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Is sitting with those who mock God's verses without objection or action considered an act of disbelief and one of the nullifiers of Islam, even if one's heart detests this act, especially given the differing opinions of scholars on this issue, and questions regarding the ruling on sitting in gatherings of disbelief and polytheism and watching programs that contain them?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is clear that the questioner is suffering from severe obsessive thoughts regarding disbelief (kufr) and apostasy (riddah). Merely sitting in gatherings of disbelief does not constitute disbelieving apostasy that expels one from the faith, as long as the one sitting inwardly disapproves. The meaning of similitude in His (the Most High's) saying: "Indeed, you would then be like them" (إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِثْلُهُمْ) is one of emphasis and threat, and what is intended is similitude in the sin itself, not in its magnitude. The questioner is advised not to delve deeply into these matters to avoid falling into unregulated excommunication (takfir).

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

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