English], Vol. 2, pp. 74-75)
“La hawl,” or “La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah,” means that there is no power and no strength except with Allah. This is recited as a prayer to seek God’s protection and assistance.
We also see a magnificent example from the life of the Holy Prophetsa. When a Jewish person’s funeral took place and his coffin passed by the Holy Prophetsa, he stood up out of respect. When the Companionsra of the Holy Prophetsa reminded him that this was the coffin of a Jewish person, who were at the time quite opposed to Islam, the Holy Prophetsa asked, “Was he not a person?”
The Holy Prophetsa also promoted freedom of speech so that the oppressed could have their say. Not only did he give freedom of speech as a right, in fact he even made it a great virtuous deed by classing it as jihad: “The word of truth in front of an unjust king [is jihad].” (Sunan an-Nasa’i, Kitab al-bay’ah, Hadith 4209)
Perhaps one of the greatest examples of the Holy Prophet’ssa treatment of the death of an enemy is Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Sulul, also known in early Islamic history as “chief of the hypocrites.” He caused great pain to the Holy Prophetsa on many occasions, and left no stone unturned when it came to persecuting him and his followers. And yet, when he died, the Holy Prophetsa led his funeral prayer himself and treated him with respect. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-janaiz, Hadith 1366)
How should Muslims react to an opponent’s death?
As we live in the age of the internet, many memes and jokes have been made of Kirk about his death. But a true Muslim cannot take part in such mockery. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa has provided the following guidance on this issue:
“After the death of a human being, their case rests with God alone who can deal with them however He desires. No one else has the right to form a judgment about them. The Promised Messiahas, explaining this, says:
“‘Every person has a separate account with God. Thus, everyone should examine and reform his actions. The death of others should serve as a lesson for you lest you stumble instead of causing you to spend that time in laughter and mockery and thereby becoming more oblivious to God Almighty.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. 3, p. 217)
“[…] Islam does not teach hatred towards any human being but expresses dislike towards certain actions. Therefore, in the Holy Quran, Hazrat Lutas, while addressing his opponents, said, ‘Certainly I hate your practice.’ (Surah ash-Shu‘ara, Ch.26: V.169) Similarly, Allah has commanded the believers that when they hear the Signs of Allah being mocked at, not to sit with the mocking people as long as they are engaged in such mockery. (Surah an-Nisa, Ch.4: V.141) In other words, we have been instructed not to hate people but rather to express disgust about their actions.
“Thus, the teaching of Islam is complete and beautiful in every respect. Islam does not teach to rejoice in the death of even the most hostile enemy. Rather, a true believer is saddened even by such a person’s death because he wishes he had been guided.”
Pandit Lekhram and Zia-ul-Haq: The right reaction
Lekhram was a great enemy of Islam. It was precisely because of his enmity that the Promised Messiahas stood against him. And yet, when he died in accordance with the prophecy of the Promised Messiahas, his reaction was very telling. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa presents this magnificent example of the Promised Messiahas and writes:
“Islam does not teach to rejoice in the death of even the most hostile enemy. Rather, a true believer is saddened even by such a person’s death because he wishes he had been guided. Pandit Lekhram was an enemy of Islam and the most belligerent foe of Ahmadiyyat. He had slandered the most sacred being of our Master and Guide, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, the Chosen One. When he was killed in accordance to divine prophecies, the Promised Messiahas expressed his sympathy with the people of his nation over his death and said:
“‘We are saddened by the loss of a human’s life but also pleased by the fulfilment of a prophecy of God. Why are we pleased? Only for the good of nations: Would that they contemplated and understood that it is not man’s work to prophecy many years in advance with this high level of accuracy and clarity. Our heart is in a strange state at the moment; there is pain as well as happiness. There is pain because had Lekhram turned [to God]; if not much then had he only desisted cursing, then I swear by Allah the Exalted that I would have prayed for him and I hoped that even if he had been cut to pieces, he would still have come to life.’ (Siraj-e-Munir, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 12, p. 28)
“As far as praying for a person who dies while opposing Islam is concerned, Islam only forbids praying for forgiveness for a mushrik who is openly hostile to God Almighty. It does not forbid praying for anyone else. (Surah at-Taubah, Ch.9: V.114)”
This is exactly what happened at the time Zia-ul-Haq died. It was a sign of the help of Allah for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and yet, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh, Khalifatul Masih IV, sent his family a message of condolence. He stated:
“Without any hesitation, I can say that I have compassion in my heart for their sorrow. There is no mockery, no ridicule, no arrogance in my heart whatsoever. And this is the attitude I wish to see in the Ahmadiyya Community – and indeed, this is the attitude I believe the Community holds.
“There is happiness as well, and we cannot deny it, because a believer cannot lie merely for the sake of appeasement. The truth is that today, the hearts of Ahmadis all over the world are content and very happy. Why are they happy? Not because X died or Y perished – but because, by the help of Allah, they have seen with their own eyes the Divine support descending. The support which they had long awaited and counted the days for, they have seen it descend from the heavens, bright as the sun.
“This is the historic era through which we are now passing. To live through such a time is a rare blessing – a fortune that is granted to nations only by destiny. A sign has manifested so momentous that the generations of those who have witnessed it will forever take pride in saying that in the time of our ancestors, such a magnificent sign of God’s help appeared.
“Thus, our joy is in no way tied to anyone’s death or suffering. Even in this happiness, we are fully conscious of their pain, and we feel sorrow for it. Unlike the believer, those who are not acquainted with the sweetness of faith, who have not received proper training from the Quran and the Sunnah, their reactions are quite different. They beat drums, dance, and mock even over a small grief of their enemy. And at the slightest joy of their opponent, they become so overwhelmed, it’s as if death itself has come upon them. The situation of the enemies of Ahmadiyyat is entirely opposite to ours.” (Friday Sermon, 19 August 1988, Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 7, pp. 559-560)
Thus, Kirk’s death is in no way a chance to rejoice. Instead, the teachings of Islam, as elaborated by the Promised Messiahas and his Khulafa, make it clear that regardless of what Kirk stood for, regardless of what he preached, regardless of what he believed, Muslims cannot rejoice over his death.
Instead, just like the Holy Prophetsa would feel sorrow over the passing of an opponent because he died without accepting Islam, just like the Promised Messiahas felt sorrow over the death of Lekhram, just as Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh felt sorrow for Zia, we too feel sorrow that Kirk died in a state of disbelief.
Even if Kirk did not care for Palestinian lives or the lives of innocents everywhere, we cannot ridicule his death or rejoice over it. As mentioned earlier, our most perfect master, the Holy Prophetsa, reacted with great dignity over the death of Ubayy bin Sulul, who cared little about Muslim lives. Our reaction must seek to emulate his; otherwise, how can we call ourselves his followers?
