Ifṭār with the Kuffār and the food they give


Question #311:

I am living with some christian neighbours and anytime I am about to break my fast, they bring me food stuffs.

  1. Is it permissible to accept these food stuffs, which are originally ḥalāl, from them?
  2. Is it permissible to have my ifṭār with these kuffār?

Answer :

Shaykh Abū Bilāl told, it is permissible to accept gifts from kuffār and give them gifts to make them incline towards Islām. So he accepts the food items and calls them to Islām. But if he abuses Islām and shows enmity to muslims then he should not accept the food given by him.

A beneficial fatwā on accepting gifts and dealing with kuffār:

http://www.alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaDetails.aspx?languagename=en&View=Page&PageID=10770&PageNo=1&BookID=7#P432

The proof for giving gifts to kuffār is:

It was narrated from ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAmr that he slaughtered a sheep and said: “Have you given some to my Jewish neighbor? For I heard the Messenger of Allāh (Ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) say: Jibrīl kept enjoining me with regard to neighbors until I thought he would make neighbors as heirs.”

[Abū Dāwūd and Tirmidhī, Graded Ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albānī]

Compiled by: ʿAbd an-Nūr al-Hindī