assalmalaikum , please help me i am in a very desperate situation . i am a third year student of engineering in india and leaves with hindu friends in a hostel of more than 100 people. i am a namaazi person who offer salat consistently the problem is that in my college every year sarwasti puja is celeberated which is a kind of idol worship . every year students organize it and a lot of money they spend over it. this year the students of my class has to celebrate it. all the students have to do some amount of work such as they have to go daily in the evening for the advertisement collection by asking in the each and every shop of the city. students also have to go and ask for help from various homes and shops for the money.some students have to go and give order for making idol ,doing marketing for the idol worship. the problem is that they are asking me to actively participate in this shirk.daily they come to my room and tell, let us to go for the add collection, lets go for charity to every kafir's home in the city . till now i have avoided it but since they understand that i am a muslim that is why i am not participating all of them are becoming angry , and putting sarcastic comments on me. if i will tell them clearly that i can not participate in it then all the hindus will become my enemies for the coming 1 and half year. this will make a lot difficult to sustain here second thing is that if i will leave the hostel for this issue then staying outside the hostel will become impossible as the place is very expensive and i belong to a middle class family.tell me what is the fatwa for me if i will participate passively or actively in it when the situation will become unbearable . will i remain a muslim or not . i am very much finding myself in a helpless situation . will i have to read salat ul taubah daily in the night after helping them in the shirk.please solve my problem i am a true muslim and beleive on the day of judgement.please help me and pray for me

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we ask Allaah to reward you for being keen on your religion and being conscious about preserving your creed at a time when there are so few young people like you, and we ask Allaah to make you even firmer and more steadfast on righteousness.

As regards your question, it is not permissible at all for you to participate with those non-Muslims in this festival or to collect donations with them for this purpose. It is not permissible for you to be kind and nice to anyone in order to please him at the expense of your religion. It is confirmed that the Prophet said: “Whoever seeks to please people on the account of displeasing Allaah, Allaah will be displeased with him and will make people displeased with him.” [Ibn Hibbaan]

However, you may not tell them the reason for not participating in their festival but you may apologize to them in the same way the prophet Ebraaheem (Abraham) who was the Imaam of Monotheists, apologized to his people (when they asked him to go out with them on the day of their celebration) saying: {Verily, I am sick.} [Quran 37:89]

By being wise, you would have achieved what you wanted, and you should know that if you participate with them in their pagan celebration, you will be sinful, but you do not become out of the fold of Islam just because of this participation. Your Claim that you will participate and then you would repent to Allaah, is nothing but whispers of the devil; how do you know that you will live after that so that you may repent.

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 85477, 85277 and 84807.

Therefore, you either avoid them and bear the harm that you may be faced with or rather abandon studying in this university and look for another university.

If you fear Allaah, Allaah will make a way out to your difficulties and hardships.

Allaah Knows best.