Aslam

Praise be to Allah.We put the following question to Shaykh Muhammad ibn

Saalih al-Uthaymeen:

A non-Muslim woman is saying, I want to become Muslim but on the

condition that I do not have to do the five prayers until the end of the day, because I

cannot do them at work. And also I cannot accept the idea of polygamy.

He answered as follows:

I think that she should adhere to the rulings of

Islam if she wants to become Muslim and be saved from the Fire. But as for her choosing

what she wants and saying I cannot accept the idea of polygamy as if she is saying

that she cannot accept it as a ruling from Allaah or saying I cannot pray until I

finish my work, this is not acceptable.

Question:

In the book Muntaqa al-Akhbaar, the author says,

Chapter on the soundness of a persons Islam when he lays down invalid

conditions, and he mentions the hadeeth of Waheeb, who said:

I asked Jaabir about the tribe of Thaqeef, when they gave their

Bayah (oath of allegiance) to the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allâh be upon

him), with the condition that they would not have to pay Sadaqah (charity) or engage in

Jihaad. After that he heard the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him) say,

They will give sadaqah and they will engage in jihaad.

Can we understand from this that if a non-Muslim comes and says I

want to become Muslim on the condition that I can do all the prayers together at the end

of the day this is OK, or is this an entirely different case?

Shaykh:

This is an entirely different case, because when that was said to the

Messenger

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he said, If they become

Muslim, they will pray. This has to do with matters of the Unseen, which we cannot

know. (in other words, the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) accepted

that from them because he knew, from what Allaah taught him of the Unseen, that these

people would become good Muslims and would give charity and engage in jihaad, whereas we

cannot know the Unseen and how this non-Muslim will be in the future). If we accepted the

conditions laid down by the kuffaar, Islam would disintegrate. One may stipulate the

condition that we let him engage in zinaa (unlawful sexual activity), another may demand

that we let him drink wine, and so on and so forth. The Messenger

(peace and

blessings of Allâh be upon him) told Ali, when he sent him to the people of

Khaybar: Tell them what their duties are towards Allaah in Islam. The

condition of Islam is that it must be accepted in totality, as it is. The Prophet

(peace

and blessings of Allâh be upon him) told Muaadh, Teach them that Allaah has

enjoined five prayers upon them, and if they accept that, then tell them about

Zakaah. So the obligations of Islam have to be accepted.

Question:

Can we not say that this persons entering Islam serves a great

interest, and that their stipulating that they should be excused a few acts of worship is

less harmful?

Shaykh: Not at all! Whose interests are being served here? The

interests of the person himself? But this is damaging to Islam, because then lazy Muslims

will say, We will only pray when we have finished work, like this person does.

So the harm this would do to Islam is serious. If he really wants to save himself, let him

accept Islam in totality. And whomsoever Allaah leads astray, no-one can

guide.

So what we say to you is this: become Muslim and accept Islam in

totality. Submit to Allaah in all that He has prescribed, and Allaah will help you and

give you the strength to follow His laws, if you are sincere in your intention towards

Him. Then if you are faced with something that you cannot do for a genuine reason, or are

forced to do something, then if you are sincere, Allaah will not punish you for that. May

Allaah help us and you to accept the truth and adhere to it. May Allaah bless our Prophet

Muhammad.