Has Attending a Catholic Funeral Made Me a Disbeliever?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question: Assalamu alaykum
I attended a Catholic funeral of my husband’s family once and there was a priest who read stories, qoutes and prayers from the Bible. I read some prayers and qoutes from the Bible with them. I’m not sure why I did that but most likely because I was being nice and was scared they would find out we were Muslims and didn’t want them to say we were being rude by not talking or reading along. I do not believe what Catholics believe about Jesus at all.
Does this make me a non muslim?
Answer: Wa ‘alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
I pray you are well.
You are still a Muslim. Imam Abu Ja’far al-Tahawi clearly mentions is his widely accepted creed that ‘Nothing removes a slave [of Allah] from belief except the denial of that which actually brought him into it in the first place.’ Having said this, it may have been improper conduct – especially if the words said were not reflective of our understanding of Allah – so it is best to ask Allah for forgiveness and avoid getting into the same situation again.
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.
Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.
In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.
His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.
When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.
