Reading from the author's text with commentary and collation of manuscripts
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: "Likewise, no gift should be given to any of the Muslims on these festivals for the sake of the festival, especially if it is something that helps them imitate the disbelievers, as we have mentioned. And a Muslim should not sell to the Muslims what they use to imitate the disbelievers in their festival"
The Shaykh : among us, and it is not sold
The reader: In my copy it says
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: And it is not sold
The Shaykh : It is sold
The reader: Alif and Ba, yubayyi' (trades)
The Shaykh : Ah?
The reader: In one manuscript it is Alif and Ba, yubayyi' (trades)
The Shaykh : Yes, let's leave it as the manuscript you have, yabi' (sells)
The reader: Yes, exactly
The Shaykh : Yes
The reader: "of food, clothing, and the like"
The Shaykh : and it is not sold
The reader: Yes "And a Muslim should not sell to the Muslims what they use to imitate the disbelievers in their festival, of food, clothing, and the like; because that is aiding in what is wrong. As for trading with them in what they use for their festival, or attending their festivals to buy from them, we have previously mentioned that it was said to Imam Ahmad: 'These festivals that occur among us in Syria, such as Tur Yanur and Dayr Ayyub, and the like, are attended by Muslims. They attend the markets and bring in sheep, cattle, flour, and wheat, among other things; however, this only happens in the markets where they buy, and they do not enter their shops, but only attend the markets.' He said" If they do not enter their shops, but only attend the market, there is no harm " And Abu al-Hasan al-Amidi said: 'As for what they sell in the markets during their festivals, there is no harm in attending them.' Ahmad stated this in the narration of Makhna, and said" They are only prohibited from entering their shops and their churches; as for what is sold in the markets of food, that is not prohibited, even if the intention is to stock up on it and make it attractive for their sake " This statement is ambiguous; because he permitted attending the market absolutely, whether as a seller or a buyer; because he said" If they do not enter their churches, but only attend the market, there is no harm " This includes the seller and the buyer, especially if the pronoun in his statement 'they bring in' refers to the Muslims, in which case he would have explicitly stated the permissibility of their being bringers to the market. It is also possible—and this is stronger—that he only granted a dispensation for attending the market and for buying from them, and did not address selling to them; because the questioner only asked him about attending the markets that the disbelievers hold for their festivals, and said at the end of his question: 'They buy, and do not enter their shops.' This is because the questioner was Makhna ibn Yahya al-Shami, who was a jurist and scholar, and he had—Allah knows best—heard what came regarding the prohibition of attending their festivals, so he asked Ahmad: Is attending their markets on the same level as attending their festivals? Ahmad answered with a dispensation for attending the market, and he was not asked about a Muslim selling to them, either because the ruling was clear to him, or because there was no need for it at that time. Al-Amidi's statement is also ambiguous regarding both aspects. But the most apparent in it is the dispensation for selling as well; because of his statement" They are only prohibited from entering their shops and their churches " and his statement" Even if the intention is to stock up on it and make it attractive for their sake " So what Ahmad answered with regarding the permissibility of attending the market only to buy from it, without entering the church, is permissible; because that does not involve attending what is wrong, nor aiding in sin; because buying from them in itself is permissible, and there is no aiding in sin in it, rather it diverts from them what they might buy for their festival, so it results in reducing the evil. And there used to be markets in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance"
The Shaykh : In any case, what the Shaykh said is correct, meaning he distinguishes between selling and buying. Buying is permissible, but selling is aiding in what is wrong. However, one might say that in our current time, buying from them increases their joy and grows their economy, because they sell on this occasion and do not lower the price; they keep the price the same. If it is feared that if we buy from them what they bring in for their festivals, it will increase their joy, grow their wealth, and increase their earnings, then it is prohibited, because the ruling revolves around its cause. Yes, and in my opinion, if the Muslims boycott them and do not come to their markets to buy, they will not bring them in the following year, because they know that they are being boycotted. Yes.
The Shaykh : among us, and it is not sold
The reader: In my copy it says
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: And it is not sold
The Shaykh : It is sold
The reader: Alif and Ba, yubayyi' (trades)
The Shaykh : Ah?
The reader: In one manuscript it is Alif and Ba, yubayyi' (trades)
The Shaykh : Yes, let's leave it as the manuscript you have, yabi' (sells)
The reader: Yes, exactly
The Shaykh : Yes
The reader: "of food, clothing, and the like"
The Shaykh : and it is not sold
The reader: Yes "And a Muslim should not sell to the Muslims what they use to imitate the disbelievers in their festival, of food, clothing, and the like; because that is aiding in what is wrong. As for trading with them in what they use for their festival, or attending their festivals to buy from them, we have previously mentioned that it was said to Imam Ahmad: 'These festivals that occur among us in Syria, such as Tur Yanur and Dayr Ayyub, and the like, are attended by Muslims. They attend the markets and bring in sheep, cattle, flour, and wheat, among other things; however, this only happens in the markets where they buy, and they do not enter their shops, but only attend the markets.' He said" If they do not enter their shops, but only attend the market, there is no harm " And Abu al-Hasan al-Amidi said: 'As for what they sell in the markets during their festivals, there is no harm in attending them.' Ahmad stated this in the narration of Makhna, and said" They are only prohibited from entering their shops and their churches; as for what is sold in the markets of food, that is not prohibited, even if the intention is to stock up on it and make it attractive for their sake " This statement is ambiguous; because he permitted attending the market absolutely, whether as a seller or a buyer; because he said" If they do not enter their churches, but only attend the market, there is no harm " This includes the seller and the buyer, especially if the pronoun in his statement 'they bring in' refers to the Muslims, in which case he would have explicitly stated the permissibility of their being bringers to the market. It is also possible—and this is stronger—that he only granted a dispensation for attending the market and for buying from them, and did not address selling to them; because the questioner only asked him about attending the markets that the disbelievers hold for their festivals, and said at the end of his question: 'They buy, and do not enter their shops.' This is because the questioner was Makhna ibn Yahya al-Shami, who was a jurist and scholar, and he had—Allah knows best—heard what came regarding the prohibition of attending their festivals, so he asked Ahmad: Is attending their markets on the same level as attending their festivals? Ahmad answered with a dispensation for attending the market, and he was not asked about a Muslim selling to them, either because the ruling was clear to him, or because there was no need for it at that time. Al-Amidi's statement is also ambiguous regarding both aspects. But the most apparent in it is the dispensation for selling as well; because of his statement" They are only prohibited from entering their shops and their churches " and his statement" Even if the intention is to stock up on it and make it attractive for their sake " So what Ahmad answered with regarding the permissibility of attending the market only to buy from it, without entering the church, is permissible; because that does not involve attending what is wrong, nor aiding in sin; because buying from them in itself is permissible, and there is no aiding in sin in it, rather it diverts from them what they might buy for their festival, so it results in reducing the evil. And there used to be markets in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance"
The Shaykh : In any case, what the Shaykh said is correct, meaning he distinguishes between selling and buying. Buying is permissible, but selling is aiding in what is wrong. However, one might say that in our current time, buying from them increases their joy and grows their economy, because they sell on this occasion and do not lower the price; they keep the price the same. If it is feared that if we buy from them what they bring in for their festivals, it will increase their joy, grow their wealth, and increase their earnings, then it is prohibited, because the ruling revolves around its cause. Yes, and in my opinion, if the Muslims boycott them and do not come to their markets to buy, they will not bring them in the following year, because they know that they are being boycotted. Yes.