Does teaching English to the imam of the mosque come under the heading of cooperating in sin and transgression?
Question We have a new imam in our community. He graduated from al Azhar. Although there is some good points about him, he seems to have an incorrect manhaj and is a little bit loose. He does some of the smaller things such as keeping a very short beard and other things. My question is,…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
What your parents have
asked you to do of teaching this imam does not come under the heading of
cooperating in sin and transgression. The fact that this imam goes against
sharee’ah in some issues means that you have to advise him and remind him
lest he continue with those infractions and fall into others, especially as
you are going to form a special relationship with him by teaching him
English.
Cooperating in sin and
transgression would be the case if you were to be the cause of some sin or
continuing it or spreading it, or if you helped the one who is doing it with
some idea or money or physical help.
Examples of cooperating in
sin and transgression include: renting out stores to riba-based banks or
stores that sell haraam things, joining a businessman in manufacturing,
selling or buying haraam things, or helping followers of bid’ah (innovation)
financially or by enabling them to speak to the Muslims, and so on.
In the verse
(interpretation of the meaning): “Help you one another in Al‑Birr and
At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in
sin and transgression” [al-Maa’idah 5;2], Allaah enjoins His believing
slaves to help one another to do good deeds, which is righteousness, and to
avoid bad deeds, which refers to piety; and He forbids them to help one
another in falsehood or cooperate in sin and haraam actions.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer
(1/12, 13)
Because this imam has some
good qualities, we hope that you can strengthen them and help him to fulfil
them and attain more. This will be cooperating in righteousness and piety.
As for his bad qualities, we hope that you will denounce them and advise him
to give them up, and this will also come under the heading of cooperating in
righteousness and piety and the sincere advice that is required of Muslims.
It should be noted that the
fear about this imam being influenced by staying in the land of kufr does
not apply only to him, rather it applies to him, to you and to all the
Muslims. What we have seen and heard is sufficient proof that people are
influenced.
We have previously stated
that it is not permissible to stay in a kaafir country unless one has a
legitimate shar’i excuse and meets the conditions laid down by sharee’ah.
This has been explained in the answers to questions no.
12866,
6154 and
13363.
And Allaah is the Source of
help.
