Assalamu Alaikum to you my brother! Ive been praying since 16 years old or so but I have very little knowledge about my religion back then. By the Mercy and blessings of Allah (S.W.T.), He still guided me till this day and I happen to dig deeper and understand Islam and appreciate the Truth and its beauty. We live in a predominantly Catholic country and there are many temptations everywhere. On April of this year 2019, I graduated and our graduation ceremony required us to attend the baccalaureate mass but they have a reserved section for Muslims, to just sit on the back, and not participate. However, me and my mother were late and so we were seated with the Catholics. They did this mass but I never listened to their sermon or whatsoever and I didnt pay attention to them. What bothered me is that during one occassion when everyone stood up for their singing I think? is that I also stood. Did this made me a kafir? I was really ignorant months ago about these issues and didn’t know about things which might make one fall into kufr without his knowledge. I made Tawbah after Ramadan when I evaluated and assessed what mistakes I’ve done in the past and ask Allah (S.W.T.) to forgive me about the things that made me fall into kufr and shirk which I did not know or I was ignorant of.
Is there anything needed to do to make sure that my Tawbah is accepted ? If one falls into Kufr, how should one renew his faith? Is it enough to say/recite the shahadah alone to yourself or no? Personally, out of fear of falling into disbelief, I always recite the Shahadah everytime I sleep so as to put my heart to rest because another thing that rampaged me these past months were waswasah that keeps telling me that I’m not a Muslim anymore because of my sins but I know that these are tricks of the shaytan.
Please answer this question as I hope that this will clear my mind and heart, In sha Allah. Thank you!
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
We acknowledge the contents of your query.
A baccalaureate service (or, baccalaureate Mass in the case of institutions affiliated with the Catholic Church and its religious institutes) is a celebration that honors a graduating senior class from a college or high school or eighth grade. The event is typically a Christianity-based interdenominational service, though it may also be of a strictly Catholic nature.
Speeches are often intermixed with musical performances, drama, and worship. [1]
In principle, to show respect and reverence to Kufr or anything related to Kufr constitutes Kufr. Accordingly, standing up for a Catholic prayer is Kufr and removes one from the fold of Islam.[2]
The procedure of Tawbah from Kufr and Shirk is:
- Recite the Shahadah
- Regret the sin
- Resolve never to commit the sin again
Once you do the above, thereafter do not entertain Waswasah. Recite the following abundantly to overcome Waswasah,
[3]أعوذُ باِللهِ مِنَ الشَّيطَانِ الرَّجِيم
Translation: I seek refuge in Allaah from the rejected devil.
لاحول ولا قوة إلا بالله
Translation: There is no power and no might except with Allaah.
You may read the following book: Combating the Whisperings of Shaitan by Shaykh Yunus Patel (Rahimahullaah) for effective methods on dealing with waswasah.
You may also listen to the discourses of my honorable teacher, Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Hafizahullah). The discourses are available in the links below.
http://daruliftaa.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Before-Zuhr-23.mp3
http://daruliftaa.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/After-Zuhr-23.mp3
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mohamed Ebrahim bin Ismail Abdullah
Student – Darul Iftaa
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
11-01-1441| 11-09-2019
[1] https://www.swarthmore.edu/past-commencements/baccalaureate-address-mark-wallace
التجريد للقدوري 9/ 4547 [2]
22190 – قال أصحابنا: إذا ارتد أحد الزوجين وقعت الفرقة بينهما في الحال
مجمع الأنهر في شرح ملتقى الأبحر (1/ 698)
لَا يَكْفُرُ بِقَوْلِهِ أَنْتَ عِنْدِي مِثْلُ إبْلِيسَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَيَكْفُرُ بِخُرُوجِهِ إلَى نَيْرُوزِ الْمَجُوسِ وَالْمُوَافَقَةِ مَعَهُمْ فِيمَا يَفْعَلُونَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ وَبِشِرَائِهِ يَوْمَ نَيْرُوزِ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَشْتَرِيهِ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ تَعْظِيمًا لِلنَّيْرُوزِ لَا لِلْأَكْلِ وَالشُّرْبِ وَبِإِهْدَائِهِ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَلَوْ بَيْضَةً تَعْظِيمًا لِذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ
مجمع الأنهر في شرح ملتقى الأبحر (1/ 698)
وَيَكْفُرُ بِوَضْعِ قَلَنْسُوَةِ الْمَجُوسِ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ عَلَى الصَّحِيحِ إلَّا لِتَخْلِيصِ الْأَسِيرِ أَوْ لِضَرُورَةِ دَفْعِ الْحَرِّ وَالْبَرْدِ عِنْدَ الْبَعْضِ وَقِيلَ إنْ قَصَدَ بِهِ التَّشْبِيهَ يَكْفُرُ وَكَذَا شَدُّ الزُّنَّارِ فِي وَسَطِهِ.
وَفِي الْبَزَّازِيَّةِ وَيُحْكَى عَنْ بَعْضٍ مِنْ الْأَسَالِفَةِ أَنَّهُ يَقُولُ مَا ذُكِرَ مِنْ الْفَتَاوَى أَنَّهُ يَكْفُرُ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا أَنَّهُ لِلتَّخْوِيفِ وَالتَّهْدِيدِ لَا لِحَقِيقَةِ الْكُفْرِ، وَهَذَا كَلَامٌ بَاطِلٌ وَحَاشَا أَنْ يَلْعَبَ أُمَنَاءُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَعْنِي عُلَمَاءَ الْأَحْكَامِ بِالْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ وَالْكُفْرِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ بَلْ لَا يَقُولُونَ إلَّا الْحَقَّ الثَّابِتَ عِنْدَ شَرِيعَةِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ – عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ – عَصَمَنِي اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ عَنْ زَلَلٍ عَنْ اللِّسَانِ وَتَكَلُّمِ كَلِمَةِ الْكُفْرِ بِالْخَطَأِ وَالنِّسْيَانِ آمِينَ بِحُرْمَةِ سَيِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ صَلَاةٌ لِلَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَيْهِمْ أَجْمَعِينَ.
الاختيار لتعليل المختار (4/ 150)
قَالَ: (وَالْكَافِرُ إِذَا صَلَّى بِجَمَاعَةٍ أَوْ أَذَّنَ فِي مَسْجِدٍ، أَوْ قَالَ: أَنَا مُعْتَقِدٌ حَقِيقَةَ الصَّلَاةِ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ يَكُونُ مُسْلِمًا) لِأَنَّهُ أَتَى بِمَا هُوَ مِنْ خَاصِّيَّةِ الْإِسْلَامِ، كَمَا أَنَّ الْإِتْيَانَ بِخَاصِّيَّةِ الْكُفْرِ يَدُلُّ عَلَى الْكُفْرِ، فَإِنَّ مَنْ سَجَدَ لِصَنَمٍ أَوْ تَزَيَّا بِزُنَّارٍ أَوْ لَبِسَ قَلَنْسُوَةَ الْمَجُوسِ يُحْكَمُ بِكُفْرِهِ.
[3] سورة المؤمنون (97، 98)
{وَقُلْ رَبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ (97) وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَنْ يَحْضُرُونِ}
كتاب النوازل ج 1 ص 387
فتاوى رحيمية ج 1 ص 69