and takes payment for doing so, has no rightful ownership of that wealth. If it cannot be returned to its owner, the authorities shall take it from this man who has wrongfully consumed people’s wealth and obstructed Allah’s path, and spend it on the interests of the Muslims that Allah and His Messenger love. Thus, money spent in obedience to Satan is taken and spent in obedience to the Most Merciful.

As for the musical gathering they call Nawbat al-Khalīl, it is a baseless and invalid religious innovation. Abraham, Allah’s intimate friend—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—never did anything of this kind. Nor did the Companions hold anything of this kind at Abraham’s burial place when they conquered those lands. Neither the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor his caliphs ever did anything of this kind. Rather, this practice originated either with the Christians—for they were the ones who broke an opening into Abraham’s chamber after it had been sealed, with no one entering it—or with some ignorant Muslims.

It is not permissible to hold dancing, pipe-playing, or anything similar there. Rather, these practices must be prohibited. Anyone who persists in attending such gatherings, whether a muezzin or anyone else, thereby impugns his moral integrity. And Allah knows best.