The Ruling on Praying behind Those Who appeal for Help from Other than Allah and making Friends with Them

Question :

All praise be to Allah and may peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Messenger and all his family and Companions. As to what follows, the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Legal Rulings read the following question from an inquirer, the text of which was:

There is a man who lives with a community who seek help from other than Allah. Is it permissible for him to pray behind them? And should he migrate from them? And is their Shirk of a major type? And is making friends with them like making friends with real disbelievers?

Answer:

The Committee replied as follows: If the situation of those among whom one lives is as you say, that they seek help from other than Allah, such as seeking help from the dead or the absent living, or from trees, or stars and the like, then they are polytheists, guilty of major Shirk, which removes them from the fold of Islam.

It is not allowed to befriend them, just as it is not allowed to befriend the disbelievers, nor is prayer behind them valid, nor is it allowed to marry among them, nor to live among them, except for such as one who is inviting them to the truth with evidence, hoping that they will respond to his call and that their religious beliefs will be corrected at his hand.

Other than this, it is an obligation upon him to migrate from them to another community where he can cooperate in establishing the fundamentals of Islam and its jurisprudence and to revive the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah

If he cannot do so, then he should keep himself secluded from all of these (misguided) sects, even if this should cause him difficulty. This is based upon what has been authentically reported from Huthaifah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:

"The people used to ask Allah's Messenger about good, but I asked him about evil, fearful that I might fall into it. I said: "O Messenger of Allah! We were in a state of ignorance and evil until Allah brought us this goodness (i.e. Islam). So (tell me), will there be any evil after this goodness?" He answered: "Yes." I then asked: "And will there be any good after this evil?" He said:

"Yes, and in it there is Dakhan.»

I asked: "And what is its Dakhan?" He said:
"A people who will perform Sunan which are not from my Sunnah and will guide (people) with other than my guidance - you will recognize them and reject them.»

I asked: "And will there be any evil after this goodness?" He said:

Yes. Callers on the gates of the Hell-Fire; whoever responds to them, will be thrown therein by them.»

I said: "O Messenger of Allah! (Can you) describe them to us?" He replied:

Yes. They are from our race and they speak our language.

I said: "O Messenger of Allah! What do you order me to do if I meet them?" He said:

"Hold fast to the community of Muslims and their leader."

I said: "And if they have neither community nor leader?" He answered:

"Then avoid all of these groups, even if you have to chew on the roots of a tree even if death should come to you because of that.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim are agreed upon its authenticity may peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and Companions.