Questions 50

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Questions asked to Shaykh Saleh ibn Ghaanem as-Sadlaan [May Allaah preserve him] in his house after Salaat al-Jumu‘ah, ar-Riyadh

12/8/1434 – 21/6/2013

Question: Is it permissible for me to leave giving Da’wah to al-Islaam because I fear that people may claim that I am being arrogant.

Answer: No one is able to say such things. Rather the opposite…however, people may say that the person is too strict or other things, but if one calls to Allaah, the Glorified and the Exalted, I don’t think anyone will claim that he is arrogant.

Question: Is it permissible to leave off giving Da’wah to al-Islaam because one is shy?

Answer: This person is weak. If one leaves off giving Da’wah because he is shy then this is a kind of weakness or infirmity in the person’s personality. This is because this isn’t the shyness that the Sharee’ah encourages. If one refrains from saying what is right then this is not the shyness encouraged in the religion.

Question: We work in the university. The question is; is it obligatory for us to obey the dean if he orders us to something which in its origin is permissible? 

Answer: There is no doubt that obeying those in authority is necessary. The way the university is ran, the materials that are used etc. are things that are dictated by management. The one who is responsible to carry out these duties is the one who appointed to be in charge and that is his role. If every single person tried to take his role rejected what management had decided then the university will be ruined. They will never be successful. This is the case in the university or any other workplace - one is required to follow those in authority the laws they have set. Rather one should support them and assist them in it. Also, one should seek to complain as little as possible because usually opinions are not based on profound reasoning, they don’t always know the bigger picture and they themselves could be mistaken in their opinion. On the contrary, it is obligatory for all of them to obey those in authority. It is not proper to say that my opinion is better than the universities and I am absolutely certain that they are wrong; you may not know but there could be a greater harm in the opinion you hold. Rather, the greater good should be sought.

Question: Does making Tawbah remove the sin right away or will be it saved and forgiven on the Day of Judgement?

Answer: No, it is forgiven right away. If one repents from a sin then nothing remains from the sin, but it could be that one doesn’t repent and is forgiven on the Day of Judgement. However, if one repents to Allaah, then Allaah accepts it (turns back to him) and his rank is raised with him. 

Question: On the night of Israa and Mi’raaj, the Prophet saw people in the fire, how is this before they have been accounted for their sins?

Answer: Allaah is Able to Do all things. Matters of the unseen should not be compared in what we understand from the affairs of the Dunya, if we do this then we will find it hard to believe in. However, the Prophet saw these people in the fire and he saw the Bayt al-Maqdis when the Quraysh asked him to describe it, he was describing it as if it had been lifted from Palestine and brought to him in Makkah so that he could describe it in its fine details. It was like it was right in front of him, just like how one looks into a television nowadays - one is able to watch TV and able to describe what he sees without the thing he is describing actually being in front of him.

Question: Nowadays we have a lot of ease in doing acts of worship, does this mean that my reward in doing good deeds is decreased?

Answer: This doesn’t decrease the reward even if he has ease in doing it. However, if one performs an act of worship with difficulty then he has an increased reward. For example, if one wants to go the masjid and he finds ease in it, he is rewarded but this doesn’t mean he chooses a hard route to the masjid in order to seek more reward. For example, fasting in a country is 16 hours a day but he chooses to go to a country which has fasts for 20 hours a day, this is not permissible, but if one is in a situation of hardship, such as fasting 20 hours a day then he is rewarded as he didn’t go their intentionally to fast long days, or the weather is hot. The Prophet said, “Your reward is according to the difficulty you face” , this is confirmation of an extra reward on the condition that doesn’t one seeks difficulty. Another example, the distance to the masjid is 500 meters but he seeks to go down a road which is 600 or 700 meters, he does this to walk a longer way in order to get reward, this is not permissible. Difficulty which is found in the act of worship and not seeking difficulty to do the act of worship, this is when a person is rewarded, but if one seeks difficulty to do an act of worship, he makes life difficult for himself and he is not rewarded for the extra difficulty.

Question: In the UK now there are many groups and sects and some of them are even calling themselves Salafee when they are not, like the extremists etc. the Kuffaar have also attached negativity to the name Salafee. Is it permissible in our case to call ourselves moderate Muslims? This is knowing that calling oneself a moderate Muslim usually is referred to those who don’t pray or grow beards or for women who don’t wear Hijaab or even for those who commit major sins but they refer to themselves as being moderate.

Answer:  This is not necessary because the Kuffaar know what extremism is and they know when something is not practicing and they know those who are balanced. There is an incident that happened; a Muslim man wanted to marry a Christian woman. She used to work in a hotel so one day the Muslim man entered the hotel to see her and Muslims were there praying in the lobby. Instead of going to join the Jamaa’ah he went to speak to the woman instead and then later joined the Jamaa’ah. He joined it late and thus he had to make up a Rak’ah. He then went back to the woman after the Salaah to speak to her and she told him that  she was not interested in him anymore. The Muslim man was bemused and asked why. To which she replied, “You preferred to come to talk to me instead of praying with the others and you joined them late so you had to pray some of it by yourself. If you are like this with you religion then how will you be with me? I will not marry a Muslim except if he is trustworthy. ” So she refused him. The point is, if you follow al-Islaam then they will recognize what is correct from what is incorrect. They will know the difference between those who bring goodness and those who spread mischief. They know the difference between moderate and those who are not. If we talk about extreme Christians then you will know who are the extreme ones and those who are not. The same goes for the Jews. So there is no need for such terminologies.