Can I Send My Child on a School Trip to a Church?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I want some advice regarding sending my child to the church on a school trip. As part of their learning, they are required to visit the church. Is it permissible for me to send my child? The school has assured them they will not participate in any worship.
Please reply as soon as possible because the school is requesting permission.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Allowing your son to go on a school trip to a church as part of his learning would be permissible. Teach your son to do any silent remembrance of Allah Most High while on the visit.
Jurists mention it is generally disliked to enter the places of worship of other faiths without reason, need, or benefit—and would particularly avoid others’ religious services. So as long as one wouldn’t be confused about one’s faith or compromise on one’s religious practice, it would be permissible as understood from the following hadith and reports mentioned below.
Um Habiba and Um Salama Entering a Church in Ethiopia
ʿAisha (Allah be pleased with her) narrates: Um Habiba and Um Salama (Allah be pleased with them both) told Allah’s messenger about a church that they saw in Ethiopia in which there were pictures. They told the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) about it, on which he said, “If any religious man dies amongst those people, they would build a place of worship at his grave and make these pictures in it. They will be the worst creature in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection.” [Bukhari]
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) Entering a Jewish Synagogue and Preaching
It has been reported by ʿAwf Ibn Malik (Allah be pleased with him). One day the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and I went to a Jewish synagogue in Madina on one of their festivals. They hated that we made an appearance. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “O tribe of Jews! Show me twelve men from among you who testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger, and Allah will spare all the Jews under the heaven from the wrath He (has upon them) (…).” [Ahmad]
Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz Leading the Prayer in a Church
Uthman Ibn Hind (Allah be pleased with him) reports, I saw ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Aziz leading people in prayer on top of a church, and people were beneath. [Ibn Abi Shaybah, Musannaf]
Ismail Ibn Rafi reports, he said I saw ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Aziz leading the people in prayer in a church in the Levant. [Ibid.]
Azhar al-Harari reports that Abu Musa performed the prayer in a church in Damascus called St. John Church. [Ibid.] [IbnʿAbidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Rada al-Haq, Fatawa Darul ‘Ulum Zakariyya]
Related:
Entering a Church for Non-Religious Activities
Can I Go to Church with a Friend?
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
