“I Committed Zina and now I am Ashamed”

Nouman Ali Khan

Say: O, my slaves who have transgressed against your selves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins, and Allah is the Forgiving, the Merciful [Soorah Az-Zumar (39):53]

Accepting A Gift From A Kaafir On The Day Of His Festival

Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid
Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 08 | Size: 1 MB

A question answered by Shaikh Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid regarding: My neighbour is an American Christian, and she and her family brought me a gift when it was Christmas. I could not refuse the gift, lest she be offended. Can I accept this gift, as the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) accepted gifts from kaafirs?.

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:
The basic principle is that it is permissible to accept gifts from kaafirs, so as to soften their hearts and make Islam attractive to them, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) accepted gifts from some of the kaafirs, such as the gift of al-Muqawqis etc.

Al-Bukhaari gave a chapter in his Sahih the title of: Accepting gifts from the mushrikeen. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Abu Hurayrah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, narrating from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Ibrahim (peace be upon him) migrated with Sarah and entered a city in which there was a king or a tyrant, and he said: ‘Give her Haajar (as a gift).’” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was given as a gift a (roast) sheep in which there was poison. Abu Humayd said: The king of Aylah gave the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) a white mule and a cloak, and wrote to him. And he mentioned the story of the Jewish woman and her gift of a poisoned sheep to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Secondly:
It is permissible for a Muslim to give gifts to kaafirs and mushriks, with the aim of softening their hearts towards Islam, especially if they are relatives or neighbours. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gave a hullah (suit) to his mushrik brother in Makkah, as was narrated by al-Bukhaari (2619).

But it is not permissible to give a kaafir a gift on the day of one of his festivals, because that is regarded as approving of or participating in celebration of the false festival. If the gift is something that will help in celebrating the festival, such as food, candles and the like, then it is even more haraam, and some of the scholars are of the view that this is kufr.