The ruling on one who considers smoking and shaving the beard to be mere formalities?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
There are some people—O Shaykh, may Allah reward you for your work—who, when you forbid them from smoking, shaving the beard, or some other sin, say: "These are just formalities, these are branches, is not the time for them now?"
Answer:
In any case, this is a person with compounded ignorance. He must be dealt with firmly, and it must be made clear to him. This is what is said regarding matters of religion: "Formalities!" All of it is the core, all of it is good, and all of it is guidance. This is due to his ignorance and lack of insight.
Q: Does he claim to be among the callers to Allah?
A: Even if he does, even if he does, it must be made clear to him that this is a great error and a serious mistake. Let him repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness.
There are some people—O Shaykh, may Allah reward you for your work—who, when you forbid them from smoking, shaving the beard, or some other sin, say: "These are just formalities, these are branches, is not the time for them now?"
Answer:
In any case, this is a person with compounded ignorance. He must be dealt with firmly, and it must be made clear to him. This is what is said regarding matters of religion: "Formalities!" All of it is the core, all of it is good, and all of it is guidance. This is due to his ignorance and lack of insight.
Q: Does he claim to be among the callers to Allah?
A: Even if he does, even if he does, it must be made clear to him that this is a great error and a serious mistake. Let him repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.