Am I Neglecting the Rights of My Coworker?

Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan

Question: Assalamu Alaykum

I have a colleague who is from the Qadiani sect. He openly declares that he is Qadiani. Since I learnt about it, I have noticed some change in my attitude towards him such as avoiding him socially, not eating with him and not initiating greetings (Salam). Am I becoming rude and ignoring his rights as a coworker?

Answer: Wa alaykum al-Salam

Thank you for your question and concern.

An important integral of belief, is to accept that RasuluLlah sallaLlahu alayhi wasallam is the final Messenger of Allah. One who denies this, has not truly entered Islam and one who once believed in the finality of his sallaLlahu alayhi wasallam’s Prophethood and then rejects it, has taken himself out the fold of Islam.

Islam teachers us to have good conduct with people of all faiths. Our religion is one of mutual respect. However, since Qadiansim claims to be part of Islam or the actual development of Islam, it effectively means that it attempts to distort our religion, and this requires one to be weary and cautious.

Yes, one should not loose respect, nor should one become rude. My advice to you in short would be to maintain an amicable working relationship, with the ultimate intention of guiding the individual back to Islam. It would not be encouraged for you to develop a personal relationship with this individual outside of your workplace.

And Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan

Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.