Is It Disbelief (Kufr) to Delay Someone from Accepting Islam?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
I had a friend who wanted to convert during Ramadan; I didn’t know if he was serious, so me and my friends said, “You sure?” And then he said, “yeah.”
I obviously persuaded him and told him about Islam, but later on, he still hasn’t converted. Then I read online, or Imam Nawawi said that it’s kufr to delay one’s entry to Islam; I’m worried and repented. Is this kufr? And should I have repented or not? Jazakallahu khair please help!
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
There is a clear difference between making sure someone is ready to commit to Islam and unnecessarily telling them to wait to become Muslim.
In the former case, if one voluntarily wants to embrace Islam, they should immediately be told about the core beliefs of Islam and persuaded to say the testification of faith.
If someone did not act in that manner and told them to take their time, it is not considered disbelief. It is definitely not the appropriate action to take. This is because, from experience, there is a window of time that opens for people where they are inclined to become Muslim. However, this window doesn’t always remain open.
My advice would be to start up with your friend about reconsidering becoming Muslim.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.
He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.
In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
