Respecting a person to save oneself from his harm
Question
If someone wants us to respect him and it is for his ego, is it shirk if we still respect him? As we fear that if we don’t then he may beat us a bit and we’ll be humiliated.
Answer
If you fear harm from him, then it is permissible for you to show him respect in order to save yourself from his harm. It is recorded in the hadith that before Qiyaamah, a time will come where people will show respect to certain people, not on account of them deserving respect, but just in order to save themselves from their harm.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
- Answered by
- Mufti Zakaria Makada
- Checked & approved by
- Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
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