Jurisprudential Principle of the Seizure of the Israeli ship

Jurisprudential Principle of the Seizure of the Israeli ship

 This ship belongs to "Rami Ongar", a Zionist businessman. The Yemeni army also warned all ships belonging to the Zionist enemy or those who cooperate with it, that they will become a legal target for the armed forces until the end of the Gaza war.

The question is, on what basis did the Houthis do this? Are there any religious reasons for this action? What are the legal principle of this action? What are the Quranic principle of this act? In this article, we briefly explain:

The principle of defending the oppressed:

In Islamic sources, there are many narrations about the need to defend the oppressed. The Prophet (PBUH) said in a hadith: "Whoever takes the right of the oppressed from the oppressor will be with me in heaven”.[1] In fact, the importance of helping the oppressed, and taking his right from the oppressor, is so much that it makes a person the companion of the Prophet (PBUH) in heaven. Likewise, Imam Ali (a.s.) said to Hasnain (a.s.): "Be the enemy of the oppressor and the helper of the oppressed."[2] In this narration, defending the oppressed is the duty of every Muslim; Even if the victim is a non-Muslim.

In another hadith, we read from the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever hears the voice of the oppressed asking for help from Muslims, and does not seek his help, is not a Muslim."[3]

According to the above narrations, the people of Gaza are oppressed, and it is obligatory to defend the oppressed by any possible means, it may be military, economic, or linguistic. The oppressed people of Gaza are under attack from the ground and the air. they and are under complete economic siege. Therefore, the act of seizing the Israeli ship in order to pressure this group to stop oppressing the oppressed people of Palestine is a religious obligation that the Houthi Muslims have done.

The principle of Counteraction:

Counteraction is like the rule according to which if a person or people have been wronged, oppressed or neglected, they have the right to revenge in self-defense to the extent of what happened. There are many verses in the Quran in this regard:

“So whoever attacks you, attack him in the same way as he attacked you”.[4]

“And if you were punished, then punish with the same as what you were punished with...”[5]

“If you make fun of us, we will make fun of you just as you make fun of us”.[6]

“The reward for a bad deed is a bad deed like it....”[7]

“Fight all of the polytheists just as they fight all of you”[8]

According to the above verses, Counteraction is a completely religious act and has a Quranic basis. Since the Islamic society is a single entity from the perspective of the Quran and the Islam. an attack and siege on a member of the Islamic society is equivalent to an attack and siege on the entire Islamic society, the seizure of the Israeli ship by the Houthis is considered an act of retaliation. Because the Israel have blocked the ways of any aid to the people of Gaza, in order to put pressure on the Israelis, the Muslims should also block their communication routes like the Houthis and put pressure on them to stop their atrocities.