Mentioning the ruling on greeting the open sinner and explaining the cases of boycotting the one who opposes.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Second: I met a man who is openly committing a sin, holding a cigarette in his hand and smoking it. Should I greet him or not?
Yes, greet him. Greet him, because he is a Muslim, and sins do not take one out of faith. If that is the case, then greet him and say: "Peace be upon you." But do you greet him and leave him alone, or do you greet him and soften your words to him, saying, "My brother, this is not permissible; this is forbidden, because smoking is harmful to the body, a waste of money, and a burden on the worship of the one who smokes"? Which is it?
The student: The second.
The Shaykh : The second one. And what is it? And what is the first one? What is the first one until you say the second one? — Look, this is a deposit, put it there. Put it there.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, you did well. The first is to greet and leave him. The second is to greet and advise him.
There is a third category: you pass by and boycott him, you do not greet him. Many people of zealotry go to this action and say: How can I greet a man who has a cigarette in his hand? He has no honor and no greeting.
And this is a mistake. If you boycott him, will he be ashamed and realize that he has made a mistake and return to the right path? Answer. No, rather, he will only increase in arrogance, contempt for you, and enmity toward you, and it will not be beneficial.
Therefore, the stronger position regarding boycotting the people of sins — the stronger position regarding boycotting the people of sins — is that you do not boycott them unless the boycott is beneficial, meaning it leads to a good result. So then, boycott him for the sake of the result.
So if someone asks: Did not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) boycott the three who were left behind when they lagged behind in the expedition to Tabuk?
The answer is: Yes, but did this boycott lead to a good result? Yes, there is no doubt, it led to a good result. These men regretted with the greatest regret, they blamed themselves, the earth became narrow to them despite its vastness, and they became certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him, because they thought there is no refuge, meaning they became certain, as He the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:46] meaning they become certain, and "thought" comes to mean certainty in many places. Good.
It was beneficial, and they regretted with the greatest regret, and the earth became narrow to them despite its vastness, and this boycott did not increase them except in humility before Allah the Mighty and Majestic and obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Did you not know that Ka'b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the youngest of the three men, received a letter from the King of Ghassan, a letter from the King of Ghassan, saying: It has reached us that your companion has disliked you and distanced you, so come to us and we will comfort you. Look at the trial, meaning come to us and we will make you like us, kings. So what did he do? He (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that this was from the trial and the fitnah. He took the letter and lit the oven with it, meaning: he burned it. He did not stop at throwing it on the ground; he burned it, so that his soul would not return and prompt him to respond to this call or this invitation.
So the boycotting of these men did not increase them except in humility before Allah, worship of Him, and regret for what had passed, so there was a result.
The conclusion: Are the people of sins boycotted so that they are not greeted? Answer?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : That is incorrect.
The student: They are not boycotted.
The Shaykh : They are not boycotted? Wrong.
Please. Be patient.
The student: They are boycotted if there is benefit in the boycott, and if there is no benefit, they are not boycotted.
The Shaykh : Fine, good. So there is a distinction: if there is benefit in boycotting them, we boycott them, otherwise we do not.
Yes, greet him. Greet him, because he is a Muslim, and sins do not take one out of faith. If that is the case, then greet him and say: "Peace be upon you." But do you greet him and leave him alone, or do you greet him and soften your words to him, saying, "My brother, this is not permissible; this is forbidden, because smoking is harmful to the body, a waste of money, and a burden on the worship of the one who smokes"? Which is it?
The student: The second.
The Shaykh : The second one. And what is it? And what is the first one? What is the first one until you say the second one? — Look, this is a deposit, put it there. Put it there.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, you did well. The first is to greet and leave him. The second is to greet and advise him.
There is a third category: you pass by and boycott him, you do not greet him. Many people of zealotry go to this action and say: How can I greet a man who has a cigarette in his hand? He has no honor and no greeting.
And this is a mistake. If you boycott him, will he be ashamed and realize that he has made a mistake and return to the right path? Answer. No, rather, he will only increase in arrogance, contempt for you, and enmity toward you, and it will not be beneficial.
Therefore, the stronger position regarding boycotting the people of sins — the stronger position regarding boycotting the people of sins — is that you do not boycott them unless the boycott is beneficial, meaning it leads to a good result. So then, boycott him for the sake of the result.
So if someone asks: Did not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) boycott the three who were left behind when they lagged behind in the expedition to Tabuk?
The answer is: Yes, but did this boycott lead to a good result? Yes, there is no doubt, it led to a good result. These men regretted with the greatest regret, they blamed themselves, the earth became narrow to them despite its vastness, and they became certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him, because they thought there is no refuge, meaning they became certain, as He the Exalted said:
Who are certain that they will meet their Lord
الذين يظنون أنهم ملاقوا ربهمIt was beneficial, and they regretted with the greatest regret, and the earth became narrow to them despite its vastness, and this boycott did not increase them except in humility before Allah the Mighty and Majestic and obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Did you not know that Ka'b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the youngest of the three men, received a letter from the King of Ghassan, a letter from the King of Ghassan, saying: It has reached us that your companion has disliked you and distanced you, so come to us and we will comfort you. Look at the trial, meaning come to us and we will make you like us, kings. So what did he do? He (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that this was from the trial and the fitnah. He took the letter and lit the oven with it, meaning: he burned it. He did not stop at throwing it on the ground; he burned it, so that his soul would not return and prompt him to respond to this call or this invitation.
So the boycotting of these men did not increase them except in humility before Allah, worship of Him, and regret for what had passed, so there was a result.
The conclusion: Are the people of sins boycotted so that they are not greeted? Answer?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : That is incorrect.
The student: They are not boycotted.
The Shaykh : They are not boycotted? Wrong.
Please. Be patient.
The student: They are boycotted if there is benefit in the boycott, and if there is no benefit, they are not boycotted.
The Shaykh : Fine, good. So there is a distinction: if there is benefit in boycotting them, we boycott them, otherwise we do not.