How does a Muslim safeguard his Islam in the lands of the non-Muslims?
Shaykh Muqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī (d. 1422 AH/2001 CE) said:
He safeguards his religion through diligence, holding firmly to the Islamic evidences, and keeping the company of the pious. It has been narrated in the two authentic collections (aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥayn) on the authority of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī that the Messenger of Allah said:
إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ الْجَلِيسِ الصَّالِحِ وَالْجَلِيسِ السَّوْءِ كَحَامِلِ الْمِسْكِ وَنَافِخِ الْكِيرِ، فَحَامِلُ الْمِسْكِ إِمَّا أَنْ يُحْذِيَكَ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَبْتَاعَ مِنْهُ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَجِدَ مِنْهُ رِيحًا طَيِّبَةً، وَنَافِخُ الْكِيرِ إِمَّا أَنْ يُحْرِقَ ثِيَابَكَ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَجِدَ رِيحًا خَبِيثَةً
“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.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 2628)
Allah also says in His Noble Book, concerning the people of Paradise:
﴿فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّي كَانَ لِي قَرِينٌ يَقُولُ أَإِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُصَدِّقِينَ أَإِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَدِينُونَ قَالَ هَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُطَّلِعُونَ فَاطَّلَعَ فَرَآهُ فِي سَوَاءِ الْجَحِيمِ قَالَ تَاللَّهِ إِنْ كِدْتَ لَتُرْدِينِ وَلَوْلَا نِعْمَةُ رَبِّي لَكُنْتُ 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).’” [Q 37:50–57]
The poet said:
عَنِ الْمَرْءِ لَا تَسْأَلْ وَسَلْ عَنْ قَرِينِهِ … فَكُلُّ قَرِينٍ بِالْمُقَارِنِ يَقْتَدِي
“Do not ask about a person; rather, ask about his companion, for every companion follows the one he accompanies.”
Thus, those who say, “This is permissible”, or, “So-and-so is too harsh”, should be approached with caution. One must distance himself from them and demand clear proof (dalīl). Allah says:
﴿وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا يَا وَيْلَتَى لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا لَقَدْ أَضَلَّنِي عَنِ الذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَاءَنِي وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَانُ لِلْإِنْسَانِ 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.” [Q 25:27–29]
Likewise, a Muslim safeguards his Islam by keeping away from the traditions and customs he was accustomed to before Islam. The soul naturally inclines towards what it was accustomed to, and for this reason he should distance himself from such influences and keep the company of righteous Muslims. The Prophet said:
الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دِينِ خَلِيلِهِ، فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَحَدُكُمْ مَنْ يُخَالِلُ
“A man is upon the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look carefully at whom he befriends.” (Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, no. 2378)
This ḥadīth was authenticated by Muḥammad Nāṣir ad-Dīn al-Albānī (d. 1420 AH/1999 CE) in Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan at-Tirmidhī, no. 1937.
References
- Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī (d. 1422 AH/2001 CE), Tuḥfat al-Mujīb ʿalā Asʾilat al-Ḥāḍir wa-l-Gharīb, section “Asʾilat as-Salafiyyīn al-Barīṭāniyyīn” (Questions of the British Salafīs), question no. 134, pp. 159–160.
- Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (d. 261 AH/875 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, ed. Muḥammad Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Bāqī, no. 2628.
- At-Tirmidhī, Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā (d. 279 AH/892 CE), al-Jāmiʿ, no. 2378.
- Al-Albānī, Muḥammad Nāṣir ad-Dīn (d. 1420 AH/1999 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan at-Tirmidhī, no. 1937.
Qurʾānic passages cited: [Q 25:27–29], [Q 37:50–57].
