What is the ruling on assisting the Christians in opening churches and schools in Muslim lands?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner asks: What is the ruling on one who assists the Christians in opening churches in Muslim lands, and likewise in opening their schools where Christianity is spread?
Answer:
This is not permissible. Muslims must not allow the Christians to establish churches, nor to repair them if they fall into ruin.
As for if Muslims take control of a land that contains churches, they leave them until they collapse and cease to exist, and they are not to be rebuilt a second time. They do not allow disbelievers to build new churches in the lands of Islam, especially in the Arabian Peninsula.
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan al-Bayhaqi 8:22 It is not permissible to build churches next to mosques in the Arabian Peninsula, which is the source of the message, and which contains the Sacred Precinct, the noble Ka'bah, the qiblah of Muslims, and the origin of the call. It is not permissible for two religions to remain there, ever.
This does not mean that a disbeliever cannot enter for work and return, or enter for trade and return. What is forbidden is his settling down and owning property in the lands of the Peninsula. As for entering the Peninsula for a mission or a task, or for buying and selling, and then returning, or for work for which he was hired, there is no harm in this. Yes.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner asks: What is the ruling on one who assists the Christians in opening churches in Muslim lands, and likewise in opening their schools where Christianity is spread?
Answer:
This is not permissible. Muslims must not allow the Christians to establish churches, nor to repair them if they fall into ruin.
As for if Muslims take control of a land that contains churches, they leave them until they collapse and cease to exist, and they are not to be rebuilt a second time. They do not allow disbelievers to build new churches in the lands of Islam, especially in the Arabian Peninsula.
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Two religions are not to remain in the Arabian Peninsula
لا يبقى في جزيره العرب دينانThis does not mean that a disbeliever cannot enter for work and return, or enter for trade and return. What is forbidden is his settling down and owning property in the lands of the Peninsula. As for entering the Peninsula for a mission or a task, or for buying and selling, and then returning, or for work for which he was hired, there is no harm in this. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم معاونة النصارى على فتح الكناس والمدارس في بلاد المسلمين؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
