After asking about us well-being and affairs in London, Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Hādī al-Madkhalī went onto say;
“My advice to the people of the West is that they hold firmly to the correct creed and know the religion of Islām which the Messenger ﷺ came with, and this is from the principles. It is obligatory upon you to know these matters because you live amongst non-Muslims and their enemies who spread doubts. And if a person does not have knowledge of this religion then he will become lost due to their doubts. Therefore upon the one living in the West is to know the religion of Islām with the evidences so that he can defend the religion. Likewise, it is obligatory upon you to gain beneficial knowledge. The non-Muslims target the youth when they reach a particular age, they are able to do whatever they like and if you reject [their system] they have the ability to take you to court, and your children can be taken from you, so you must cultivate them upon Islām so they are not misguided.
Be vigilant – you and your brothers, and do not mix except with those upon the manḥāj of the Salaf so as not to fall into the same doubts and misgivings which those who ascribe to Islām have fallen into.
Sins (in the West) are widely accessible under the banner of freedom; rather the non-Muslims today are worse than before. The deviations of the non-Muslims of old were in relation to creed but still they had particular etiquettes with them, however now it is worse and this is all in the name of freedom, to the extent that they now allow same sex marriages. So take heed of yourself and brothers.
In regards to the youth, then look at their companions and who they walk with. Ahl as-Sunnah should keep ties with one another because this fills the gaps and compensates for the low numbers. The women should accompany the women from Ahl as-Sunnah likewise the youth should accompany the youth of Ahl al-Sunnah, because if you fulfil this you will not feel that sense of emptiness, strangeness, loneliness or boredom of being alone. Also according to your ability, do not allow the youth to stagnate and have free time. Fill their time and find way to fill it with studying in Muslim schools, the evening they should attend the mosques and study Qurʾān, Ḥadīth and Islamic sciences that will benefit them such as;
- Qawāʿīd al-Arbaʿa
- Usūl al-Thalātha
- Kitāb al-Tawḥīd
- ʿAqīdah al-Wāsiṭīyah
- 40 Aḥadīth of al-Nawawī
- Umdat al-Aḥkām
- Bulūgh al-Marām
- Adab al-Mashy ila-al-Ṣalāh
- Umdat al-Fiqh
If this is implanted in the heart of the youth then they will know Islām with its proofs, and between yourselves fill the time with [learning] new knowledge, or revising that which you have already come across. The heart at times, becomes reluctant and thus you need to relax with a good ḥalāl means, such as trips with your brothers upon an agreed programme or other ways such as wrestling, running and various sports, Allāh ﷻ mentions in the Qurʾān,
۞ أَرْسِلْهُ مَعَنَا غَدًا يَرْتَعْ وَيَلْعَبْ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ ۞
” And send him with us tomorrow to enjoy himself and play” [Sūrah Yūsuf: 12: 12]
This is needed with regards to the youth, but it has to be done in a state of safety and security. If you are able to preserve each other then you can practice what we have mentioned .
[I advise you with] the prayer, fasting, being good to your parents, your children, your neighbour, your close brothers and the Muslims in general. And you must also know how to deal with the people of the book even though they are now (socialists), however if they talk about Islām, they return to the doubts of the People of the Book, likewise the (polytheists) and this can be found in the books of Sunnah and Fiqh (i.e knowing how to deal with the non-Muslims).
So my advice is that if you implement this (i.e the correct Islām) then the mercy, virtue and bounty of Islām will appear and this could be a means for somebody to enter Islām (mumtahinah), so you can give gifts to a neighbour of the People of the Book or visit them when they are sick, or ask about them when they are absent; if you cook, give them some because these manners have a positive effect on their hearts especially if you think that this person may lean towards Islām through it. [As for the women then] as a means of safety amongst them, it is better that she goes with a maḥram in a car with sisters. This is a specific advice to the women, the wives, the mothers and the daughters, that they should not leave their homes except in cases of dire necessity, such as going to the doctors or visiting someone that there is a need to visit, or to the mosque for a lesson with a maḥram (due to the fitan that may arise) because a woman leaving her house leads to fitan. May Allāh ﷻ give us success (tawfīq)
Question and Answers
Question: What is the ruling on the one who curses Allāh and the religion and the Messenger ﷺ, do we need to establish the proof upon him?
Answer: This (person) is a disbeliever, he is an apostate, because cursing Allāh ﷻ from every angle is evil and this person is a disbeliever in all religions, cursing Allāh is an evil act.
Question: Is it permissible for sisters to travel to mosques for lessons by using buses or walking, and this is while they are without their maḥram and they are not in cars?
Answer: No! No! (whilst waving his finger) no buses for the women, they should sit at home because it is not wājib for them to attend these lessons,
۞ وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ ۞
“And stay in your houses” [Sūrah al-Aḥzāb: 33: 33)
Question: These buses require mixing with the non-Muslims.
Answer: Yes I know. This is common in Europe and specifically in the United Kingdom.
Question: If an individual defends a clear innovator such as al-Ḥalabī. Do we have to establish the proof upon him before we declare him an innovator?
Answer: If he is genuinely in need of clarification then you should explain to him. If he is trying to deceive you then boycott him. Boycotting is a form of worship, Allāh ﷻ mentions it in the Qurʾān and the Messengerﷺ and the scholars have used it. The benefit is for the one who is doing the action of boycotting and this is the origin.
Question: Is it permissible to give greetings to the innovator?
Answer: He should not give it. They are not given Salām, Imām Aḥmad ibn Hanbal said:”If you see someone giving Salām to an innovator then know that he has love for him”. [As stated by the Messenger ﷺ “Shall I not inform you of something that if you were to do, will spread love amongst you. Spread the Salām.”
Question: Is it permissible to reply to their Salām?
Answer: If his innovation is extreme and highly severe them you do not reply, like the Jaḥmīyyah and Rāfiḍah. As for the ʿAshāʾirah and their likes, then they are a lighter harm and they are replied to.
Question: What about the callers from them?
Answer: No, they are not given Salām, as mentioned by Imām Aḥmad ibn Hanbal previously, “If you see someone giving Salām to an innovator then know that he has love for him.”
