Drums on special occasions are an evil

What is the ruling on responding to an invitation (to parties where there will be) some evils such as race horses and drums, knowing that the one who is issuing the invitation is a relative, but the occasion involves these evils?

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not permissible to accept such invitation whens these evils will be practiced openly. The same applies if alcohol will be drunk openly or cigarettes will be smoked, or promiscuous movies will be shown, or there will be free mixing between men and women, or there will be wantons displays of beauty (tabarruj) and no hijaab. But if you are able to remove or reduce the evil, or if you attend they will respect you and will not do these evil things, then you should attend for that purpose. Otherwise, do not go there, even if they are your relatives, except on the condition that you can remove the evil.

Dealing with a person whose sin repeatedly hurts one

Asslamualaikum
If a person commits a sin which hurts you, and they repeatedly do it what should one do ??

Praise be to Allaah.

What you should do is advise the person who is committing sin, whether the sin hurts you directly or not, because enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is an important obligation which Muslims are supposed to do all the time, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And when a community among them said: ‘Why do you preach to a people whom Allaah is about to destroy or to punish with a severe torment?’ (the preachers) said: ‘In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allaah), and perhaps they may fear Allaah.’” [al-A’raaf 7:164]

In his tafseer (commentary) of this aayah, Ibn Katheer said: “Here Allaah is describing how the people of that town had split into three groups: those who committed sin by using tricks to catch fish on the Sabbath (which Allaah had forbidden them to do), those who told them not to do this wrong deed and boycotted them, and those who kept quiet, neither committing the sin not speaking out against it. But this third group said to those who were telling the sinners not to do it: ‘Why do you preach to a people whom Allaah is about to destroy or punish with a severe torment?’ i.e., why do you warn these people when you know they are doomed and they deserve to be punished by Allaah, and your telling them not to do it is of no benefit? The preachers said to them, ‘In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allaah),’ i.e., we are doing this out of obedience to your Lord, Who has instructed us to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; ‘and perhaps they may fear Allaah,’ i.e., perhaps this warning may make them stop what they are doing and return to Allaah in repentance, for if they repent, Allaah will accept their repentance and have mercy on them.”

The Muslim should use different styles of warning and calling people to Islam. Sometimes he uses a soft and encouraging tone, describing the rewards for obedience; sometimes he warns of the punishment for disobedience; sometimes he may tell stories which illustrate an important lesson; sometimes he explains the bad consequences of sin on the person’s life, and so on.

If a person can no longer bear to be close to this sinner, and there is no benefit in advising him, then he should keep away from him and have nothing to do with him. And Allaah is the source of strength and the Guide to the right path.

Going to public places in which there are evil things [munkaraat]

Is it permissible for me to go on leisure outings with my husband and children to places like parks, museums and exhibitions, without mixing or missing the prayers, knowing that by necessity I will uncover my face in these places. Is it permissible for us to accompany our children to beaches to swim, in spite of the immorality in these places and the prevalence of nakedness and permissiveness there? How should we respond to those who say that we are forbidden to enjoy that which Allaah has created, and that a person cannot lower their gaze to avoid seeing things that are forbidden by Allaah, because they are so widespread in these places?

Praise be to Allaah. 

It is not permissible to go to places in which munkaraat (evil things) are widespread. There is sufficient enjoyment in the things which Allaah has permitted for us, and we have no need of that which He has forbidden to us.

Destroying a place of evil without anyone knowing

They are building a nightclub in my community and we have tried to no avail to stop this. This will bring great immorality and corruption to our community, both to Muslims and non-Muslims. According to the shari'ah, is it allowed to destroy this place if no one is caught and the owner will lose all the money he invested in it. Is this an acceptable form of reducing evil as commanded in the Quran?

Praise be to Allaah.

We put this question to our shaykh, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Barraak, who answered as follows:

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Let there arise out of you a group inviting to all that is good, enjoining al-Ma’ruf (Islamic monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbidding al-munkar (polytheism and all that Islam has forbidden)…” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:104].

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever of you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand [by taking action against it], and if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out against it], and if he cannot, then with his heart [by feeling that it is wrong], and this is the weakest of faith.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 70).

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “So keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can…” [al-Taghaabun 64:16].

With regard to the evil thing that you mention in the question, you should try to change it or get rid of it as much as you can, so that you eliminate it or at least reduce it. This can be done by taking the matter to the people in authority who have the power to eliminate it or move it to another area, or by talking to the owner of the site and asking him to stop investing in evil which will only cause harm to him in this world and the next, and to invest in something that will be of benefit to him and the people living in the neighbourhood, without causing them any harm in either their spiritual or worldly affairs.

As for taking action by destroying the nightclub, as mentioned in the question, this is not permitted, even if the one who does this is sure he will not get caught. The evil resulting from such an action is too great, such as the destruction of property which is it not permissible to destroy, and the accusation and torture of innocent people that is bound to happen during the investigation of the incident. Moreover, the owners of the nightclub may not give up, and are most likely to try again to build the place. Beware, my zealous brother, of being too hasty to change evil things without thinking about the consequences. It is a good job that you asked this question so that matters might become clear to you, which they surely are now. And Allaah is the Guide to the Straight Path.

Attending wedding parties in which there are objectionable things (munkaraat)

Is it permissible for a woman to attend a wedding party if there will be some things which go against sharee’ah, such as playing music and dancing to it, or revealing clothes. Will her guardian such as her husband or father be guilty of sin if he gives her permission to attend this party? What is the ruling if the invitation comes from a relative and if she does not accept it there is the fear of a breakdown in family ties? Please advise us, may Allaah reward you with good.

Praise be to Allaah. 

If the parties are as described in the question, it is not permissible for anyone to accept the invitation, unless he or she is able to remove the evil things (munkar). In that case it is obligatory to accept the invitation for the purpose of removing the evil. But if he is not able to do that, then it is not permissible to attend these celebrations which include all or some of these things which go against sharee’ah. And it is not permissible for anyone to allow his wife or daughter or other female relative under his guardianship to attend these parties. If he says, I am afraid that there will be a rift between me and my relatives or that the ties of kinship will be broken, we say, then let that happen, because when they disobeyed Allaah by having parties of this kind, there is no duty to accept their invitation. If they then break the ties, the sin is on them and there is no sin at all on the one who refused to attend these celebrations.

Ruling on sitting with smokers when they are smoking

It is no secret that the forbidden habit of smoking is widespread, in the workplace, in the home and in public areas. The question is, is it permissible to sit with smokers? If a person is sitting with a smoker in his home or in a public gathering, should he leave him and go out?

Praise be to Allaah.

As the brother has mentioned, smoking is haraam because of the general evidence that indicates that it is haraam. There is no specific text from the Messenger SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because smoking only emerged recently, but the principles of sharee’ah are general in application, and some indications in some reports indicate that it is haraam. If a smoker sits next to you and wants to smoke, then advise him gently and kindly. Tell him, “My brother, this is haraam, and it is not permissible for you.”

I think that if you advise him kindly and gently, he will refrain from smoking, as we and others have found out by experience. If he does not refrain from smoking, then you have to leave him, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Qur’aan) that when you hear the Verses of Allaah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them…” [al-Nisa’ 4:140]

But this is when it is in a public place. If it is in the workplace and you advise him but he does not refrain, then there is no sin on you, because this is the matter of necessity and you could not get away from him.

Can we sit with those who do not pray?

Can we sit with those who do not pray?

Praise be to Allaah. 

It is permissible to sit with them in order to advise them and tell them to perform the obligatory prayers in jamaa’ah (congregation), not to relax with them and enjoy chatting to them. Otherwise it is haraam to sit with them.