The police in Algeria ordered me to remove my shirt; what do you advise me to do, O our Shaykh?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Hello.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Shaykh Nasser.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgiveness.
The questioner: There is a call from Algeria here. If you permit, we have some questions, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Go ahead, there is no harm.
The questioner: In my village, the police ordered me to remove my shirt. What do you advise me to do, O our Shaykh?
The Shaykh: Do not obey them; prostrate and draw near.
The questioner: I mean, some of my brothers advised me that the shirt is not obligatory, but rather recommended.
The Shaykh: It appears that you shave your beard.
The questioner: I do not shave my beard.
The Shaykh: If you have a full beard, why did you start with the shirt and not with the beard? Those oppressive, wicked people with whom you are afflicted do not order the man with a shirt to remove only his shirt, but also to shave his beard. Why did you start with the lesser without the greater? If you had reversed it, you would have been correct. Otherwise, this is the deception of Satan upon mankind, so that you say, as you just said, that the shirt is a recommended sunnah. I say to you the same, but where are you regarding the beard? If you remove the shirt, will the oppressor be satisfied with you? You will say no, is that not so?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: So why did you start, may Allah forgive you, with the shirt and leave the beard?
The questioner: O our Shaykh, I was not ordered to remove my beard; I was only ordered to remove the shirt.
The Shaykh: No, that is not correct, not correct. Because the news I receive every night is that questions come in stating that they take the identification papers from the bearded, shirt-wearing Muslim and then tell him, "Go, shave your beard, remove your shirt, and come back to get your papers." This is a consistent report. Therefore, your claim that they did not order you is either that you are mistaken, or that they are cunning. That is, in the first instance, they test your pulse by saying, "Remove your shirt." You remove the shirt, and then they tell you, "Shave your beard." What do you do?
The questioner: There is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Yes, that is what I told you: do not obey them, prostrate, and draw near. Because the situation with you has become consistent in that they are not satisfied with those who have beards, is that not so?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: So then, you are among those who are not satisfied with you.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh: So,[Al-'Alaq 96:19].
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may Allah bless you, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Shaykh Nasser.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgiveness.
The questioner: There is a call from Algeria here. If you permit, we have some questions, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Go ahead, there is no harm.
The questioner: In my village, the police ordered me to remove my shirt. What do you advise me to do, O our Shaykh?
The Shaykh: Do not obey them; prostrate and draw near.
The questioner: I mean, some of my brothers advised me that the shirt is not obligatory, but rather recommended.
The Shaykh: It appears that you shave your beard.
The questioner: I do not shave my beard.
The Shaykh: If you have a full beard, why did you start with the shirt and not with the beard? Those oppressive, wicked people with whom you are afflicted do not order the man with a shirt to remove only his shirt, but also to shave his beard. Why did you start with the lesser without the greater? If you had reversed it, you would have been correct. Otherwise, this is the deception of Satan upon mankind, so that you say, as you just said, that the shirt is a recommended sunnah. I say to you the same, but where are you regarding the beard? If you remove the shirt, will the oppressor be satisfied with you? You will say no, is that not so?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: So why did you start, may Allah forgive you, with the shirt and leave the beard?
The questioner: O our Shaykh, I was not ordered to remove my beard; I was only ordered to remove the shirt.
The Shaykh: No, that is not correct, not correct. Because the news I receive every night is that questions come in stating that they take the identification papers from the bearded, shirt-wearing Muslim and then tell him, "Go, shave your beard, remove your shirt, and come back to get your papers." This is a consistent report. Therefore, your claim that they did not order you is either that you are mistaken, or that they are cunning. That is, in the first instance, they test your pulse by saying, "Remove your shirt." You remove the shirt, and then they tell you, "Shave your beard." What do you do?
The questioner: There is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Yes, that is what I told you: do not obey them, prostrate, and draw near. Because the situation with you has become consistent in that they are not satisfied with those who have beards, is that not so?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: So then, you are among those who are not satisfied with you.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh: So,
Do not obey him. But prostrate and draw near
لَا تُطِعْهُ وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبْThe questioner : May Allah bless you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may Allah bless you, if Allah wills.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.