The People of the Interregnum
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Reading books of other religions
Question: Is it permissible to read some books that deal with some other religions other than Islam, merely to gain knowledge of them and become acquainted with them, or to read some books about some communist systems and the like, not out of admiration for them, nor to act upon them, but for the same purpose mentioned previously?
Answer: A person must know the truth, know the correct religion, and be well-versed in beneficial knowledge. Then, after that, he looks into opposing matters to warn against them and refute them.
As for the ignorant person whose culture is weak and whose accumulation of knowledge in the Shari'ah is little, it is not permissible for him to read false books; because they may deceive him and affect his belief while he is unaware; because he lacks the knowledge by which to distinguish between the truth and falsehood. So it is necessary that the person first have an accumulation of beneficial knowledge by which he knows the truth from falsehood. At that point, there is no harm in his looking into falsehood, or it may be obligatory for him to look into falsehood to warn against it, and to warn against it and to refute it.
[The People of the Interval]
Question: Who are the People of the Interval? Are there People of the Interval in our time? And what is the ruling regarding them?
Answer: The People of the Interval are those who live in a time when the call of a Messenger did not reach them, and no Book came to them. So the Interval is the period between 'Isa (peace be upon him) and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him),Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Ma'idah: 19] .
So the Interval: It is the time in which there is no Messenger and no Book. Included among the People of the Interval is one who lives isolated, for example, from the world, or far from the Muslims, and whose call did not reach him,Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Isra: 15] , and as for their ruling, that is up to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
Question: Is it permissible to read some books that deal with some other religions other than Islam, merely to gain knowledge of them and become acquainted with them, or to read some books about some communist systems and the like, not out of admiration for them, nor to act upon them, but for the same purpose mentioned previously?
Answer: A person must know the truth, know the correct religion, and be well-versed in beneficial knowledge. Then, after that, he looks into opposing matters to warn against them and refute them.
As for the ignorant person whose culture is weak and whose accumulation of knowledge in the Shari'ah is little, it is not permissible for him to read false books; because they may deceive him and affect his belief while he is unaware; because he lacks the knowledge by which to distinguish between the truth and falsehood. So it is necessary that the person first have an accumulation of beneficial knowledge by which he knows the truth from falsehood. At that point, there is no harm in his looking into falsehood, or it may be obligatory for him to look into falsehood to warn against it, and to warn against it and to refute it.
[The People of the Interval]
Question: Who are the People of the Interval? Are there People of the Interval in our time? And what is the ruling regarding them?
Answer: The People of the Interval are those who live in a time when the call of a Messenger did not reach them, and no Book came to them. So the Interval is the period between 'Isa (peace be upon him) and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him),Allah the Exalted said:
O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger to make clear to you [the religion] after a period [of suspension] of messengers
يَاأَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ عَلَى فَتْرَةٍ مِنَ الرُّسُلِSo the Interval: It is the time in which there is no Messenger and no Book. Included among the People of the Interval is one who lives isolated, for example, from the world, or far from the Muslims, and whose call did not reach him,Allah the Exalted said: