A committed young man plays with disobedient boys: Is this action prescribed?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : I love you for the sake of Allah, O Shaykh. There is a young man who, by the permission of Allah, is committed. He plays with the children and young men of the neighborhood. The brothers advise him that this is not befitting for him, because he is a man who holds fast to the religion. They say: "They are sinners."
The Shaykh : They say they are sinners?
The questioner : Yes, they are sinners, meaning they utter words, and it may even reach the point of abandoning prayer, but not entirely. So I do not know whether it is permissible for him to play with them or not?
The Shaykh : First: It is obligatory for a person to stay away from places of suspicion. It is obligatory for a person to stay away from places of suspicion. And the fact that this man associates with boys and young men remains a cause for suspicion among people. So he must stay away from this. And when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about himself while his wife was with him—she was Safiyyah bint Huyayy—this was because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque). His wife Safiyyah came to him and spoke with him for a while. Then she stood up to go to her place. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and walked with her, guiding her. Two men from the Ansar passed by him, and they hurried their pace when they saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with his wife, out of shyness and modesty. So he said (peace and blessings be upon him):, even though the matter is further than the distance between the sky and the earth from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) being a target for what is not befitting for him (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). So how about others?
So my advice to this committed brother is to stay away from places of suspicion, so that his honor is safe and his religion is safe.
And I also fear for him that Satan may cast into his heart what he casts of evil, due to his frequent association with these boys and his companionship with them.
Yes, if we suppose that once in a while, for example, he jokes with one of them, then there is nothing wrong with that, provided the heart is sound. For the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to be gentle with the boys and joke with them. And there is his story with the boy who had a small bird called al-Nugayr. This bird was with this boy, and he was happy with it and played with it. So the bird died, and the boy grieved for it. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say to this boy:Sunan Abi Dawud 4969Sahih (Al-Albani).
As for their companionship, meaning the companionship of boys and young men, I advise him to leave it, so that his honor is safe and his religion is safe.
The questioner : For the sake of da'wah (calling others to Islam)?
The Shaykh : Even for the sake of da'wah, he should not associate with them. But he comes to them and calls them, and he has other people with him such that he is not alone with them.
The Shaykh : They say they are sinners?
The questioner : Yes, they are sinners, meaning they utter words, and it may even reach the point of abandoning prayer, but not entirely. So I do not know whether it is permissible for him to play with them or not?
The Shaykh : First: It is obligatory for a person to stay away from places of suspicion. It is obligatory for a person to stay away from places of suspicion. And the fact that this man associates with boys and young men remains a cause for suspicion among people. So he must stay away from this. And when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about himself while his wife was with him—she was Safiyyah bint Huyayy—this was because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque). His wife Safiyyah came to him and spoke with him for a while. Then she stood up to go to her place. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and walked with her, guiding her. Two men from the Ansar passed by him, and they hurried their pace when they saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with his wife, out of shyness and modesty. So he said (peace and blessings be upon him):
"Hold back, for she is Safiyyah bint Huyayy." They said: "Subhan Allah!" (meaning: we do not think anything of it). So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Satan runs through the son of Adam like the flow of blood, and I feared that he would cast evil into your hearts, or he said: something."
على رسلكما إنها صفية بنت حُيي فقالا: سبحان الله! -يعني: نحن لا نظن شيئاً- فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: إن الشيطان يجري من ابن آدم مجرى الدم، وإني خشيت أن يقذف في قلوبكما شراً أو قال: شيئاًSo my advice to this committed brother is to stay away from places of suspicion, so that his honor is safe and his religion is safe.
And I also fear for him that Satan may cast into his heart what he casts of evil, due to his frequent association with these boys and his companionship with them.
Yes, if we suppose that once in a while, for example, he jokes with one of them, then there is nothing wrong with that, provided the heart is sound. For the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to be gentle with the boys and joke with them. And there is his story with the boy who had a small bird called al-Nugayr. This bird was with this boy, and he was happy with it and played with it. So the bird died, and the boy grieved for it. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say to this boy:
Abu ‘Umair! What has happened to the little sparrow?
يا أبا عمير! ما فعل النغير؟As for their companionship, meaning the companionship of boys and young men, I advise him to leave it, so that his honor is safe and his religion is safe.
The questioner : For the sake of da'wah (calling others to Islam)?
The Shaykh : Even for the sake of da'wah, he should not associate with them. But he comes to them and calls them, and he has other people with him such that he is not alone with them.