Answered by Shaykh Iyad al-Ghawj
If one is listening to the Friday khutba and hears the khateeb slander the Sahaba or make gheeba on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) – for example saying “there are no holy people in Islam; the Prophet himself was not a holy person” – what should one do? Is it in order to get up and pull the microphone away, or should one just sit and patiently bear with it? This is happened a few times now at my local masjid so I thought it might be good to ask in case it should happen again, nauthubillah.
Walaikum assalam,
There are two conflicting considerations at work here:
a) Avoiding harm (such as fitna in the community) is given precedence to achieving benefits;
b) It is an open wrong (munkar) to speak disrespectfully of the Companions and even more when it relates to the Beloved of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).
Unless it is open disbelief, however, it would be best to:
a) simply hate it in one’s heart at the time;
b) inform the individual of the error, if one expects any benefit in doing so;
c) if they are likely to repeat it, then one should take the most effective means possible to change this situation, without causing undue conflict;
d) but if nothing works, one should try to pray in another mosque, if possible; if not possible, one should remain patient, hate it in one’s heart, and make dua for things to change.
And Allah knows best.
Walaikum assalam,
Faraz Rabbani.