The Fourth Section: Explaining the Ruling on Greeting the Open Sinner and Explaining the Cases of Boycotting the Open Sinner.
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The Shaykh : Now, does one greet the open sinner? Does one greet the open sinner? I mean, for example, a man who smokes cigarettes, does one greet the open sinner? Like a person known for evil, or a person who smokes in front of you, or a person who shaves his beard, or something similar. Do you greet him? Yes, this is detailed. If there is a benefit in boycotting him, such that he repents to Allah from his disobedience, then boycott him. And if there is no benefit in boycotting him, then do not boycott him. And if there is a greater harm in boycotting him, then greeting him becomes more confirmed. Pay attention, my brother, the detail is in three cases: If there is a benefit in boycotting him, what do we do? We boycott him. If there is no benefit in it, we greet him on the basis of permissibility. If there is a harm in boycotting him, we greet him on the basis of recommendation and confirmation. Now, how are these cases? If this open sinner, when we boycott him, refrains from his open sinfulness and his condition improves, then here boycotting him is prescribed, either as an obligation or as a recommendation, because the boycott becomes like a medicine for this person who is persistent in disobedience. And so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) boycotted Ka'b ibn Malik and his two companions. Who were his two companions? Hilal ibn Umayyah and Murarah ibn al-Rabi'. When they lagged behind the expedition to Tabuk, and when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from it, they informed him of the truth, so he boycotted them. But did their condition improve or not? Without a doubt, it improved, and they became better than they were before, until Allah revealed a Qur'an about them that is recited until the Day of Resurrection. If you read the biography of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who is the best of the Companions without dispute, if you read his biography in the prayer, is it permissible? Can you read his biography in the prayer? No. But we read the biographies of these people in the prayer [At-Tawbah 9:118]... and so on. All of this is because of their truthfulness. If they benefited greatly from the boycott, then this man whom we see as an open sinner, if we boycott him and he benefits from the boycott, we boycott him.
The second case: That we do not benefit from boycotting him, and there is no harm in it. Here, boycotting is permissible and is not a recommended practice; rather, we may say that greeting is the recommended practice, based on the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 4914Sahih (Al-Albani) Is the open sinner who disobeys your brother? A person who smokes, shaves his beard, and lets his garment hang below the ankles, is he your brother? Yes, yes. You have two opinions on this: one opinion says he is not a brother, and another opinion says he is a brother. The stronger position is that he is a brother, even if he is disobedient. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: [Al-Baqarah 2:178] And the meaning of retaliation, my brother.
The student: Killing the killer...
The Shaykh : Exactly, retaliation is killing the killer. And without a doubt, killing a believer intentionally is one of the major sins, until Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:93] And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan al-Bayhaqi 15:156 And yet, Allah the Exalted said about this killer: [Al-Baqarah 2:178] Who is his brother? The one who was killed. [Al-Baqarah 2:178] So Allah made the killer a brother to the one who was killed, even though the killer committed a major sin. And He the Exalted said about the two warring factions: [Al-Hujurat 49:9] until He said: [Al-Hujurat 49:10] So open sinfulness does not make the open sinner other than a brother to us; he is our brother, even if he is an open sinner. And some of you said that he is not a brother. Yes, and this is similar to one man, an old shaykh, we were talking in a gathering like this, and I told him that the smoker is our brother. He said: Absolutely, he will not be our brother, with intensity. And what do we say to him regarding the truth? Is he a brother or not? He is our brother, without a doubt. So we do not boycott him. It is not permissible for a believer to boycott his brother for more than three days, except if there is in boycotting him what? A benefit.
Now, if there is a harm in boycotting him, and that is the third case, then we do not boycott him. How can there be a harm in boycotting him? He hates the truth when we boycott him, and he hates the people of truth, and he may increase in his open sinfulness and rebel more. Here, boycotting becomes what? Forbidden, because it leads to a greater harm. And the Shari'ah came to reduce harms and achieve benefits. We return to the brother's question. Mention for us the cases in boycotting the open sinner.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : If there is a harm in boycotting him, we greet him on the basis of recommendation? What does that mean?
The student: He greets him.
The Shaykh : Yes, on the basis of recommendation, not obligation?
The student: On the basis of obligation.
The Shaykh : Now, that is one. The second.
The student: ... harm.
The Shaykh : If there is a benefit in boycotting him.
The student: ... benefit, here we boycott him.
The Shaykh : We boycott him, either as an obligation or as a recommendation, depending on the case. The third?
The student: ... no harm and no benefit.
The Shaykh : We know.
The student: We greet him on the basis of recommendation.
The Shaykh : So we greet him on the basis of recommendation, because he is from the believers. Now, the discussion.
And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind [and regretted their error] to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness
وعلى الثلاثة الذين خلفوا حتى إذا ضاقت عليهم الأرض بما رحبتThe second case: That we do not benefit from boycotting him, and there is no harm in it. Here, boycotting is permissible and is not a recommended practice; rather, we may say that greeting is the recommended practice, based on the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
It is not allowable for a Muslim to keep apart from his brother
لا يحل للمسلم أن يهجر أخاهO you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered
يا أيها الذين آمنوا كتب عليكم القصاص في القتلىThe student: Killing the killer...
The Shaykh : Exactly, retaliation is killing the killer. And without a doubt, killing a believer intentionally is one of the major sins, until Allah the Exalted said:
But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًاًA person remains in a broadness of his religion as long as he does not touch forbidden blood
لا يزال المرء في فسحة من دينه ما لم يصب دماً حراماًBut whoever overlooks from his brother anything
فمن عفي له من أخيه شيءBut whoever overlooks from his brother anything
فمن عفي له من أخيه شيءAnd if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two
وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَاThe believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْNow, if there is a harm in boycotting him, and that is the third case, then we do not boycott him. How can there be a harm in boycotting him? He hates the truth when we boycott him, and he hates the people of truth, and he may increase in his open sinfulness and rebel more. Here, boycotting becomes what? Forbidden, because it leads to a greater harm. And the Shari'ah came to reduce harms and achieve benefits. We return to the brother's question. Mention for us the cases in boycotting the open sinner.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : If there is a harm in boycotting him, we greet him on the basis of recommendation? What does that mean?
The student: He greets him.
The Shaykh : Yes, on the basis of recommendation, not obligation?
The student: On the basis of obligation.
The Shaykh : Now, that is one. The second.
The student: ... harm.
The Shaykh : If there is a benefit in boycotting him.
The student: ... benefit, here we boycott him.
The Shaykh : We boycott him, either as an obligation or as a recommendation, depending on the case. The third?
The student: ... no harm and no benefit.
The Shaykh : We know.
The student: We greet him on the basis of recommendation.
The Shaykh : So we greet him on the basis of recommendation, because he is from the believers. Now, the discussion.