What is the legal position regarding the dispute among the supervisors of the orphanage in Albania over taking the orphan girls to the sea, and the resulting harms and benefits?

The questioner : We faced a problem. I was calling you from Albania, glory be to Allah... Shaykh Muhammad, we have now fallen into a legal difficulty. I told them, "Let them go to the sea," because if we do not take them out, a greater harm will result, as the orphanage might be taken from us, and we are currently restricting the Muslims. He said, "No, it is not permissible." This is the director of the center, may Allah reward him with good. He said it is not permissible to take the orphans to the sea because some of them are fourteen years old. In fact, this question is posed to you, O Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good. What is the legal position in this matter now?

The Shaykh : As they say, the witness sees what the absent one does not see.

The questioner : He says al-Dawsari...

The Shaykh : Who?

The questioner : Al-Dawsari. Shuqara: Abdullah, Abdullah from Dammam.

The questioner : The problem is that the legal dispute came before the director of the orphanage. The dispute was not between me and a group of young men who were present; rather, the dispute came before the director of the orphanage: whether to take them to the sea or not. So we said, "O people, let us not differ in front of the director of the orphanage."

The Shaykh : If the matter is in the hands of the Muslims there, and they know that the going out, which is originally permissible in the Shari'ah, results in a harm, even if it is an incidental harm, then they should not go out. But who judges that a benefit results and no harm results? It is those who, as they say, know the valleys of Mecca best, and the owner of the orphanage knows best what is in it. So you, since you were there, do you see a benefit or a harm in going out?

The questioner : I see that there is a benefit in going out, a benefit that outweighs the harm, because the harm is that some of the girls will be exposed, right? But the benefit we will gain is that the orphanage will remain, and in the long term, the calling of these people will be facilitated. On the contrary, we will be able, if Allah wills, to guide them to the truth with simplicity, and they will also feel a kind of gentleness from us and that we are not standing in the way of what they love. Initially, the harm that results if they do not go to the sea is that if they go to the sea, these people will feel that we have started to suppress their freedoms. Furthermore, in their view, we have not provided material services; the orphanage has not changed, the material situation has not changed, their salaries have not changed, the appearance of the orphanage has not changed, and the children's clothes are dirty.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : So we were a burden on them financially and a burden on them spiritually. For them, this will naturally cause us a problem, because we also have another competitor, which is the Amal Foundation. Then they said, "We can, okay, now we have one hundred orphans, we can establish another orphanage there with one hundred orphans, and not bother ourselves with these orphans." We said, "No, a greater harm will result from that as well, because the hearts of all the Muslims are attached to the orphanage, and they see the Muslims working. So withdrawing is a weakening of the Muslim morale, and also a success for the disbeliever in providing this orphanage. So we continue to support this orphanage, even if it has higher and greater financial consequences, but we do not show the Muslims in a position of weakness. You know that these positions are influential on Muslims by nature; they are affected by these positions, whether in support or in loss, or so on. So I presented this view to you, and he is a man, in truth, of course, I did not try to pressure him, because I am authorized from the main office originally.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : To take very quick measures, because the orphanage might be taken from the organization.

The Shaykh : In any case, the answer is clear: if the one who is close can assess the benefit of going out, then there is good in it, but with consideration of the magnitude of the benefit and the magnitude of the harm.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So if the benefit outweighs the harm, it is permissible, especially since they are still new to Islam, or new to Islam. So the important thing is this rule and its application; only one who is a witness there can apply it. Shuqara: I say, O our Shaykh, he prefers this... I think the issue is that the people of the country, all the people of the country there, are not committed to the Islamic dress, correct?

The Shaykh : That is what I said, new to Islam. Shuqara: Yes, so there is no surprise, meaning, when the girl goes out.

The questioner : Not at all. Shuqara: There is no surprise there; in fact, the surprise is the opposite.

The questioner : Yes. Shuqara: And this may cause a repulsion in their hearts initially.

The questioner : Correct. Shuqara: And therefore, if you proceed gradually, you did very well when you said we strive to teach tawhid (the oneness of Allah), because tawhid is truly the foundation upon which things are built.

The questioner : They have the word "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), and the implication of "La ilaha illa Allah" initially, and they worked on it for four or five months, and no one says to you, "No, these people." Even, glory be to Allah, we found among the children those who began to pronounce the two testimonies of faith, meaning the children also in the orphanage, the ratio is ten Christians.

The Shaykh : ...

The questioner : And they began to pray, the young orphans. This is in the orphanage, and it is not in Shkodra, it is in Saranda... Saranda has ten orphans, meaning orphans, both male and female, who began to go to the mosque, glory be to Allah. Of course, this...

The Shaykh : May Allah enable the good, if Allah wills, and may these efforts bear good fruits.