An incident in which the father turns away from Islam

I just found out that my father is an apostate, he does not believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. He even left Islam long before he married my mother which is why he never took me to the masjid or the madrasa or taught me anything about Islam. I am 21 years old now and I just learned how to pray my salah and Qur’an a year ago. He noticed all this and one day we had a conversation in which he uttered many kufr words and he also gave me a book called “A History of God” by author ‘Karen Armstrong’ to read. I did not read it because I knew it could weaken my faith. At first I was shocked and pretended nothing happened but then we had this same conversation again and I asked him about his beliefs. I asked him if he was an atheist and he said YES. Now I do not know what to do. Please help me, should I tell other family members? What will happen to us?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما

First and foremost, it is fard for you to gain the necessary knowledge of your deen (religion) and safeguard your iman (faith). You should begin to take classes with local ‘ulama and may also read authentic books to learn more about the basics of Islam. Furthermore, you should avoid reading any books on faith written by non-Muslims to avoid any confusion. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) once strongly rebuked certain companions for reading books of other faiths. Consider the following hadith:

Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger (may Allah bless him and give him peace) with some written material he had got from one of the People of the Book. He read it to the Messenger (may Allah bless him and give him peace) upon which he became angry and said: “Are you confused (about your religion), O son of al-Khattaab? By the One in whose hand is my soul, I have brought it (the message of Islam) to you clear and pure. Do not ask them about anything, lest they tell you something true and you disbelieve it or they tell you something false and you believe it. By the One in whose hand is my soul, if Musa (alayhi salam) were alive today, he would have no option but to follow me.” (Ahmad)

As far as your father is concerned, you should supplicate for your father and make du’aa that Allah ta’ala guides him and brings him back to Islam. If you can convince him politely and lovingly, then you should do so. However, be sure not to argue with him or disrespect him in any manner as respecting your father is necessary regardless of his faith.

In regards to telling other family members, if you believe telling them would be beneficial (for example, they might be able to convince him), then you should do so. However, if doing so would merely create more rift within the family and could potentially worsen the situation, then it should be avoided.

And Allah Knows best.

Approved by: Mufti Husain Ahmad Madani