The Ruling on Secret Meetings and Attending Them
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner says: Many people say about some others that a person is a "monk" because he is ascetic and drinks with them. Is it permissible to suspect that he is a monk?
Answer:
It is not permissible to say that about him, calling him a "monk," because this term has become common among Muslims, and it is not permissible to call a Muslim a "monk." As for attending gatherings, there is a distinction. If these gatherings are good, containing knowledge, scholars, benefit, or sessions of dhikr (remembrance of Allah), then one should attend them and benefit from them. Also, the gatherings should not be hidden; they should not be secret and unknown to people. Rather, they should be public in the mosques or in prominent places where people can see them, attend them, and follow them. However, if they are hidden and secret, this is a prevailing suspicion, and people are greatly harmed by this suspicion. Our religion does not involve these matters, except if the Muslims are in lands of disbelievers and are afraid of the disbelievers, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were in Makkah at the beginning of the call, threatened by the disbelievers if they revealed anything. In that case, there is no harm in secrecy because they are in danger. But in the lands of Muslims, among Muslims, there is no need for such secrecy and hidden gatherings. If the intention is to spread good, it is obligatory to make it widespread among the Muslims and to hold it in the mosque or in a place where people can see it, know about it, and attend it. However, if these gatherings contain evil, doubts, or are attended by people not known for knowledge or not known for uprightness, then it is not permissible to attend them because they are not pure and are suspicious.
The presenter:
Yes. There is no god but Allah. May Allah bless you.
The questioner says: Many people say about some others that a person is a "monk" because he is ascetic and drinks with them. Is it permissible to suspect that he is a monk?
Answer:
It is not permissible to say that about him, calling him a "monk," because this term has become common among Muslims, and it is not permissible to call a Muslim a "monk." As for attending gatherings, there is a distinction. If these gatherings are good, containing knowledge, scholars, benefit, or sessions of dhikr (remembrance of Allah), then one should attend them and benefit from them. Also, the gatherings should not be hidden; they should not be secret and unknown to people. Rather, they should be public in the mosques or in prominent places where people can see them, attend them, and follow them. However, if they are hidden and secret, this is a prevailing suspicion, and people are greatly harmed by this suspicion. Our religion does not involve these matters, except if the Muslims are in lands of disbelievers and are afraid of the disbelievers, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were in Makkah at the beginning of the call, threatened by the disbelievers if they revealed anything. In that case, there is no harm in secrecy because they are in danger. But in the lands of Muslims, among Muslims, there is no need for such secrecy and hidden gatherings. If the intention is to spread good, it is obligatory to make it widespread among the Muslims and to hold it in the mosque or in a place where people can see it, know about it, and attend it. However, if these gatherings contain evil, doubts, or are attended by people not known for knowledge or not known for uprightness, then it is not permissible to attend them because they are not pure and are suspicious.
The presenter:
Yes. There is no god but Allah. May Allah bless you.
Source
شرح الأصول الثلاثة [9] — alfawzan.live (1:20:11)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.