Is it permissible to deliver lectures at the beginning of the Gregorian year in which one speaks about the status of 'Isa (peace be upon him) with the intention of calling non-Muslims to Islam?
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The questioner : The questioner:The questioner : He says: Is it permissible to hold lectures at the beginning of the Gregorian year that discuss al-Masih (peace and blessings be upon him) and his status in Islam, and other matters related to al-Masih; and is this for the purpose of calling non-Muslims, such as the Christians and others, to embrace Islam? And what is the ruling on making this a regular practice?
The Shaykh : First: We mentioned recently the ruling on festivals in Islam other than the three festivals: 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-Adha, and the festival of Friday.
Second: Whoever is truly eager to call non-Muslims to Islam should not limit the matter to taking advantage of the opportunity of the Christians' celebration of their festival, so that we participate in it under the pretext of calling them to Islam. There are many fields for calling them, such as writing, preaching, and the like, at any time the caller is able to do so. Therefore, there is nothing that justifies participating in the Christians' festivals under the pretext of conveying the call of Islam to them.
In short, it is not part of Islam what is said today: "The end justifies the means." Because this alleged rule is not an Islamic rule, but rather a purely foreign rule. Some Muslims have been afflicted by being influenced by it, and we find them engaging in and mixing with non-Shari'ah rulings, under the pretext that they lead to a benefit. It is not permissible to take a non-Shari'ah path to a benefit. Also, we spoke in a previous session about the difference between the benefit that is prescribed to be taken, and the religious innovation that some call a "good innovation." We mentioned that benefit has conditions that must be met for it to be permissible to take it; otherwise, it is not. If you remember what I quoted for you from Ibn Taymiyyah: if the cause has occurred and did not exist in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the reason for the existence of the cause for taking the benefit stems from our negligence... in applying our Shari'ah rulings; then it is not permissible at that time to take that benefit, because it resulted, or we imagined it to be a benefit, due to our failure to apply the Shari'ah. I detailed this matter somewhat... the Christians. Rather, it is not permissible to take the festivals innovated among Muslims as a means to achieve a benefit. We say that many Muslims today take advantage of the opportunity of the Prophet's birthday (Mawlid), giving sermons and reminding people, and so on. Some Salafis may participate in this, under the pretext that it is an opportunity to be seized and utilized to remind these celebrating people of the Salafi call. This is what we do not see as permissible, because it involves participating in festivals that we believe are not prescribed. With the observation that it is possible to convey the call to people through the prescribed path.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? It is not permissible...
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : I said: There is no festival in Islam except 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-Adha, and the festival of Friday.
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : How is it not...
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : And the question is how was it?
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : So you can make this a separate question, but what is... of the question? You can say—what you are adding—you say: But these people are such and such. But you say if they do not participate in their festivals, but they are in their places where they are, in the mosque, in the school, in the club, in any place; so they are speaking with the Islamic call. Then it takes on another form and another ruling.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is no obstacle, because there is no participation. And you perhaps noticed that I said that some Muslims take advantage of the celebration of the Prophet's birthday, even some Salafis, I said. I clarified that I do not see this as permissible; because it involves participating in the celebration of something that is not established in the Sunnah. We are going around the actual and personal participation. As for what you began or went to and perished and your thought... is permissible without a doubt. Yes.
The Shaykh : First: We mentioned recently the ruling on festivals in Islam other than the three festivals: 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-Adha, and the festival of Friday.
Second: Whoever is truly eager to call non-Muslims to Islam should not limit the matter to taking advantage of the opportunity of the Christians' celebration of their festival, so that we participate in it under the pretext of calling them to Islam. There are many fields for calling them, such as writing, preaching, and the like, at any time the caller is able to do so. Therefore, there is nothing that justifies participating in the Christians' festivals under the pretext of conveying the call of Islam to them.
In short, it is not part of Islam what is said today: "The end justifies the means." Because this alleged rule is not an Islamic rule, but rather a purely foreign rule. Some Muslims have been afflicted by being influenced by it, and we find them engaging in and mixing with non-Shari'ah rulings, under the pretext that they lead to a benefit. It is not permissible to take a non-Shari'ah path to a benefit. Also, we spoke in a previous session about the difference between the benefit that is prescribed to be taken, and the religious innovation that some call a "good innovation." We mentioned that benefit has conditions that must be met for it to be permissible to take it; otherwise, it is not. If you remember what I quoted for you from Ibn Taymiyyah: if the cause has occurred and did not exist in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the reason for the existence of the cause for taking the benefit stems from our negligence... in applying our Shari'ah rulings; then it is not permissible at that time to take that benefit, because it resulted, or we imagined it to be a benefit, due to our failure to apply the Shari'ah. I detailed this matter somewhat... the Christians. Rather, it is not permissible to take the festivals innovated among Muslims as a means to achieve a benefit. We say that many Muslims today take advantage of the opportunity of the Prophet's birthday (Mawlid), giving sermons and reminding people, and so on. Some Salafis may participate in this, under the pretext that it is an opportunity to be seized and utilized to remind these celebrating people of the Salafi call. This is what we do not see as permissible, because it involves participating in festivals that we believe are not prescribed. With the observation that it is possible to convey the call to people through the prescribed path.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? It is not permissible...
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : I said: There is no festival in Islam except 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-Adha, and the festival of Friday.
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : How is it not...
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : And the question is how was it?
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : So you can make this a separate question, but what is... of the question? You can say—what you are adding—you say: But these people are such and such. But you say if they do not participate in their festivals, but they are in their places where they are, in the mosque, in the school, in the club, in any place; so they are speaking with the Islamic call. Then it takes on another form and another ruling.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is no obstacle, because there is no participation. And you perhaps noticed that I said that some Muslims take advantage of the celebration of the Prophet's birthday, even some Salafis, I said. I clarified that I do not see this as permissible; because it involves participating in the celebration of something that is not established in the Sunnah. We are going around the actual and personal participation. As for what you began or went to and perished and your thought... is permissible without a doubt. Yes.
Source
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.