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Is it permissible to forcibly remove people from the mosque due to their committing many innovations (bid'ah) after they have been advised and refused to abandon them?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A Muslim cannot be expelled from the houses of Allah, even if he is an innovator (practitioner of Bid'ah). For these houses are built for the remembrance and worship of Allah, and the innovator is rewarded for his obedience. He should be helped and encouraged to attend the congregation of Muslims, perhaps he may hear the Sunnah. The Prophet permitted polytheists to enter the mosque, and he did not prevent Ka'b ibn Malik from attending congregational prayer despite his boycott. Nor did the Companions order the Kharijites to be expelled from the mosques. Rather, we should not initiate fighting them unless they fight us, and we should not prevent them from Allah's mosques where His name is mentioned, nor should we deprive them of spoils as long as their hands are with ours. The principle is to treat them with kindness and to explain the Sunnah to them. It is permissible to prevent them from establishing the innovation itself after verifying it and consulting with people of knowledge, provided that this does not lead to a greater tribulation. Not everyone who commits an innovation is considered an innovator, and people should not be judged and categorized by young students of knowledge or enthusiasts, for enthusiasm does not justify judging people or expelling them from the houses of Allah.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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