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Must I invite an atheist colleague to Islam, knowing that he insults Allah and the Prophet and does not believe in the Hereafter?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Inviting to Islam, enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil is a collective obligation (fard kifayah) upon the Muslim community. It may become an individual obligation (fard ayn) upon a Muslim if no one else fulfills it, or if he is the only one capable of removing an evil. It is obligatory to invite a disbeliever to Islam unless a greater harm would result, such as fear of discord (fitnah). The disbeliever's insulting Allah or the Messenger is not a barrier to inviting him, for the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to invite disbelievers despite their insults towards him. What is forbidden is insulting the deities of the polytheists, which leads to their insulting Allah, as Allah the Almighty says: "And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge." (Quran 6:108). A Muslim's working with a disbeliever is originally permissible if the field of work is lawful, but it is better to avoid work that humiliates the Muslim or exposes him to temptation.

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

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