Is it permissible for us to hold a party to bid farewell to a non-Muslim who was working with us?.
Holding a farewell party
for a kaafir is a kind of honouring and respecting him, and they do not
deserve to be honoured because they have disbelieved in Allaah and offended
Him.
Imam Ahmad narrated with a saheeh isnaad from Abu Moosa that
he said: I said to ‘Umar: “I have a Christian scribe.” He said, ‘What is
wrong with you, may Allaah doom you?! Have you not heard that Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): ‘O you who believe! Take not the Jews
and the Christians as Awliyaa’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but
Awliyaa’ of each other’ [al-Maa’idah 5:51]? Why don’t you employ a
haneef (i.e., a Muslim)?” I said: “O Ameer al-Mumineen, I benefit from his
writing and his religion is his own affair.” He said: “I will not honour
them when Allaah has humiliated them, and I would not want to be close to
them when Allaah has cast them away.”
See Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 25/327.
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab
also said with regard to the Christians in particular: “Humiliate them but
do not wrong them, because they have offended Allaah in such a manner that
no other people have ever done.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said,
concerning the ruling on holding a farewell party for a kaafir when his work
ends, and the ruling on offering condolences to a kaafir, and the ruling on
attending the festivals of the kuffaar:
This is a question which includes several issues:
1 – Holding farewell parties for these kaafirs is undoubtedly
a kind of honouring them and showing regret that they are leaving. All of
that is haraam for the Muslim. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not initiate the greeting of salaam with the
Jews and Christians, and if you meet them in the road push them towards the
narrowest part of it.” The person who truly believes cannot honour any of
the enemies of Allaah, and the kuffaar are the enemies of Allaah according
to the text of the Qur’aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Whoever is an enemy to Allaah, His Angels, His
Messengers, Jibreel (Gabriel) and Mikaa’eel (Michael), then verily, Allaah
is an enemy to the disbelievers”
[al-Baqarah 2:98]
2 – Offering condolences
to a kaafir if one of his loved ones – a friend or relative – dies. There is
a difference of opinion among the scholars concerning this issue. Some of
the scholars say that it is haraam to offer condolences to them, and some
say that it is permissible. Some of them added further details and said that
if that serves an interest, such as the hope that they may become Muslim and
it may ward off their evil which could not be done except by offering
condolences, then it is permissible, otherwise it is haraam.
The more correct view is if that offering condolences to them
is regarded as a kind of honouring them, then it is haraam, otherwise we
should look at what is in the best interests.
3 – Attending their
festivals and taking part in their celebrations. If these are religious
festivals such as Christmas then it is haraam to attend them, beyond any
shadow of a doubt. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It is
not permissible to attend them according to the consensus of the scholars,
and this was clearly stated by the fuqaha’ who followed the four imams in
their books. And Allaah is the Source of strength.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen,
2/303.
No comments:
Post a Comment