Looking into the Books of the People of the Book
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Fatwa No. ( 20784 )
All praise is due to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the questioner: the Director General of the World Council for Understanding Islam: Muhammad Husayn al-Dhu al-Qarnayn. It was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (492) and date
22/1/1420 AH. The questioner asked a question, the text of which is as follows: The current Gospels—whether those contained in what is called the Bible or others—contain falsehoods, misguidance, and myths, such as the crucifixion of Jesus, his divinity, and the Trinity. They also contain some true facts, such as the good news of the sending of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Collecting and publishing such information has great benefits, including: - Calling the Christians to Islam by exposing the collapse and weakness of their belief and demonstrating the merits of Islam in contrast to it. - Standing against campaigns of Christianization. Exposing the weakness and emptiness of Christianity with evidence derived from Christian books themselves is considered one of the strongest and most effective ways to neutralize the effects of missionary tricks, whether the Christianization is directed at weak and needy Muslims, or at non-Muslims such as polytheists or atheists. There is no doubt that collecting and documenting such information requires precise and careful analytical study of the books circulated by the Christians, so that Muslim preachers can present strong, documented evidence from the actual texts. We have reviewed—within the World Council for Understanding Islam—some preachers who say that it is not permissible in the Shari'ah to read and study the texts of the Gospels and transmit them during dialogue
with the Christians, or to study comparative religions; because all of that is a religious innovation, as they say the preacher must limit his calling of the People of the Book to the texts of the Book and the Sunnah. We responded to the brothers that the methodology of the Noble Qur'an and the authentic Prophetic Sunnah contradicts their claim, because the Qur'an called the People of the Book to the oneness of Allah, which is a common goal between Muslims and them, and it debates them regarding their beliefs at other times, and asks them to bring proof. Allah the Exalted says:[Ali 'Imran 3:64] And He the Exalted and Majestic says: [Al-Baqarah 2:111] . And He the Exalted and Majestic says: [Ali 'Imran 3:93] ,
and from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him):Mishkat al-Masabih 3559 The hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim, This question from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was to compel them with the argument based on what they know in their book regarding its agreement with the Shari'ah of Islam, and to expose what they concealed, distorted, and altered from the Book of Allah that is in their hands, as they sought to nullify the rulings of the Torah, so Allah the Exalted exposed them. (The Methodology of the Messenger in Calling the People of the Book, Dr. Muhammad ibn Sidi ibn al-Habib al-Shinqiti, 1st ed., Vol. 1, Amin Muhammad Ahmad Salim Library, Medina ). This has been addressed by a number of Imams and scholars who studied the sects and religions and compared them with Islam. Among these scholars are: Imam Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah, and Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali, and Imam Ibn Hazm - may Allah have mercy on them - and several books were written in this field that revealed the deviation of those religions and their falsehoods - such as the book: (Izhar al-Haqq) by Shaykh Rahmat Allah Kiranawi al-Hindi And those works have proven their benefit and utility, as you know, Your Eminence.
The question is: Is it permissible to study the current books of the Christians descriptively and for the purposes mentioned, and to cite what is in them when necessary, and is it permissible to teach comparative religions as one of the study subjects in da'wah institutes and for students of knowledge, especially in countries with Muslim minorities, or not? Please issue a ruling, may Allah reward you.
After the Committee's study of the inquiry, it answered that it is not permissible to look into the books of the People of the Book or other books that contradict Islam except for scholars for the purpose of refuting them and demonstrating their invalidity. As for non-specialists among the scholars, it is not permissible for them to look into them so that they are not influenced by them. It is not permissible to teach them to students in the context of comparison with Islam; rather, the study is limited to the books of Islam, which contain the refutation of the people of misguidance and the invalidation of their doubts. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
All praise is due to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the questioner: the Director General of the World Council for Understanding Islam: Muhammad Husayn al-Dhu al-Qarnayn. It was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (492) and date
22/1/1420 AH. The questioner asked a question, the text of which is as follows: The current Gospels—whether those contained in what is called the Bible or others—contain falsehoods, misguidance, and myths, such as the crucifixion of Jesus, his divinity, and the Trinity. They also contain some true facts, such as the good news of the sending of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Collecting and publishing such information has great benefits, including: - Calling the Christians to Islam by exposing the collapse and weakness of their belief and demonstrating the merits of Islam in contrast to it. - Standing against campaigns of Christianization. Exposing the weakness and emptiness of Christianity with evidence derived from Christian books themselves is considered one of the strongest and most effective ways to neutralize the effects of missionary tricks, whether the Christianization is directed at weak and needy Muslims, or at non-Muslims such as polytheists or atheists. There is no doubt that collecting and documenting such information requires precise and careful analytical study of the books circulated by the Christians, so that Muslim preachers can present strong, documented evidence from the actual texts. We have reviewed—within the World Council for Understanding Islam—some preachers who say that it is not permissible in the Shari'ah to read and study the texts of the Gospels and transmit them during dialogue
with the Christians, or to study comparative religions; because all of that is a religious innovation, as they say the preacher must limit his calling of the People of the Book to the texts of the Book and the Sunnah. We responded to the brothers that the methodology of the Noble Qur'an and the authentic Prophetic Sunnah contradicts their claim, because the Qur'an called the People of the Book to the oneness of Allah, which is a common goal between Muslims and them, and it debates them regarding their beliefs at other times, and asks them to bring proof. Allah the Exalted says:
Say, "O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah." But if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]."
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَى كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلا نَعْبُدَ إِلا اللَّهَ وَلاَ نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلاَ يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُولُوا اشْهَدُوا بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَAnd they say, "None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian." That is [merely] their wishful thinking, Say, "Produce your proof, if you should be truthful."
وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَAll food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had made unlawful to himself before the Torah was revealed. Say, [O Muhammad], "So bring the Torah and recite it, if you should be truthful."
كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِلا لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِلا مَا حَرَّمَ إِسْرَائِيلُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تُنَـزَّلَ التَّوْرَاةُ قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِالتَّوْرَاةِ فَاتْلُوهَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَand from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him):
‘Abdallah b. ‘Umar told that the Jews came to God’s Messenger and mentioned to him that a man and a woman of their number had committed fornication. He asked them what they found in the Torah about stoning
أن اليهود جاءوا إلى رسول الله فذكروا أن رجلاً منهم وامرأة زنيا، فقال لهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ما تجدون في التوارة في شأن الرجم؟The question is: Is it permissible to study the current books of the Christians descriptively and for the purposes mentioned, and to cite what is in them when necessary, and is it permissible to teach comparative religions as one of the study subjects in da'wah institutes and for students of knowledge, especially in countries with Muslim minorities, or not? Please issue a ruling, may Allah reward you.
After the Committee's study of the inquiry, it answered that it is not permissible to look into the books of the People of the Book or other books that contradict Islam except for scholars for the purpose of refuting them and demonstrating their invalidity. As for non-specialists among the scholars, it is not permissible for them to look into them so that they are not influenced by them. It is not permissible to teach them to students in the context of comparison with Islam; rather, the study is limited to the books of Islam, which contain the refutation of the people of misguidance and the invalidation of their doubts. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.