Some people interpret the present time as a time of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), so they go out to the Bedouins, and some people mock them, saying so-and-so follows the rain, venerates trees, etc.
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The questioner : Some people, O Shaykh, interpret the present time as a time of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), so they go out to the Bedouins and mock them. Some people use the phrase that so-and-so follows the mountain ridges, follows the rain, and venerates trees. Is that considered mockery? Are such words, O Shaykh, among the things that are wrong?
The Shaykh : No, it is not mockery in the sense of mocking that person who understood the meaning in a way other than what was intended. Because we are now, praise be to Allah, not in a time of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) that leads to this state, especially here in the Kingdom. The situation has not reached the point where we tell a person to leave the cities and live in the desert. A person can live in the cities and enjoin good and forbid evil according to his ability.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : In the cities is better.
The Shaykh : No, it is not mockery in the sense of mocking that person who understood the meaning in a way other than what was intended. Because we are now, praise be to Allah, not in a time of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) that leads to this state, especially here in the Kingdom. The situation has not reached the point where we tell a person to leave the cities and live in the desert. A person can live in the cities and enjoin good and forbid evil according to his ability.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : In the cities is better.