Not Permissible To Forsake a Muslim

It Is Not Permissible To Forsake a Muslim 

It is only permissible for a Muslim to be mad at a fellow brother for 3 days at most and the one who is better is who talks first. But sometimes a brother may do something which I do not approve of it.

In the Name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh, May Peace and blessings of Allāh upon His Messenger.

It is not permissible to forsake a Muslim, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said:

“It is not permissible for a man to forsake his Muslim brother for more than three days, each of them turning away from the other when they meet. The better of them is the one who gives the greeting of salām first.”

 [Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 5727; Muslim, 2560].

The hadith applies especially if the believer is a relative, such as a brother, nephew, uncle or cousin, because in such cases forsaking is an even worse sin.

This applies unless the person is committing a sin and there is an interest to be served by forsaking him, i.e., that it will make him give up the sin. In that case there is nothing wrong with it, because this comes under the heading of removing evil. The Prophet (sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; if he cannot then with his heart [by hating it and feeling that it is wrong], and that is the weakest of faith.”

[Narrated by Muslim, 49]

The basic principle is that it is harām for a Muslim to forsake his fellow-Muslim, unless there is a reason to allow it.

[Faāwa Manār Al-Islām, by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, vol. 3, p. 732]

Wali al-Dīn al-‘Iraqi said:

This prohibition applies in cases where the forsaking is caused by anger with regard to something permissible that has nothing to do with religion. With regard to forsaking someone for a religious reason, such as his committing sin or bid’ah, there is no prohibition on it. The Prophet (sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) commanded (his companions) to forsake Ka’ab Ibn Malik, Hilal Ibn Umayyah and Marārah Ibn Al-Rabee’ (may Allah be pleased with them). Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: This hadith of Ka’ab indicates that it is permissible for a man to forsake his brother if he commits some act of bid’ah or immorality, in the hope that forsaking him may discipline him and serve as a rebuke to him. Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi said: With regard to forsaking a person because of sin or bid’ah, it should be continued until he repents from that and does not go back to it. Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr also said: The scholars are unanimously agreed that it is not permissible for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three days, unless there is the fear that speaking to him and keeping in touch with him will affect one’s religious commitment or have some harmful effect on one's spiritual and worldly interests. If that is the case, it is permissible to avoid him, because peaceful avoidance is better than harmful mixing.

[Tarh al-Tathrīb, 8/99]

What you should do, if your brother has done something harām, is to advise him and explain that this thing is haram and is not permitted, and remind him of Allāh. If you see that he is persisting in his sin and you think that forsaking him will serve a purpose, then it is permissible to do so, as stated above. But if he has simply done something that you do not agree with, or it is the matter of different points of view, then you should explain to him that you do not agree with what he has done or, with his mistaken point of view. But if you make forsaking him the sign of you’re disagreeing with him, this may lead to him rejecting your view completely, let alone the fact that this is not a legitimate shar’ie justification for forsaking him for more than three days. We have seen above in the fatwa that the basic principle is that it is haram for a Muslim to forsake his fellow-Muslim, unless there is a reason to allow it.

The Muslim must be forbearing and sincere towards his brothers, he must be tolerant towards them and overlook their mistakes. He should not hasten to adopt a solution that may cause division and harām kinds of forsaking.

May Allāh Guides us to the straight path.

[Via Islam Q&A]

Please See Also:

Silaturrahim;

The Meaning of Silatul Rahim;

Guidelines on Ties of the Kinship;

The Obligation of Upholding the Ties of Kinship;

The Rights of the Kin in Islam;

The Rights and Duties of Women in Islam;

All Occurs By The Will And Decree Of Allāh;

Allah Obligates Kindness to Parents;

Acknowledging the Parents;

The Kindred of Kinship;

Not Permissible To Forsake A Muslim;

Ruling On Disputes and the Virtue of Reconciling;

Dealing With Relatives Who Backbite;

Dealing with Hurtful Relatives;

Giving Zakah to Deserving Relatives;

Is the Father’s Wife among the Relatives (Rahm);

Husband’s Duties towards His Wife’s Family;

The Rights of the Husband and the Wife;

Upholding the Ties of Kinship for Females;

A Woman’s Mahram;

The Seven under the Shade of Allāh.