Is seclusion of any benefit in light of the heedlessness, ignorance, and deviation from the Sunnah that the Ummah is experiencing? Do you advise the youth to seclude themselves?

The questioner : In light of the heedlessness, ignorance, and deviation from the Sunnah that the Ummah is experiencing, is seclusion of any benefit, and do you advise the youth to seclude themselves?

The Shaykh : I do not advise the youth to seclude themselves, because the seclusion mentioned in some authentic hadiths refers to seclusion during fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), meaning seclusion during chaos and turmoil. As you know, chaos is characterized by widespread killing, where advice, reminders, or anything else is of no use. And praise be to Allah, this is not present in most Islamic countries. All that exists is, as you pointed out, deviation from the guidance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in understanding and practice. For example, the exposure of women, their tabarruj (a woman's display of her adornment), and men imitating open sinners and disbelievers, and so on. This is a deviation from acting upon the religion. Furthermore, there is poor understanding of the religion, as you know, in some matters of creed, most importantly their stance on the verses and hadiths regarding the attributes of Allah. No one is safe from this, not even the specialized scholars among Muslims, let alone the general public. Specifically, regarding the attribute of Allah's (Mighty and Majestic) elevation, they purify Him from it and describe Him with its opposite, saying that Allah is everywhere and that Allah is present... As for Him being the Most High, that He is above the Throne, and that He is above all creation, they claim this is misguidance and likening Allah to creation. As for placing Him everywhere, even in... and in the sewers, bars, and the like, they claim this is an attribute of purification. So, when we know this reality, seclusion is misguidance, because it means that the Muslim wants to not fulfill the obligation of conveying the call to the extent of his ability. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged the Muslim to remain in his society and to mix with his people with the intention of clarifying the obligation that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has charged him with. This is in his saying (peace be upon him): . Then, seclusion has types. The type that comes to mind is withdrawing to the top of a mountain so as not to mix with people, not seeing their good or their evil. This is its place during fitnah, as we said earlier. A second type of seclusion is to leave their gatherings that are based on evil and major sins which one is unable to change; this is obligatory.

The questioner : Seclusion is obligatory.

The Shaykh : I do not say that this type of seclusion is obligatory; rather, this type of seclusion is obligatory. And one of its proofs is the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): . So, you enjoin good and forbid evil to some people, but they do not respond. Then you return to attending with them, sitting with them in a manner of accommodation, not to win their hearts and souls to the truth to which you are calling them. This seclusion is obligatory. Between the first type of seclusion, which is permissible during times of fitnah, and the other type, which is obligatory, even if there is no fitnah of the first type, there are many degrees of seclusion. But the worst of them is when the Muslim reaches the point of leaving Jumu'ah (the Friday prayer) and the congregation with the Muslims on the pretext of seclusion, even if it is in his own home and not on the top of a mountain. In this case, he misses much good. First, he misses fulfilling the obligation of responding to the call to prayer: "Hayya 'ala al-salah" (Come to prayer), "Hayya 'ala al-falah" (Come to success). Second, he misses what he might see of error from some of the worshippers, which he should point out to them. And all of this is within the limits of ability, as indicated by his saying (peace be upon him) in the authentic hadith: . The Messenger (peace be upon him) established enjoining good and forbidding evil with these three degrees, which is the greatest proof that seclusion from people is not recommended except when fitnah occurs among Muslims and the killing intensifies. Why? Because he provided you with a way to not forbid evil even with your tongue, as long as you see it and forbid it with your heart. So why seclude oneself? And we know by experience that the time when forbidding evil is done with the heart only, absolutely, has not been reached, praise be to Allah. You and we all forbid much of the evil with our tongues, and rarely do we change it with our hands, but we have not reached the point of forbidding all evil, in general and in detail, with our hearts only. So why seclude oneself? And it is said: "The believer who mixes with people and endures their harm is better than the one who does not mix with them and does not endure their harm."