Q 1: My family are Mushrikun (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship), except for one sister who embraced Islam. Is it permissible for me to live, eat, and drink with them? If so, is it permissible that I tell them that they are disbelievers? I called them to Islam, but they are hesitant and more inclined to Shirk. On my part, I have nowhere else to live?

A: You should continue to advise them and behave kindly and leniently towards them. If you are a well-to-do, you should support them so that Allah (Glorified be He) may soften their hearts and enlighten their sights. Allah (Exalted be He) says: But if they (both) strive against you to make you join in worship with Me others that of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not; but behave with them in the world kindly, and follow the path of him who turns to Me in repentance and in obedience. You should also try to (Part No. 12; Page No. 255) find different ways to convey Al-Haqq (the Truth) to them, whether by means of books, recorded tapes, and letting them know that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) started the call to Islam in Makkah by spreading the essence of Tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah/ monotheism) before the obligations of Salah (Prayer), Zakah (obligatory charity), Hajj, Sawm (Fast) were prescribed. The people of Makkah knew Allah (Exalted be He) and called upon Him in time of adversities, and admitted that it is He who created the heavens and the earth, but they took some righteous worshippers as mediators between them and Allah as far as their Du`a' (supplication) and `Ibadah (worship) were concerned. These righteous men used to feed the pilgrims and do other acts of goodness in times of prosperity, but when they died, people marked their graves and called upon them to intercede for them with Allah (Exalted be He), and even some of them made idols for some righteous men and worshipped them instead of Allah (Exalted be He). With the passage of time, people went further in their Shirk and rendered some kinds of trees, stones, and idols as gods to be worshipped instead of Allah, and drew close to them with all kinds of worship, such as calling upon them, offering sacrifices, and making vows for them. The Prophet's call was to obliterate all such kinds of worships and to direct them to Allah (Exalted be He) as only befitting to Him, and informing people that Allah is the One and Only, and the All-Hearing, Ever-Responsive with no other gods to be worshipped with Him, and that there are no mediators between Him and His Servants as He says in His Book: And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islâmic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!" and He says to His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright. (Part No. 12; Page No. 256) Then, the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet), may Allah be pleased with them, understood the teaching of Islam, and that the servants of Allah do not need mediators between them and Him. Subsequently, they liked to ask the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about how they should call upon Allah (Exalted be He), and whether He is far away and so must be called loudly or close to His Servants so that they might converse with Him. And so Allah (Exalted be He) revealed this Ayah to let them know that He is near and close and is well-aware of their secrets and private conversations and what is even more hidden. He responds to a servant who calls upon Him, if he obeys the commands of Allah (Exalted be He) and abstains from His prohibitions. We ask Allah (Exalted be He) to guide the straying (erring) Muslims and reward those who obey Him.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.