Ruling on Muslim and Christian students coming together and reciting from the Qur’an and the distorted Gospel, then saying “ameen” to one another’s recitation

Praise
be to Allah.

It is
essential for us to understand that differing from the Jews and Christians,
casting away their false beliefs, opposing them for the sake of Allah, and
not taking them as close friends are among the basic principles of our
religion and important elements of our beliefs. 

Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! If you obey a
group of those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians), they
would (indeed) render you disbelievers after you have believed!”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:100]

“O you who believe! Take not the
Jews and the Christians as Awliya (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they
are but Awliya to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as Awliya,
then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are
the Zalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers and unjust)”

[al-Maa’idah 5:51]

“O

you who believe! Take not for
Awliya (protectors and helpers) those who take your religion for a mockery
and fun from among those who received the Scripture (Jews and Christians)
before you, nor from among the disbelievers; and fear Allah if you indeed
are true believers”

[al-Maa’idah 5:57]. 

They
wish that we would leave our religion and believe in theirs, and they would
not be pleased with anything less than that. 

Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Many of the people of the
Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away as
disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their ownselves,
even, after the truth (that Muhammad Peace be upon him is Allah’s Messenger)
has become manifest unto them”

[al-Baqarah 2:109]

“Never will the Jews nor the
Christians be pleased with you (O Muhammad Peace be upon him ) till you
follow their religion”

[al-Baqarah 2:120]. 

Hence
Allah has commanded us to differ from them, oppose them and not take them as
close friends; indeed He has commanded us to fight them and strive against
them until they believe in Allah alone, and give up what they are following
of disbelief and misguidance, or pay the jizyah with willing submission.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Fight against those who believe
not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden
by Allah and His Messenger, and those who acknowledge not the religion of
truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians),
until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves
subdued”

[at-Tawbah 9:29].

“Verily, those who divide their
religion and break up into sects (all kinds of religious sects), you (O
Muhammad SAW) have no concern in them in the least”

[al-An‘aam 6:159]. 

Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: This means that we should disavow them in all
things; the one who follows someone else in some of his affairs is like him
in that regard. When you say to someone, “You have no concern in that person
in the least,” what it means is: you have nothing in common with him at all;
rather you disavow him in all his affairs. 

Allah
has disavowed His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) of
all their affairs. Therefore whoever truly follows the Messenger (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) should also disavow them as he (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) did; and whoever goes along with them is
going against the Messenger insofar as he goes along with them.

End
quote from Iqtida’ as-Siraat (p. 46-47) 

As
part of their false methods and devilish tricks they strive to misguide the
children of the Muslims by setting up these missionary schools that they
open their own countries or in Muslim countries, and encourage the Muslims
to send their children to them, then they target [?] their beliefs and try
to turn them away from them, and teach them that they are all people of
heavenly books, or that Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
brought the Qur’an and Islam, and ‘Eesa (Jesus – peace be upon him) brought
the Gospel and Christianity; so just as there is no difference between
Muhammad and ‘Eesa, there is no difference between the followers of the
former and the followers of the latter. 

The
scholars of the Committee said: 

One of
the methods of the Christian missionaries is to Christianize by way of
education. They do this either by setting up schools and universities that
are openly Christian, or by opening schools that appear to be purely
educational from the outside but in fact are a hidden Christian scheme. Many
Muslims send their children to those schools, because they want them to
learn a foreign language or certain other subjects; after that do not ask
about the extent of the opportunity that the Muslims give to the Christians
when they give their beloved children to them in childhood or when they are
adolescents, when they are most open and receptive to learning, regardless
of what is being taught and who is teaching it. 

Experience has shown that health and education in particular are two of the
most significant areas through which the Christians reach people’s hearts
and minds.

End
quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 12/302-305 

Allah
has forbidden us to sit with the disbelievers who disbelieve in the proof
and signs of Allah and make fun of them, until they turn to some other talk.
He, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And it has already been revealed
to you in the Book (this Quran) that when you hear the Verses of Allah being
denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk
other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you
would be like them. Surely, Allah will collect the hypocrites and
disbelievers all together in Hell”

[an-Nisa’ 4:140].

“And when you (Muhammad SAW) see
those who engage in a false conversation about Our Verses (of the Quran) by
mocking at them, stay away from them till they turn to another topic. And if
Shaitan (Satan) causes you to forget, then after the remembrance sit not you
in the company of those people who are the Zalimoon (polytheists and
wrongdoers, etc.)”

[al-An‘aam 6:68]. 

When
the Muslim students sit with the Christian students, and the Christians read
from their distorted and altered book which contains disbelief and
misguidance, and the Muslims listen to them and say ameen to what they say,
and accept listening to it and do not object to it, this is one of the worst
kinds of misguidance and comes under the heading of approving of disbelief
and not condemning it. 

It is
essential to inform the guardians of the Muslim students that these
missionary schools pose the greatest danger to the belief (‘aqeedah) of
their children, because these schools were only established to combat Islam
and try to misguide the children of the Muslims. These schools use all kinds
of tricks and schemes against the beliefs of the Muslims. Among the things
they do are the following:

–        

Teaching the student to love Christianity and to believe that it is a sound,
divinely revealed religion like Islam

–        

Destroying the belief in al-wala’ wa’l-bara’ (loyalty and friendship vs.
disavowal and enmity) in the hearts of Muslim children, and teaching them
that Muslims and Christians are brothers, with no differences or enmity
between them

–        

Teaching the students that the Qur’an and the distorted, altered Gospel are
both books from Allah; the Qur’an was sent down to the Prophet Muhammad and
the Gospel was sent down to his brother ‘Eesa.

–        

Casting aspersions on the verses of the Qur’an and distorting their
meanings, and interpreting the words of Allah falsely.

–        

Dismantling the barriers between Muslims and Christians, by saying that all
are brothers and that differences in religion do not contradict this
brotherhood; rather they strengthen it.

–        

Casting aspersions on the Sunnah and Prophet’s biography (seerah), and upon
what is mentioned in them

–        

Killing the spirit of jihad in the hearts of Muslim children and destroying
it altogether.

–        

Working to weaken the ties between one Muslim and another, and to make the
ties between Muslim and Christian stronger.

–        

Striving to mix pure monotheistic Islamic beliefs with the polytheistic
Christian beliefs.

–        

Striving to change the rulings and laws of Allah, (by saying that) there is
nothing wrong with a Christian man marrying a Muslim woman, and there is
nothing wrong with changing the religion or apostatising from Islam, and
that the Muslim children have nothing to fear from their Christian brothers.

–        

Depicting Ahl as-Sunnah (Sunnis) who adhere to the religion of Islam as
terrorists, butchers and killers who are striving to destroy the country and
kill people. 

What
we must do is be aware of these Christian institutions and not let Muslim
children join them. 

To sum
up: 

What
is mentioned in the question is reprehensible and contrary to Muslim
beliefs, whether the Muslims say ameen to the Christian Gospel or the
Christians say ameen to the Qur’an of the Muslims, because this gathering
together and saying ameen is done to show that there is no difference
between Islam and Christianity, and that the Muslims and Christians are
brothers who love one another. This is the essence of syncretism and
bringing religions together, and this is what the West has been trying to
instil in Muslim hearts and minds for some time, so as to make them give up
their religion and their beliefs, and to leave them with nothing to cling
to. 

See
also the answer to question no. 10213,
10232 and 145352. 

And
Allah knows best.