The Ruling on Greeting Disbelievers

His Eminence the Shaykh: In the issue of greeting disbelievers, some mention that this is disbelief absolutely?The Shaykh: Meaning, if you greet a disbeliever.

The questioner: No, it is not a treaty with them, or a truce.

The Shaykh: My brother! In these matters, a person must speak with knowledge. You know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) made a treaty with Quraysh for ten years, then they broke the treaty, and then he campaigned against them and conquered Makkah. The scholars mentioned that a truce with non-Muslims is permissible when there is an inability to fight them, but some of them restricted it to ten years, and some said it is permissible without restriction. Then, when the Muslims gain strength, at that time they campaign against the disbelievers until they submit or pay the jizyah (tax on protected non-Muslims) from their hand while they are humbled. In such matters, a person must speak with knowledge, not with emotion. Otherwise, we hate all disbelievers and we wish that the word of Allah is the highest, in every place. Therefore, for a person to speak with emotion based on ignorance, this is not permissible.Allah the Exalted said: [Al-A'raf: 33] And look at the words of the previous scholars in the book of Jihad, in the chapter of truce, how they detailed it and explained it.As for the one who said: That a truce with disbelievers is disbelief, this is an error. Yes, if a person denies the obligation of jihad, and then we inform him with the evidence indicating that jihad is obligatory, and then he denies it, then that is the one about whom it may be said that he is a disbeliever.