Is it permissible to pray for the mercy of Allah upon Abd al-Nasir and Sadat?
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The questioner : Is it permissible, for example, to pray for the mercy of Allah upon Abd al-Nasir or Sadat, for example?
The Shaykh : This issue is based on what the person praying for mercy believes about the one for whom he is praying. You know the beliefs of people regarding them; it is between those who are misguided and believe that they are heroes, may Allah will it, in achieving honor, strength, and security for Muslims in general and for Egyptians in particular. Naturally, based on this assumption, it is permissible for them to pray for mercy upon them because they are Muslims. On the contrary, there are people who believe that they are disbelievers, and that they only appeared to be Muslims because of their shedding of blood, killing people without right, oppression, and tyranny, and so on, which is known from their black history. And there is a middle group between those two, and I am among this middle group.
The questioner : The middle group.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right, meaning that I do not have conclusive evidence that these people are disbelievers in the sight of Allah, because without a doubt, things and actions contrary to the Shari'ah have appeared from them, too numerous to count. It is sufficient for Abd al-Nasir as a sin and a crime that he left the Jews and went to kill the Yemenis. But disbelief is a very difficult matter; it is not permissible to declare a person a disbeliever who testifies that there is no god but Allah, even if only with his tongue. Because the hypocrites who were in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were Muslims in appearance; they said, "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," they would pray and appear to fast, and so on. But Allah informed him that there were hypocrites in Madinah, and Allah knows them, and we do not... Allah is the Greatest. We, who have no connection to heavenly revelation, how would we know what is in the hearts of these wicked and open sinners? Are they truly appearing to be Muslims while in the depths of their souls they are hypocrites and disbelievers? Whoever becomes clear to him this, it is not permissible for him to pray for mercy upon them. And whoever it does not become clear to him, it is permissible from the standpoint of permissibility, meaning it is not permissible to pray for mercy upon, for example, disbelievers whose disbelief is declared and who have died, such as... and others like them among the disbelievers; it is not permissible to pray for mercy upon them. But as for these people, considering that their origin is Islam, it is permissible to pray for mercy upon them. But I have never prayed for mercy upon them, and I will not pray for mercy upon them. Why? Because in my soul there is hatred and aversion for these people who directed all their power to killing Muslims, displacing them, weakening them, and so on. But when a person is asked, is it permissible or not? The permissibility and its absence are based on this previous division. Is that clear?
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner : We will, if Allah wills, respond to you, I mean.
The Shaykh : Is that clear?
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner : ... one question ... .
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : ... The Shaykh : ... the first question.
The Shaykh : This issue is based on what the person praying for mercy believes about the one for whom he is praying. You know the beliefs of people regarding them; it is between those who are misguided and believe that they are heroes, may Allah will it, in achieving honor, strength, and security for Muslims in general and for Egyptians in particular. Naturally, based on this assumption, it is permissible for them to pray for mercy upon them because they are Muslims. On the contrary, there are people who believe that they are disbelievers, and that they only appeared to be Muslims because of their shedding of blood, killing people without right, oppression, and tyranny, and so on, which is known from their black history. And there is a middle group between those two, and I am among this middle group.
The questioner : The middle group.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right, meaning that I do not have conclusive evidence that these people are disbelievers in the sight of Allah, because without a doubt, things and actions contrary to the Shari'ah have appeared from them, too numerous to count. It is sufficient for Abd al-Nasir as a sin and a crime that he left the Jews and went to kill the Yemenis. But disbelief is a very difficult matter; it is not permissible to declare a person a disbeliever who testifies that there is no god but Allah, even if only with his tongue. Because the hypocrites who were in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were Muslims in appearance; they said, "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," they would pray and appear to fast, and so on. But Allah informed him that there were hypocrites in Madinah, and Allah knows them, and we do not... Allah is the Greatest. We, who have no connection to heavenly revelation, how would we know what is in the hearts of these wicked and open sinners? Are they truly appearing to be Muslims while in the depths of their souls they are hypocrites and disbelievers? Whoever becomes clear to him this, it is not permissible for him to pray for mercy upon them. And whoever it does not become clear to him, it is permissible from the standpoint of permissibility, meaning it is not permissible to pray for mercy upon, for example, disbelievers whose disbelief is declared and who have died, such as... and others like them among the disbelievers; it is not permissible to pray for mercy upon them. But as for these people, considering that their origin is Islam, it is permissible to pray for mercy upon them. But I have never prayed for mercy upon them, and I will not pray for mercy upon them. Why? Because in my soul there is hatred and aversion for these people who directed all their power to killing Muslims, displacing them, weakening them, and so on. But when a person is asked, is it permissible or not? The permissibility and its absence are based on this previous division. Is that clear?
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner : We will, if Allah wills, respond to you, I mean.
The Shaykh : Is that clear?
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner : ... one question ... .
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : ... The Shaykh : ... the first question.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.