If a man has a Christian neighbor and invites him to Islam but he refuses, is there sin in speaking with him and associating with him, and what is obligatory toward him?

The questioner : He says: O honorable Shaykh, I have a Christian neighbor whom I have invited to Islam more than once, but he refused and insisted on remaining on his religion, claiming that his religion is the truth. Am I sinful for speaking with him and associating with him, or not? And what is my duty toward him?

The Shaykh : Anything that brings affection between a Muslim and a disbeliever is a means to affection. Allah the Exalted said: It is not permissible for a person to seek anything that leads to affection, because if he seeks it, he has sought the removal of faith from himself, either its absolute removal or the removal of its perfection. However, if they greet us, we return the greeting, and if they honor us with a greeting, we honor them with the like of it, and we do not wrong them in their neighborly relations. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The scholars said: "There are three types of neighbors: a close Muslim neighbor, who has three rights: the right of neighborliness, the right of kinship, and the right of Islam; a close disbeliever neighbor, who has two rights: the right of neighborliness and the right of kinship; and a Muslim neighbor who is not a relative, who has two rights: the right of neighborliness and the right of Islam. And the fourth—I said three, but they said four—the fourth is a disbeliever neighbor who is not a relative, who has one right: the right of neighborliness." Honoring him does not necessitate affection. Often a person honors a guest who stays with him or someone he meets after a journey; he honors him, invites him, and prepares a feast for him, even though he does not love him. But affection, and doing what leads to it, for a believer with a disbeliever, this diminishes faith. Yes.

The questioner : I mentioned, O honorable Shaykh, the saying of Allah the Exalted: What is the nature of the plotting of Allah the Exalted against the disbelievers?