How Does a Muslim Safeguard His Islam in the Lands of the Non-Muslim – Shaykh Muqbil al-Wadi’i

Question:

How does a Muslim safeguard his Islam in the lands of the non-Muslim?

Answer:

Shaykh Muqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī (d. 1422 AH / 2001 CE) said:

He safeguards his religion by possessing ghayrah (protective zeal), holding firmly to the Islamic evidences, and keeping the company of the pious. It has been narrated in the two authentic collections (al-Ṣaḥīḥayn) on the authority of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“The example of a good companion and a bad companion is that of a perfume seller and a blacksmith. As for the perfume seller, he may give you some perfume, or you may buy some from him, or at the very least you will find from him a pleasant scent. As for the blacksmith, he may burn your clothes, or you will find from him an offensive smell.”

This narration is recorded by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ (ḥadīth no. 2628).

Allah ﷻ also mentions, in His Noble Book, the regret of the people of Paradise when recalling the harmful influence of bad companionship. Allah ﷻ says:

يَقُولُ أَإِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُصَدِّقِينَ ۞ قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ إِنِّي كَانَ لِي قَرِينٌ ۞ أَإِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَدِينُونَ ۞ قَالَ هَلْ أَنتُم مُّطَّلِعُونَ ۞ فَاطَّلَعَ فَرَآهُ فِي سَوَاءِ الْجَحِيمِ ۞ قَالَ تَاللَّهِ إِن كِدتَّ لَتُرْدِينِ ۞ وَلَوْلَا نِعْمَةُ رَبِّي لَكُنتُ مِنَ الْمُحْضَرِينَ

“Then they will turn to one another, questioning. A speaker among them will say: ‘Verily, I had a companion who used to say: “Are you indeed among those who believe (in resurrection after death)? When we die and become dust and bones, shall we indeed be recompensed?”’ He will say: ‘Will you look down?’ So he looked down and saw him in the midst of the Fire. He said: ‘By Allah! You nearly ruined me. Had it not been for the Grace of my Lord, I would certainly have been among those brought forth (to Hell).’” (Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt, 37:51–57)

The poet said:

“Do not ask about a person; rather ask about his companions, For every companion imitates the one he accompanies.”

Thus, those who say, “This action is permissible,” or claim, “So-and-so is too harsh,” should be approached with caution. One must distance himself from them and demand clear proof (dalīl).

Allah ﷻ says:

وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا ۞ يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا ۞ لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِي عَنِ الذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَاءَنِي ۗ وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَانُ لِلْإِنسَانِ خَذُولًا

“And (remember) the Day when the wrongdoer will bite at his hands, saying: ‘Oh, would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had not taken so-and-so as a close friend.  He indeed led me astray from the Reminder after it had come to me.’ And Satan is ever a deserter to man in the hour of need.” (Sūrat al-Furqān, 25:27–29)

Likewise, a Muslim safeguards his Islam by abstaining from local customs and corrupt practices to which he had become accustomed before Islam. The soul inclines naturally towards that which it is habituated to, and for this reason it is obligatory that he distances himself from such influences and keeps the company of righteous Muslims.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“A man is upon the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look carefully at whom he befriends.”

This ḥadīth was authenticated by Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE) in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tirmidhī (ḥadīth no. 1937).

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Reference

al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī (d. 1422 AH / 2001 CE), Tuḥfat al-Mujīb ʿalā Asʾilat al-Ḥāḍir wa-al-Gharīb, Dār al-Athar, Ṣanʿāʾ, Yemen, 1st ed., 1421 AH / 2000 CE, p. 148.

• Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (d. 261 AH / 875 CE), al-Ṣaḥīḥ, ed. Muḥammad Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Bāqī, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, Beirut, n.d., ḥadīth no. 2628.

• al-Albānī, Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Maktabat al-Maʿārif, Riyadh, 1st ed., 2000, ḥadīth no. 1937.

• The Qurʾān al-Karīm, Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt (37:51–57); Sūrat al-Furqān (25:27–29), translation adapted from Muḥammad Taqī al-Dīn al-Hilālī and Muḥammad Muḥsin Khān.