Working with a man who insists on committing certain violations and does not heed advice, and I have brought him some religious books in the hope that he will be enlightened by them
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The questioner : The listener also has a second question, in which he says that he works with a man who insists on committing certain violations and does not heed advice. He says, "I have brought him some religious books in the hope that he will be enlightened by them, but to no avail. Should I leave my job with him despite the scarcity of work in our area, or might my advice and guidance cause him to turn back from his sins? We also ask for advice in this matter?"
The Shaykh : Yes. We can also direct advice to you and to him in this matter.
As for you, it is obligatory for you to continue advising as long as you hope that it will have an effect in reforming this man. Do not get tired, do not grow weary, and do not despair, for the door may not open on the first attempt, but it may open on the second, third, fourth, or even more attempts. Ask Allah for his guidance, for your supplication for your brother in his absence is likely to be answered, because the angel says, "Ameen, and for you the same." And approach him with that which is best. If he refuses and persists in his sin, and if he commits the sin in your presence, and the nature of the work requires you to be present while he commits the sin, then it is not permissible for you to remain in this job, because sitting with the people of sins is a sin and participation in their guilt, as Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:140] meaning that if you sit with them, you are like them.
However, if the sins he commits are outside the work in which you are a partner, then it does not harm you to remain in your job, because you did not witness the sins he commits and you did not approve of them. This is regarding the advice to you.
As for my advice to him, I say that he should fear Allah regarding himself and repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because Allah the Exalted made repentance obligatory upon His servants from all sins. He said:[At-Tahrim 66:8] And He commanded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to repent to Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So it is obligatory for him to abandon the sin, feel remorse for it, and resolve not to return to it in the future, so that his repentance may be sincere, lest death overtake him while he is persisting in his sin, and repentance does not benefit him at that time, as Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:18] And a person does not know when death will overtake him. So my advice to him and to every sinner who is extravagant against himself is to repent to Allah and abandon his sin before he has no way of escape from it. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Yes. We can also direct advice to you and to him in this matter.
As for you, it is obligatory for you to continue advising as long as you hope that it will have an effect in reforming this man. Do not get tired, do not grow weary, and do not despair, for the door may not open on the first attempt, but it may open on the second, third, fourth, or even more attempts. Ask Allah for his guidance, for your supplication for your brother in his absence is likely to be answered, because the angel says, "Ameen, and for you the same." And approach him with that which is best. If he refuses and persists in his sin, and if he commits the sin in your presence, and the nature of the work requires you to be present while he commits the sin, then it is not permissible for you to remain in this job, because sitting with the people of sins is a sin and participation in their guilt, as Allah the Exalted said:
And it has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah [recited], they are denied [by them] and ridiculed; so do not sit with them until they enter into another conversation. Indeed, you would then be like them
وَقَد نَزَّلَ عَلَيكُم فِي الكِتابِ أَن إِذا سَمِعتُم ءاياتِ اللَّهِ يُكفَرُ بِها وَيُستَهزَأُ بِها فَلا تَقعُدوا مَعَهُم حَتّى يَخوضوا في حَديثٍ غَيرِهِ إِنَّكُم إِذًا مِثلُهُمHowever, if the sins he commits are outside the work in which you are a partner, then it does not harm you to remain in your job, because you did not witness the sins he commits and you did not approve of them. This is regarding the advice to you.
As for my advice to him, I say that he should fear Allah regarding himself and repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because Allah the Exalted made repentance obligatory upon His servants from all sins. He said:
O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ ءامَنوا توبوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوبَةً نَصوحًا عَسى رَبُّكُم أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُم سَيِّئَاتِكُم وَيُدخِلَكُم جَنّاتٍ تَجري مِن تَحتِهَا الأَنهارُRepent to Allah, for I repent to Allah the Exalted a hundred times a day.
توبوا إلى الله فإني أتوب إلى الله تعالى في اليوم مائة مرةBut repentance is not [accepted] of those who [continue to] do evil deeds up until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "Indeed, I have repented now,"
وَلَيسَتِ التَّوبَةُ لِلَّذينَ يَعمَلونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتّى إِذا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ المَوتُ قالَ إِنّي تُبتُ الآنَThe questioner : May Allah bless you.