The Shaykh’s (may Allah have mercy on him) warning against April Fools’ Day!
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : On this occasion, I warn my Muslim brothers against what some of the foolish people do with "April Fools’ Day", and I think it is coming soon.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This lie, which they took from the Jews, the Christians, the Zoroastrians, and the people of disbelief, is forbidden in the Shari'ah because it is a lie, and lying is forbidden in the Shari'ah. It is also imitating non-Muslims, and imitating non-Muslims is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 4031Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that its chain of narration is good, and the least of its rulings is prohibition, even though its apparent meaning implies that the one who imitates them is a disbeliever. In addition to containing these two prohibitions, it is also a humiliation of the Muslim before his enemy, because it is known by the nature of humans that the imitator takes pride over the one he imitates.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : He considers himself braver than the one he imitates, and therefore he weakens the one he imitates until he imitates him. So in it is the humiliation of the believer by being a tail and a follower of the disbelievers.
The fourth prohibition is that most of it, meaning most of this evil lie, involves taking money by falsehood or frightening the Muslim.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, he might lie and speak to the people of the house, saying that so-and-so says, "Look, we have a group today to cook a large lunch, meat, and the like."
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Or he might inform them of something that frightens them, such as saying, "Your car was run over, it was hit by a car, or the like of matters that are not permissible without being in this state. So the Muslim should fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and be noble by his religion, proud of it, and pleased with it, so that the enemies of the Muslims fear him and respect him. And I guarantee that everyone who takes pride in the religion of Allah will be noble among people.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And for everyone who humbles himself before his enemies, he will be the most humiliated before Allah and before his enemies. So do not think, O Muslim, that following the disbelievers and taking their morals will make you noble in their hearts. Rather, it is the ultimate humiliation, and you know that. If someone were to imitate you in your actions, you would see pride in yourself over him, and you would see that he is humiliated before you because he is imitating you. This is a known matter by the nature of humans.
And whenever our enemies see that we are strong and noble by our religion, and that we do not care about them and do not deal with them except as required by the Shari'ah of Allah, which is the Shari'ah of the entire world after the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him),[Al-A'raf 7:158].
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: If this is the case for the People of the Book, and they are People of the Book, what about the other disbelievers? Everyone who hears of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and does not follow him is from the people of the Fire.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If this is the case, why do we Muslims humiliate ourselves and follow others? All of us know what happened in the dialogue between Heraclius, the great king of the Romans, and Abu Sufyan, who was a disbeliever at the time. Abu Sufyan was careful not to lie regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for fear that this lie would be held against him, even though he wished to lie against the virtue of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If this is the case for a disbeliever, what about you, O believer, lying? And success is from Allah.
The questioner : You have done well. May Allah reward you.
Now, this is a message from Jabir Hasan Ahmad Asiri from Riyadh, the Armed Forces.
The questioner : He says in his message, which is long, and this is a summary of it: "I have two wives in the Asir region, and their fathers prevent them from traveling with me, and I remain away from them for several months. Do I sin in that or not?"
The Shaykh : Before that, I actually did not pay attention to the question.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I say, I would like this episode to be broadcast before the month of April begins, if possible.
The questioner : Yes, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Repeat the question.
The questioner : The question of Jabir Hasan Ahmad Asiri says in it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This lie, which they took from the Jews, the Christians, the Zoroastrians, and the people of disbelief, is forbidden in the Shari'ah because it is a lie, and lying is forbidden in the Shari'ah. It is also imitating non-Muslims, and imitating non-Muslims is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who copies any people is one of them.
من تشبه بقومٍ فهو منهمThe questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : He considers himself braver than the one he imitates, and therefore he weakens the one he imitates until he imitates him. So in it is the humiliation of the believer by being a tail and a follower of the disbelievers.
The fourth prohibition is that most of it, meaning most of this evil lie, involves taking money by falsehood or frightening the Muslim.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, he might lie and speak to the people of the house, saying that so-and-so says, "Look, we have a group today to cook a large lunch, meat, and the like."
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Or he might inform them of something that frightens them, such as saying, "Your car was run over, it was hit by a car, or the like of matters that are not permissible without being in this state. So the Muslim should fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and be noble by his religion, proud of it, and pleased with it, so that the enemies of the Muslims fear him and respect him. And I guarantee that everyone who takes pride in the religion of Allah will be noble among people.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And for everyone who humbles himself before his enemies, he will be the most humiliated before Allah and before his enemies. So do not think, O Muslim, that following the disbelievers and taking their morals will make you noble in their hearts. Rather, it is the ultimate humiliation, and you know that. If someone were to imitate you in your actions, you would see pride in yourself over him, and you would see that he is humiliated before you because he is imitating you. This is a known matter by the nature of humans.
And whenever our enemies see that we are strong and noble by our religion, and that we do not care about them and do not deal with them except as required by the Shari'ah of Allah, which is the Shari'ah of the entire world after the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him),
Say, [O Muhammad], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًاThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
By Myself, no Jew or Christian hears of me and then does not believe in what I have brought, except that he will be from the people of the Fire.
والذي نفسي بيده لا يسمع بي يهودي ولا نصراني ثم لا يؤمن بما جئت به إلا كان من أهل النارThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If this is the case, why do we Muslims humiliate ourselves and follow others? All of us know what happened in the dialogue between Heraclius, the great king of the Romans, and Abu Sufyan, who was a disbeliever at the time. Abu Sufyan was careful not to lie regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for fear that this lie would be held against him, even though he wished to lie against the virtue of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If this is the case for a disbeliever, what about you, O believer, lying? And success is from Allah.
The questioner : You have done well. May Allah reward you.
Now, this is a message from Jabir Hasan Ahmad Asiri from Riyadh, the Armed Forces.
The questioner : He says in his message, which is long, and this is a summary of it: "I have two wives in the Asir region, and their fathers prevent them from traveling with me, and I remain away from them for several months. Do I sin in that or not?"
The Shaykh : Before that, I actually did not pay attention to the question.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I say, I would like this episode to be broadcast before the month of April begins, if possible.
The questioner : Yes, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Repeat the question.
The questioner : The question of Jabir Hasan Ahmad Asiri says in it.