His statement: “(Bring good news and do not drive them away)”—does this permit shaving the beard for the sake of da'wah, and likewise acting or drama?
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The questioner : His statement: Does this permit shaving the beard for the sake of da'wah, and likewise acting or drama...?
The Shaykh : No, no. I do not think this is permissible, and it is not da'wah. It is the same for the caller whether he shaves his beard or not. But we said that these are general issues. These people are clinging to the religious innovations they are upon. I do not want to innovate, but I want to call them to Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, you do not take [their position], but you do not denounce them for it.
In matters of independent legal reasoning that do not contradict an explicit text, one does not denounce them. We do not do as they do, but we do not denounce them. For example, if we find a person who eats camel meat and does not perform ablution from it, and he leads us in prayer as an imam, we pray behind him. Even if we believe that if we ourselves performed this prayer, it would be invalid, we do not say that his prayer is invalid, because he believes it is valid.
And how well the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said to a group of the Jahmiyyah who were debating with him: He said: “If you had what I have, I would declare you disbelievers”, I would declare you disbelievers, but you have not reached what I have, so you are excused due to your ignorance.
These are very important issues, because every sect claiming affiliation with Islam says that it is on the right path. None of us is more deserving of the truth than the other, except for the one who agrees with the Book and the Sunnah. So if the issue allows for independent legal reasoning, and the truth in it is not that clear, we do not denounce them.
Now, if we find someone who believes that smoking is lawful, and indeed some people believe that smoking is lawful, and he starts smoking in our presence, do I commit a sin? No, I do not commit a sin. If I were to commit a sin by this, I would have committed a sin by the one who prays without ablution who ate camel meat. But I advise him and offer him advice.
Bring good news and do not drive them away
بشرا ولا تنفراThe Shaykh : No, no. I do not think this is permissible, and it is not da'wah. It is the same for the caller whether he shaves his beard or not. But we said that these are general issues. These people are clinging to the religious innovations they are upon. I do not want to innovate, but I want to call them to Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, you do not take [their position], but you do not denounce them for it.
In matters of independent legal reasoning that do not contradict an explicit text, one does not denounce them. We do not do as they do, but we do not denounce them. For example, if we find a person who eats camel meat and does not perform ablution from it, and he leads us in prayer as an imam, we pray behind him. Even if we believe that if we ourselves performed this prayer, it would be invalid, we do not say that his prayer is invalid, because he believes it is valid.
And how well the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said to a group of the Jahmiyyah who were debating with him: He said: “If you had what I have, I would declare you disbelievers”, I would declare you disbelievers, but you have not reached what I have, so you are excused due to your ignorance.
These are very important issues, because every sect claiming affiliation with Islam says that it is on the right path. None of us is more deserving of the truth than the other, except for the one who agrees with the Book and the Sunnah. So if the issue allows for independent legal reasoning, and the truth in it is not that clear, we do not denounce them.
Now, if we find someone who believes that smoking is lawful, and indeed some people believe that smoking is lawful, and he starts smoking in our presence, do I commit a sin? No, I do not commit a sin. If I were to commit a sin by this, I would have committed a sin by the one who prays without ablution who ate camel meat. But I advise him and offer him advice.