I once got into an argument on social media with a local imam who posted the following on Facebook:
“...Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) not only allowed but asked the Christians of Najran to offer their Christian prayers in one of the holiest places of Islam, Masjid Nabawi Sharif in Madinah.”
In our back and forth, I presented to him the following hypothetical scenarios to demonstrate the confusion his position will create (he did not bother responding).
SCENARIO 1: Zayd is 11 years old and is in grade 6. He is a good Muslim and uses his lunch break to go to the masjid next door to his school to pray Zuhr salaah. His Christian friend John and Hindu friend Bala are impressed with Zayd's devotion to his religion and wish they had a nearby church and temple that they could visit respectively at lunch to perform their own religious prayers.
"Don't worry!" says Zayd. "You can come to my masjid and pray according to your traditions - holy cross and idols and all!"
"Are you sure?" ask John and Bala.
"Of course! Don't you know? My elders* taught me that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam not only allowed but asked the Christians of Najran to offer their Christian prayers in one of the holiest places of Islam, Masjid Nabawi Sharif in Madina!"
Zayd, John and Bala show up at the masjid at lunch break the next day, holy cross and idols in tow.
Question: you are the masjid Imam - what do you do?
* Based on the absolute lie that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam invited, permitted and/or asked disbelievers to worship according to their own tradition.
SCENARIO 2: Zayd is 25 years old and recently got married to a good Muslim girl. He tells his gay Christian colleague, John, that marriage is a blessing and is considered worship in Islam; and that his wedding ceremony was performed at his local Masjid. John is impressed and tells Zayd that marriage is considered worship as well in Christianity but he can't find a church that will perform the wedding ceremony for him and his boyfriend.
"Don't worry!" says Zayd. "You can have your wedding ceremony performed at my Masjid!"
"Are you sure?" asks John.
"Of course! Don't you know? My elders* taught me that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam not only allowed but asked the Christians of Najran to offer their Christian prayers in one of the holiest places of Islam, Masjid Nabawi Sharif in Madina! Prayer is worship and like you said, so are marriage ceremonies!"
Zayd, his wife and families along with John, his boyfriend and their families show up at the masjid Sunday morning to perform the wedding ceremony.
Question: you are the masjid Imam - what do you do?
* Based on the absolute lie that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam invited, permitted and/or asked disbelievers to worship according to their own tradition.
SCENARIO 3: Zayd is 11 years old and loves celebrating Eid ul Adha. He enjoys attending the congregational salaah, performing qurbani and distributing the meat. He tells his friend Steve about it. Steve is a Satanist, following the religion of Satanism. Steve tells Zayd they have a similar religious holiday in Satanism where they hold a congregational prayer, sacrifice pigs and then distribute the meat. But the local authorities won't allow Steve and his fellow Satanists celebrate this holiday as they are a persecuted minority.
"Don't worry!" says Zayd. "You can come to my masjid and celebrate your religious holiday - pigs and all!"
"Are you sure?" asks Steve.
"Of course! Don't you know? My elders* taught me that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam not only allowed but asked the Christians of Najran to offer their Christian prayers in one of the holiest places of Islam, Masjid Nabawi Sharif in Madina!"
Zayd, Steve and Steve's fellow satanists show up to the masjid on the day of the Satanist holiday, pigs and butcher knives in tow.
Question: you are the masjid Imam - what do you do?
* Based on the absolute lie that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam invited, permitted and/or asked disbelievers to worship according to their own tradition.
SCENARIO 4: Zayd is 25 years old with a great job but has odd co-workers at his company. One co-worker, named Bob, is Christian and is also a drag queen. Bob tells Zayd that he and his friends are a sub-sect within Christianity and are shunned by mainstream Christians. They're not allowed to attend church to perform their prayers.
"Don't worry!" says Zayd. "You can come to my masjid and pray according to your traditions - dressed as a drag queen and all!"
"Are you sure?" asks Bob.
"Of course! Don't you know? My elders* taught me that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam not only allowed but asked the Christians of Najran to offer their Christian prayers in one of the holiest places of Islam, Masjid Nabawi Sharif in Madina!"
Zayd, Bob and Bob's fellow Christian drag queens show up the next day at the masjid in full makeup and women's clothes (not Zayd though of course, he's in traditional Muslim attire).
Question: you are the masjid Imam - what do you do?
* Based on the absolute lie that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam invited, permitted and/or asked disbelievers to worship according to their own tradition.
