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Muhammad
01-08-2010, 01:42 AM
He is refuting the specious arguments of the Christians and he is looking for advice: should he continue or not?






Question


There is a Christian website which published a lot of specious arguments about Islam and the laws of Islam. By Allaah’s grace, I am refuting these specious arguments via Islamic sites, and sites that refute the specious arguments. But in these chat rooms they revile the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Should I carry on in these chat rooms to refute their specious arguments? Or if I stay in the chat rooms, will the following verses be applicable to me?

“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. Surely, Allaah will collect the hypocrites and disbelievers all together in Hell” [al-Nisa’ 4:140]

“And when you (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) see those who engage in a false conversation about Our Verses (of the Qur’aan) by mocking at them, stay away from them till they turn to another topic. And if Shaytaan (Satan) causes you to forget, then after the remembrance sit not you in the company of those people who are the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers)” [al-An’aam 6:68].





Answer


Praise be to Allaah.


We appreciate your protective jealousy towards the religion of Allaah, and we value your attitude in defending it against its enemies and doubters. But this will not prevent us from advising you and directing you towards that which is better for you and for the religion of Allaah.

This advice may be summed up by telling you not to get involved in dealing with specious arguments and refuting them until after you have gained a strong knowledge of the rulings and laws of Islam, and until your faith has become strong and certain. This is not something that is mustahabb or recommended, rather it is obligatory in your case and in the case of everyone who wants to get involved in dealing with specious arguments and refuting the followers of innovation, misguidance and deviant religions. There are a number of important reasons for this:



1 – Protecting the religion and laws of Allaah from zealots who do not have any real knowledge. These people see the specious argument but their answer misses the point, and sometimes their response is so weak that it may reinforce the specious argument and weaken truth.



2 – Protecting the Muslims who are eager to refute them from being misled by these specious arguments and their proponents. Many of those who get involved in this field enter with little knowledge, and the specious arguments penetrate their hearts and they can find no answer to them, so they become confused and begin to doubt. Examining specious arguments too much weakens the heart.


Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him) said to me, after I had posed some questions to him, one after another:

Do not make your heart like a sponge for questions and specious arguments lest your heart be filled with them and they start to affect your thinking and your behaviour. Rather make it like a sealed bottle, so that the specious arguments will bounce off its surface and will not settle in it, then you will be able to see them clearly and ward them off because of the resolve you have. Otherwise if every specious argument that crosses your mind settles in your heart, it will become an abode for specious arguments. – Or words to that effect.

I not know that I benefited from any advice to ward off specious arguments as I did from this advice.

Miftaah Daar al-Sa’aadah (1/140).



Imam al-Dhahabi narrated that Sufyaan al-Thawri (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Whoever hears of an innovation should not tell it to his companions lest it reach their hearts.

He commented on that by saying:

Most of the imams of the salaf issued similar warnings; they thought that hearts were weak and that specious arguments could easily penetrate them.

Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’ (7/261).



3 – Taking care of one’s time and not wasting it on stubborn arguers, and not wasting time on one aspect of knowledge which should be preceded by other kinds of knowledge. It is not right to refute those who attack Islam until after one has learned the Qur’aan and saheeh Sunnah, which takes a lot of the knowledge-seeker’s time. Some specious arguments may be answered from the point of view of language, others from the point of view of Tafseer, or hadeeth, or logic. What zealous beginner can master all of that?



4 – Choosing the right way to call people to Islam. Calling people to Allaah needs knowledge on the part of the caller, and it needs wisdom so that he will handle matters appropriately. Some of those who are called may be open-minded, easy going and close to the truth, and some may be stubborn, so the caller needs to know the appropriate way to deal with each of them, and be strict with some and gentle and kind with others.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Invite (mankind, O Muhammad صلىالله عليه وسلم) to the way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Revelation and the Qur’aan) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better”

[al-Nahl 16:125]

“And argue not with the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), unless it be in (a way) that is better (with good words and in good manner, inviting them to Islamic Monotheism with His Verses), except with such of them as do wrong”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:46]

How can the beginner know the appropriate way to deal with these people? How can he implement it? When should he give up? All of that needs the caller to have a considerable amount of knowledge and wisdom, and this cannot be found with the majority of zealous beginners.



Hence the answer to the brother’s question may be known: should he remain in the chat rooms even though he sees them reviling Allaah, may He be exalted, and His Messenger and His religion, or should he leave? Does what is mentioned in the verses quoted in the question apply to him? There is no definite answer to that, unless we know the state of the chat room and the state of the caller, and the state of the specious arguments, and whether he is allowed to respond and comment, or is he only reading and not taking part? If we know all that we can form an idea of the appropriate answer.

We have seen some of our zealous brothers who are eager to engage in da’wah entering chat rooms on “Pal Talk” where heretics revile the Sahaabah and label them as kaafirs, and they insult the Muslims in immoral speech, but they prevent the Muslim brother from commenting verbally or by typing. What point is there in staying in those evil rooms?

In this case, what is mentioned in the verses quoted in the question is applicable; this is unlike one who listens in order to compile and document their words or one who listens in order to refute them when it is his turn to speak. In those cases, what is mentioned in the verses quoted in the question does not apply.

This is general advice, and we ask Allaah to cause it to be of benefit.
Shaykh al-‘Uthaymeen said:

It is not permissible for a person to read a misguiding book of the Jews, Christians, mushrikeen or innovators, unless he has deep knowledge that can protect him. But if he is a beginner in seeking knowledge, then it is not permissible for him to start by reading these books of falsehood, because he may be influenced by the falsehood contained therein. We advise these people to leave these books alone until they have fortified themselves with sound shar’i knowledge before they look into those misguided books. If a person wants to protect himself against a flood, he builds a barrier and implements other means before the flood comes; he does not do that after the flood comes. So we say: First of all, fortify yourselves with shar’i knowledge and let it take root deeply in your hearts, so that you will be strong and it will not matter what you read and you will be able to refute the specious arguments and false notions of the people.

Liqaa’aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (47/question no. 7)


Please see also question no. 22029 and 83621 for the ruling on reading the books of Ahl al-Kitaab and debating with them via the Internet.


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Muhammad
01-08-2010, 01:53 AM
She wants some advice for her Christian classmates








Question


In the University where I am studying there is a considerable number of Christians, and it has reached a stage where some of them are proselytizing, even though they are in a Muslim country and living among the Muslims.

One of them even carries the Gospel with her, and another book about “faith”, on which there is a picture of the Virgin Mary (peace be upon her), and she encourages the girls to read it.

After that, from speaking to her I found out that she is active in the church, and she teaches the children there. Now I am confused about how to interact with her and others like her. Should I cut off ties with her and warn others about her, or should I try to debate with her about her beliefs?

Please note that I tried – once – to find out about some of what she believes so that I could work out how to debate with her, but I found out that she is well aware of matters of debate. It is as if she was trained in what she had to say, and she was equipped with how to debate and interact with Muslims. I did not have enough knowledge to argue with her or debate with her.





Answer


Praise be to Allaah.


Firstly:

We appreciate your protective jealousy (gheerah) concerning the religion of Allaah, may He be exalted, and for your interest in calling others to Allaah, and we ask Allaah to guide us and you and to make us and you steadfast.



Secondly:

We do not advise you to debate with your Christian colleagues, because you stated that they have specious arguments that you are not able to refute, and you said that you are a beginner in seeking knowledge. This makes us repeat this advice in your case and the case of those who are like you. The principle is that the permissibility of that is limited to situations in which the interests served by doing it are greater than the negative results thereof, or in situations where arguing is kept at a level of friendly debate rather than fighting.

Fath al-Qadeer by al-Shawkaani, 1/527.


The purpose which you seek to achieve by debating with the People of the Book or other types of people who associate others with Allaah, or people who follow whims and desires or innovations, can only be achieved if it is undertaken by those who are qualified for it, who have sufficient knowledge of their own religion and the other religion to debate it, and who also follow the shar’i etiquette that is prescribed for us in such matters.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Because the followers of the Prophets are people of knowledge and justice, when the followers of Islam and the Sunnah speak with the kuffaar and followers of bid’ah, they speak with knowledge and justice, not with speculation and whims. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Judges are of three types, two of whom will be in the Fire and one in Paradise. A man who knows the truth and judges accordingly will be in Paradise. A man who knows the truth and judges otherwise will be in the Fire. And a man who judges among people on the basis of ignorance, will be in the Fire.” Narrated by Abu Dawood and others [and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’]. If he is one of those who pass judgment among people concerning their wealth, lives and honour, and he is neither knowledgeable nor just, then he will be in Hell, so how about one who judges concerning sects and religions, and the basic principles of faith, knowledge of the divine and other fundamental pricnples, with no knowledge or justice, like the followers of innovation and whims and desires.

Al-Jawaab al-Saheeh li man baddala Deen al-maseeh, 1/107-108.


Because of what Shaykh al-Islam mentioned here about the etiquette of debate, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And argue not with the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), unless it be in (a way) that is better (with good words and in good manner, inviting them to Islamic Monotheism with His Verses), except with such of them as do wrong; and say (to them): ‘We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you; our Ilaah (God) and your Ilaah (God) is One (i.e. Allaah), and to Him we have submitted (as Muslims)’”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:46]



Shaykh Ibn Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Tafseer: Here Allaah is forbidding arguing with the People of the Book, if it is done with no knowledge of argument or with no appropriate basis, and He says that we should not argue with them except in a way that is better, with a good attitude, kindness and gentle speech, calling to the truth and making it attractive, and refuting falsehood and making it unattractive, in the most effective manner. The purpose behind it should not simply be to debate and argue, and loving to win, rather the purpose should be to demonstrate the truth and guide people. End quote.
Tafseer al-Sa’di 743.


You should also focus on seeking knowledge. Before a Muslim learns about what others believe, he has to learn his own religion and its rulings. So look for sisters who are seekers of knowledge and start to learn your religion with them. You can also make use of tapes by the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah who promote the way of the righteous salaf, especially if there is no one available who can teach you.

Your primary concern should be to learn that which will correct your belief and worship. Study the meanings of the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

This is the sound way with which you should begin. Forget about debating with Christians and other followers of misguidance and leave that to those who are specialized in that field, for they are more able to debate with them and point out where they have gone wrong. There are still people in the Muslim ummah who can do this duty – praise be to Allaah.

If you think that the Christian proselytizing is having some impact on your Muslim sisters, then you must warn them against making friends with these kaafir women or listening to them. You can also provide them with books and tapes which explain true Islam, and warn against false sects and religions.

We ask Allaah to help you to do that which pleases Him, and to enable you to gain beneficial knowledge and do righteous deeds.

And Allaah knows best.


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جوري
01-08-2010, 02:00 AM
It is difficult for me to think that any Muslim would have a difficult time refuting a christian.. I think the problem many Muslims commit is focus on defending Islam of allegations that they don't even know exist in lieu of offering a good offense.. Like Banu Quryzah.. how do kaffirs know of Banu Qurayzzah at all were it not for Islamic sources? and if Islamic sources they used then how dare they come up with secondary conclusions that aren't recorded by history?.. in my humble opinion it is very easy to refute a christian if you'd merely turn it around to focus on christianity rather than Islam. In other words if you aren't a knowledgeable Muslim, you can try the stance of a knowledgeable atheist.. 90% of the christian argument would fall apart because their religion isn't only built on a house of sinking sand, their faith is completely illogical..

and Allah swt knows best


Great posts though..
:w:
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Ramadhan
01-08-2010, 04:11 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Gossamer skye
It is difficult for me to think that any Muslim would have a difficult time refuting a christian.. I think the problem many Muslims commit is focus on defending Islam of allegations that they don't even know exist in lieu of offering a good offense.. Like Banu Quryzah.. how do kaffirs know of Banu Qurayzzah at all were it not for Islamic sources? and if Islamic sources they used then how dare they come up with secondary conclusions that aren't recorded by history?.. in my humble opinion it is very easy to refute a christian if you'd merely turn it around to focus on christianity rather than Islam. In other words if you aren't a knowledgeable Muslim, you can try the stance of a knowledgeable atheist.. 90% of the christian argument would fall apart because their religion isn't only built on a house of sinking sand, their faith is completely illogical..

and Allah swt knows best


Great posts though..
:w:
I agree.
Christians will always try to defend the trinity concept at all costs, no matter how illogical, no matter how evidence even from their bible point out otherwise, or even if they themselves do not understand or really believe in it, because that is the essence of their faith.
That is why you always get very lengthy responses which aim to confuse you and muddle the matter at hand. This is what I almost always see in the discussions with christians.

Without jesus pbuh acting as God, the whole christianity faith and its basic tenets and promises fall apart.
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Ummu Sufyaan
01-23-2010, 06:45 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Gossamer skye
It is difficult for me to think that any Muslim would have a difficult time refuting a christian.. I think the problem many Muslims commit is focus on defending Islam of allegations that they don't even know exist in lieu of offering a good offense.. Like Banu Quryzah.. how do kaffirs know of Banu Qurayzzah at all were it not for Islamic sources? and if Islamic sources they used then how dare they come up with secondary conclusions that aren't recorded by history?.. in my humble opinion it is very easy to refute a christian if you'd merely turn it around to focus on christianity rather than Islam. In other words if you aren't a knowledgeable Muslim, you can try the stance of a knowledgeable atheist.. 90% of the christian argument would fall apart because their religion isn't only built on a house of sinking sand, their faith is completely illogical..

and Allah swt knows best


Great posts though..
:w:
ditto, and to add why should they care and why be concerned about banu qurayzaah to begin with...since they disbelieve in islam, for all they believe, it never existed. their inconsistencies drive me nuts.
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