A young man to whom Allah has granted guidance, who has bad companions that visit him, and he makes excuses that he is busy; how should he deal with them?
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The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : A person to whom Allah the Exalted has granted guidance has bad friends who visit him at home, and he makes excuses to them.
The Shaykh : And what else?
The questioner : He makes excuses to them that he is busy, and he fears for himself that he might be a liar in this manner?
The Shaykh : This person to whom Allah has granted mercy, who has bad companions, should make excuses to them when they come to him by saying he is busy. There is no blame on him if he does so, and he intends by saying "busy" that every person, every person is busy: busy with the remembrance of Allah, busy with his family, busy with fixing the house, or something similar. He interprets the situation in this way, and there is no harm on him, because he wants to be safe from their evil.
But there is something better than this: that he lets them in and presents guidance to them, inviting them to the right path and saying to them, for example: "Praise be to Allah, He has guided me, and I have found that guidance is light, an opening of the chest, comfort, and tranquility. I was like you at first, but I found goodness and guidance, so work for this."
He invites them, and perhaps they will be guided. If he does not see a response from them, he can visit one of them individually at home and invite him, because if you are unable to gather them, you must deal with them individually. This is wisdom, because if they are all together, some of them may strengthen the others in not accepting, and they will remain as they are. But if you come to them one by one, you will break them up, just as the Quraysh did when they broke the pact they had agreed upon to boycott the Banu Hashim until they besieged them in the valley of Abu Talib. You have read about this in history. Some of them stood up and said: "It is not possible, for the Banu Hashim are from us and among our nobles. How can we keep them besieged in the valley?" So he began to go to each person individually, saying: "Break the pact, give up this," until they gave up on it. Do you understand now?
So this is better if he is able to reform them and guide them; this is the preferable course. But if he is not able, there is no harm in saying: "I am busy," or telling the people of the house, if he knows they are coming: "Say: So-and-so is not present."
The questioner : Is that permissible, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : It is permissible, but how is it permissible? How many rooms are in the house?
Let it be three rooms. They intend by saying "he is not present" that he is in the third room, while he is actually in the first. Do you understand? He interprets the situation.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : A person to whom Allah the Exalted has granted guidance has bad friends who visit him at home, and he makes excuses to them.
The Shaykh : And what else?
The questioner : He makes excuses to them that he is busy, and he fears for himself that he might be a liar in this manner?
The Shaykh : This person to whom Allah has granted mercy, who has bad companions, should make excuses to them when they come to him by saying he is busy. There is no blame on him if he does so, and he intends by saying "busy" that every person, every person is busy: busy with the remembrance of Allah, busy with his family, busy with fixing the house, or something similar. He interprets the situation in this way, and there is no harm on him, because he wants to be safe from their evil.
But there is something better than this: that he lets them in and presents guidance to them, inviting them to the right path and saying to them, for example: "Praise be to Allah, He has guided me, and I have found that guidance is light, an opening of the chest, comfort, and tranquility. I was like you at first, but I found goodness and guidance, so work for this."
He invites them, and perhaps they will be guided. If he does not see a response from them, he can visit one of them individually at home and invite him, because if you are unable to gather them, you must deal with them individually. This is wisdom, because if they are all together, some of them may strengthen the others in not accepting, and they will remain as they are. But if you come to them one by one, you will break them up, just as the Quraysh did when they broke the pact they had agreed upon to boycott the Banu Hashim until they besieged them in the valley of Abu Talib. You have read about this in history. Some of them stood up and said: "It is not possible, for the Banu Hashim are from us and among our nobles. How can we keep them besieged in the valley?" So he began to go to each person individually, saying: "Break the pact, give up this," until they gave up on it. Do you understand now?
So this is better if he is able to reform them and guide them; this is the preferable course. But if he is not able, there is no harm in saying: "I am busy," or telling the people of the house, if he knows they are coming: "Say: So-and-so is not present."
The questioner : Is that permissible, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : It is permissible, but how is it permissible? How many rooms are in the house?
Let it be three rooms. They intend by saying "he is not present" that he is in the third room, while he is actually in the first. Do you understand? He interprets the situation.