The scholars of Islam warned ordinary Muslims against debating with Shia

[taha taha]

92781: We do not advise you to continually read the books of the people of misguidance
I like to read the books and writings of the Raafidis (Shi’ah) and Sufis, and although I have only a little knowledge, praise be to Allaah I am able to pick out their specious arguments for one simple reason, which is that I know that their religion is false and that many of them are extremists or are poor ignorant common folk who deserve pity because they have been deceived and misguided by their leaders. Do you think that I should carry on reading their books or should I stop that?.
Published Date: 2007-01-08
Praise be to Allaah.
The Muslim should protect his beliefs (‘aqeedah) and faith, and be concerned to ensure that his nature and thinking remain sound. He should shun specious arguments and confusion for the sake of his religious commitment and heart, for hearts are weak and specious arguments may deceive them when presented in an attractive manner by the people of innovation and whims and desires, but in fact they are weak and specious arguments.

Looking at books of innovation and misguidance, or books of shirk and myths, or books of other religions which have long been distorted, or books of heresy and hypocrisy, is not permissible except for the one who is well-versed in Islamic knowledge and whose aim in reading them is to refute them and explain where they went wrong. As for one who is not well-versed in Islamic knowledge reading them, in most cases he will become confused as a result. That has happened to many people, even seekers of knowledge, until it ended in kufr, Allaah forbid. In most cases the one who reads these books thinks that his heart is stronger than the specious arguments presented therein, but then suddenly – when he reads a lot – he finds that his heart has absorbed more of the specious arguments than he ever imagined it would.

Hence the scholars and the righteous salaf were unanimously agreed that it is haraam to read these books, and Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisi wrote an essay entitled Tahreem al-Nazar fi Kutub al-Kalaam (Prohibition on reading the books of kalaam (“Islamic” philosophy)).

We will quote here the comments of a number of scholars about the prohibition on non-scholars reading these books:

It says in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (34/185):

The Hanbalis said: It is not permissible to read the books of the innovators, or books that contain both truth and falsehood, or to narrate them, because that is harmful and adversely affects one’s belief (‘aqeedah).

Al-Qalyoobi said: It is haraam to read books of fabricated heart-softening reports (raqaa’iq) and fabricated reports of military campaigns (maghaazi).

End quote.

In al-Ifaadaat wa’l-Inshadaat (44), al-Shaatibi issued a fatwa saying that it is not permissible for the common folk to read the book of Abu Taalib al-Makki that is entitled Qoot al-Quloob, because of the weird sufi ideas contained in it.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in al-Fath (13/525):

With regard to this issue it is better to differentiate between the one whose faith has not become strong and deeply-rooted, for whom it is not permissible to read any of these things, and the one whose faith is deeply-rooted, for whom it is permissible, especially when seeking arguments to refute the arguments of the deviant ones. End quote.

Muhammad Rasheed Rida said in al-Fataawa (1/137):

Students and the common folk should be prevented from reading these books lest they become confused about their beliefs and the rulings of their religion, lest they become like the crow who tries to learn how to walk like a peacock then forgets his own way of walking and does not even learn how to hop. End quote.

In Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb (al-Tawheed wa’l-‘Aqeedah/267), Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

With regard to Sufi books, it is not permissible to keep them or read them, except in the case of a person who wants to know what is in them of innovation so that he may refute it, so his reading them is of great benefit, which is to confront and deal with this innovation so that the people will be safe from it. End quote.

The Standing Committee said in Majallat al-Buhooth al-Islamiyyah (19/138):

It is haraam for every accountable adult, male or female, to read the books of innovation and misguidance, and magazines which publish myths and false claims and call for deviation from sound morals, unless the one who reads them is able to refute the heresy and deviation contained in them and can advise their authors to mend their ways and can denounce their actions and warn people against their evil. End quote.

Why expose yourself to evil and specious arguments, when you are safe and have no need of that. Praise Allaah for your being safe and sound, and thank Him for the blessings of guidance and steadfastness; protect that and do not expose it to that which may diminish it.

Life is too short to be spent in the pursuit of falsehood. Truth, goodness and beneficial knowledge are abundant and if a man were to spend his whole life in studying useful books of knowledge such as books of tafseer, hadeeth, fiqh, heart-softeners, asceticism (zuhd), etiquette, etc, he would not be able to quench his thirst for knowledge, so how about if he is distracted by books of myths and misguidance which are written by the Raafidis and some of the Sufis.

Listen to the advice of the great scholar Ibn al-Jawzi about paying attention to beneficial knowledge, as he said in Sayd al-Khaatir (54-55):

As for the scholar, I do not say to him: Focus only on useful knowledge or limit yourself to some of it;

Rather I say to him: Start with that which is most important, for the wise man is the one who understands how short life is and acts accordingly, even if there is no way to learn everything in one’s lifetime, rather he should do the best he can.

Then if he gets what he wants of knowledge, he has made provisions his journey, and if he dies before that, then his intention will help him.

What is meant is that he should reach his full potential by means of knowledge and action. End quote.

And Allaah knows best.

https://islamqa.info/en/92781

[taha taha]

The scholars of Islam – in the past and at present – have warned ordinary Muslims against reading the books of those who promote innovation and misguidance, and against debating with heretics and atheists.

143146: How we should react to websites that vilify Islam, and what are the ways in which we can support Islam?
There are many websites that attack Islam and revile Allah, His Messenger, and his companions and wives in the worst terms. There are some ignorant and immature Muslims who try to stand up to these sites, but they come up with refutations that are confusing and unclear, so their refutation appears flimsy at the time when the specious arguments of the others appear strong, thus they often end up doing more harm than good for Islam. These (hostile) websites have no credibility, so if one of those whom Allah has blessed with knowledge – of whom there are few who frequent these websites – were to offer a powerful refutation of the specious arguments, the owners of these websites will completely delete the counter-argument or remove parts of it so that it will appear weak and flawed. But if the refutation comes from one who is ignorant, they will leave it. Why don’t you offer some words of advice to those Muslims who are lacking in knowledge but who try to stand up to these websites, and warn them of the seriousness of what they are doing. Why don’t you tell those of us who do not have much knowledge about ways in which we can support Islam and call people to it?
Published Date: 2013-06-01
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:

The websites that speak ill of the religion of Allah and of His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) are no different from the gatherings where people say similar things that constitute kufr. In both cases it is haraam to stay in such gatherings and it is haraam to visit such websites, except for one who will object to what they do and is able to put a stop to these offences. If he is not able to do that, and those people carry on with what they are doing, then it is not permissible to remain in that gathering and it is not permissible to visit those websites.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And when you (Muhammad SAW) see those who engage in a false conversation about Our Verses (of the Qur’an) 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 Zalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers, etc.)”

[al-An‘aam 6:68]

“And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Quran) that when you hear the Verses of Allah 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”

[an-Nisa’ 4:140].

The scholars of Islam – in the past and at present – have warned ordinary Muslims against reading the books of those who promote innovation and misguidance, and against debating with heretics and atheists, except for those Muslims who have knowledge of Islam and of the beliefs and ideology of the person he is arguing against, lest the specious arguments of those who oppose Islam confuse the weak or ignorant person.

We have discussed this clearly in the answers to questions no. 126041, 92781 and 96231.

Secondly:

Based on the above, it is not permissible for one who is lacking in knowledge and insight to go to these websites and look at them; it is also not permissible for him to debate with those disbelievers and try to refute them, because he does not have strong insight, by which we mean correct and sound knowledge that will protect his belief and with which he can stand up to the enemies.

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

With regard to his words – i.e., the words of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him) in his will – (in which he says of one who is weak in faith): “Doubt will take root in his heart when he encounters the slightest specious argument”, that is because of his lack of knowledge and insight. This is unlike the one who has deep knowledge; even if specious arguments come to him like the waves of the sea, they cannot affect his certain faith or instil any doubt in his mind, because he is well versed in knowledge, so specious arguments do not faze him. Rather, if they come to him, he wards them off by means of his knowledge, and the specious arguments will be utterly defeated and crushed. Doubts can enter a person’s mind and prevent him from seeing the truth, but once he acquires deep knowledge, those doubts will not have any impact on him; rather his knowledge and certain faith will increase by refuting it and finding out how false it is. But if he does not have deep knowledge, he will develop doubts the first time he encounters any specious argument. So he should deal with these doubts, otherwise they will accumulate in his heart until they become very strong and control his thoughts.

End quote from Miftaah Dar as-Sa‘aadah, 1/140

Even the seeker of knowledge is not permitted to enter these chat rooms if he is not going to be allowed to speak the truth. If he knows that his argument against the disbelieving opponent will be erased, then he should not stay with them at all or take part in their gatherings or chat rooms, because his presence in places of misguidance will cause certain damage without achieving any good such as changing evil or speaking out against it and enjoining what is good.

Thirdly:

As it is not permissible for the ordinary Muslim, or even for the seeker of knowledge or scholar, to enter these websites if they will not be allowed to answer back, then what is the solution? The answer is that the solution is propagating sound beliefs in chat rooms and websites that allow the people of Islam to speak the word of truth they have, without erasing their words. The solution is to set up websites that collect specious arguments and refute them on the basis of knowledge, and to tell the Muslims to refer to these sites to learn about their religion and find out what the enemies of Islam have of ignorance and lies.

Fourthly:

Supporting Islam is obligatory for every Muslim according to what he is able to do, whether he is an ordinary Muslim or a scholar, male or female; he can do something to support Islam and support the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). That includes the following:

1.

Increasing his knowledge of Islam, seeking knowledge and learning, so that he will be able to protect himself against the specious arguments of the enemies of Islam, and so that he can increase in certainty that he is following the clear truth.

2.

The Muslim should be obedient to his Lord, may He be exalted, and he should keep away from what He has forbidden. This is one of the greatest things that the Muslim can do to support his religion.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! If you help (in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm”

[Muhammad 47:7].

Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shanqeeti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Those who have Muslim names but commit all kinds of sin then say “Allah will support us” are deceived, because they are not among the party of Allah who are promised His support, as is quite obvious.

What is meant by the believers’ support of Allah is their support of His religion and His Book, and their efforts and striving to make His word supreme and to establish His limits on earth, obeying His commands and avoiding what He has forbidden, and judging between His slaves in accordance with what He revealed to His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

End quote from Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 7/252

3.

He should play a part in spreading educational and da‘wah websites among Muslims and others, by making email lists that can be used for correspondence or by corresponding with friends he knows so that each one may play his role in spreading this goodness and knowledge among people.

4.

He can also support active Islamic websites and chat rooms on Paltalk. The Muslim should also support Islamic activists who are playing their role in supporting Islam.

5.

Enabling daa‘iyahs and seekers of knowledge to devote their time to calling people to the religion of Allah and teaching the Muslims the rulings of Islam. There is an urgent need to enable some of these people to devote their time to undertaking the mission of da‘wah and education.

And Allah is the source of strength.

https://islamqa.info/en/143146

[taha taha]

83621: She wants some advice for her Christian classmates
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.
Published Date: 2006-05-08
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.

https://islamqa.info/en/83621