Reading from the author's text with commentary and collation of manuscripts: "Likewise
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: "Likewise: We may be harmed by following the disbelievers in actions that, were they not to do them, we would not be harmed by doing. And the matter of agreement and disagreement may be because that action in which one agrees or disagrees contains a public benefit or a harm, even if they did not do it. But this is expressed as agreement and disagreement".
The student: ...
The Shaykh : He says about this that this is a matter on which there is not much disagreement. Yes.
The reader: "But this is expressed as agreement and disagreement by way of indication and definition; so that our agreement with them is evidence of the harm, and our disagreement with them is evidence of the benefit".
The Shaykh : Do you understand the difference now? Disagreement means being commanded to disagree with the disbelievers in a matter that, were they not to do it, we would not be commanded to avoid it, because it is not harmful in itself. But because they are distinguished by it, our agreement with them is what? It is harmful. Let us say, for example, that it is a type of clothing, such as wearing a shirt in a specific style that is distinctive to them. Were they not to wear it in this style, our wearing it in this style would be permissible. But because this is distinctive to them, we are commanded to disagree with them. In reality, what we are commanded to disagree with does not have harm in itself. And it may be that we are commanded to disagree with them even though there is harm in it, such as clothing that is distinctive to them and does not cover the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) as it should. Here, the clothing itself has a harm, and we are commanded to avoid it. But because it is distinctive to them, this is another harm. So we are prohibited from it for the sake of disagreeing with them. And the rectification of our hearts by the intention of disagreeing with them is more emphatic than the rectification of our hearts by the intention of avoiding this clothing that does not cover the 'awrah, for example. Is that clear, everyone? So this is an important point regarding what we are commanded to disagree with them in. As for what relates to festivals, that is a more severe matter, and the author will mention it, if Allah wills. Yes.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : He says about this that this is a matter on which there is not much disagreement. Yes.
The reader: "But this is expressed as agreement and disagreement by way of indication and definition; so that our agreement with them is evidence of the harm, and our disagreement with them is evidence of the benefit".
The Shaykh : Do you understand the difference now? Disagreement means being commanded to disagree with the disbelievers in a matter that, were they not to do it, we would not be commanded to avoid it, because it is not harmful in itself. But because they are distinguished by it, our agreement with them is what? It is harmful. Let us say, for example, that it is a type of clothing, such as wearing a shirt in a specific style that is distinctive to them. Were they not to wear it in this style, our wearing it in this style would be permissible. But because this is distinctive to them, we are commanded to disagree with them. In reality, what we are commanded to disagree with does not have harm in itself. And it may be that we are commanded to disagree with them even though there is harm in it, such as clothing that is distinctive to them and does not cover the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) as it should. Here, the clothing itself has a harm, and we are commanded to avoid it. But because it is distinctive to them, this is another harm. So we are prohibited from it for the sake of disagreeing with them. And the rectification of our hearts by the intention of disagreeing with them is more emphatic than the rectification of our hearts by the intention of avoiding this clothing that does not cover the 'awrah, for example. Is that clear, everyone? So this is an important point regarding what we are commanded to disagree with them in. As for what relates to festivals, that is a more severe matter, and the author will mention it, if Allah wills. Yes.