A Muslim deals with a Christian as he would with a Muslim and does not know his status; what is obligatory for him after learning the status of the Christian who visits him from time to time and he cannot get rid of him, and some Muslims may not be good at conveying Islam?
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The Shaykh : in the work in which he associated partners with Allah, then if he repents from it and believes and does a righteous deed, Allah will replace his evil deeds with good ones.
The questioner : In the name of Allah.
His Eminence the Shaykh, a person asks and says: He got to know one of the Christians through one of his friends, and he did not know that he was a Christian, so he dealt with him as a Muslim deals with his Muslim brother, and after a period of time it became clear that he was a Christian, to the extent that in some of the gatherings with him while eating and hosting him in the house!
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : and hosting him in the house.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : So he learned that he was a Christian, and this man was distressed by the severity of what he learned, that he was a Christian and he did not know, and now he is confused, and this person visits him from time to time and he cannot get rid of him, so what is the way to get rid of such situations, especially since some Muslims do not find a way to convey the correct understanding of Islam to the Christians, so give us a ruling, may Allah reward you, may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for him to present Islam to him and invite him to it, so if he is good at presenting Islam and inviting to it, he should do it himself, and if he is not good at it, he should ask one of the students to attend his gathering with this Christian, then present Islam to him, so if they see from him a willingness to accept, that is what is required, and perhaps Allah will guide him, and if they do not see from him a willingness to accept, it is obligatory for him to boycott him, because honoring the Christians is forbidden for the Muslim, for this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Bulugh al-Maram 16:10, so honoring him by greeting him, hosting him, and the like of that is forbidden except if he hopes for his Islam.
The questioner : But in some strange situations -and the Christian is Arab- he sneezed and said: Praise be to Allah, then he starts the greeting when entering the house, and these are among the surprises that happened to this brother.
The Shaykh : Even if he says: Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So as long as he has not believed in the Messenger of Allah, it will not benefit him.
The questioner : And he forbade him one day from smoking.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : He forbade him in the house from smoking, so he stopped!
The Shaykh : This is perhaps that he is close, if Allah wills.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Perhaps he is close, yes, and as for the shade, it is the one that is completely shaded, because some shade is not completely shaded, if you sit under the shade of a wall in the days of summer, you are in shade, but is it completely shaded? No, why?
Because the heat comes to you, but Paradise is a completely shaded shade, and we stop here, and if Allah wills, in the next lesson we will take the benefits.
I left him and his shirk (associating partners with Allah)
تركتُه وشركَهThe questioner : In the name of Allah.
His Eminence the Shaykh, a person asks and says: He got to know one of the Christians through one of his friends, and he did not know that he was a Christian, so he dealt with him as a Muslim deals with his Muslim brother, and after a period of time it became clear that he was a Christian, to the extent that in some of the gatherings with him while eating and hosting him in the house!
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : and hosting him in the house.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : So he learned that he was a Christian, and this man was distressed by the severity of what he learned, that he was a Christian and he did not know, and now he is confused, and this person visits him from time to time and he cannot get rid of him, so what is the way to get rid of such situations, especially since some Muslims do not find a way to convey the correct understanding of Islam to the Christians, so give us a ruling, may Allah reward you, may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for him to present Islam to him and invite him to it, so if he is good at presenting Islam and inviting to it, he should do it himself, and if he is not good at it, he should ask one of the students to attend his gathering with this Christian, then present Islam to him, so if they see from him a willingness to accept, that is what is required, and perhaps Allah will guide him, and if they do not see from him a willingness to accept, it is obligatory for him to boycott him, because honoring the Christians is forbidden for the Muslim, for this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do not initiate the saluting of Jews and Christians (when you meet them), and if you meet any of them on the road, force him to go to the narrowest part of the road (i.e. do not give way for them to pass, but keep going).
لا تبدءوا اليهود والنصارى بالسَّلام، وإذا لقيتموهم في طريق فاضطروهم إلى أضيقهThe questioner : But in some strange situations -and the Christian is Arab- he sneezed and said: Praise be to Allah, then he starts the greeting when entering the house, and these are among the surprises that happened to this brother.
The Shaykh : Even if he says: Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So as long as he has not believed in the Messenger of Allah, it will not benefit him.
The questioner : And he forbade him one day from smoking.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : He forbade him in the house from smoking, so he stopped!
The Shaykh : This is perhaps that he is close, if Allah wills.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Perhaps he is close, yes, and as for the shade, it is the one that is completely shaded, because some shade is not completely shaded, if you sit under the shade of a wall in the days of summer, you are in shade, but is it completely shaded? No, why?
Because the heat comes to you, but Paradise is a completely shaded shade, and we stop here, and if Allah wills, in the next lesson we will take the benefits.