Assalaamu alaykum, Scholars. I know that you are very busy with many important things and therefore may not have time for this. However, I hope that you could listen to this problem, which needs to be reacted to as fast as possible. There is a man called Ismaa´eel Abu Adam who has a YouTube channel. He had been a Muslim for 16 years now. Suddenly, a few weeks ago, he proclaimed on his channel that he has left Islam. He is also saying that his channel will warn and inform new Muslims or people interested in Islam about all “the bad” of Islam. He has already uploaded some videos and is working hard on showing a bad picture of Islam. Verily, I tell you my dear Scholars, he is only repeating the nonsense of the missionaries and the orientalists, and I verily see nothing but arrogance and the missing will to submit to Allaah. However, the channel has almost 40,000 subscribers. Most of them are Muslims. Some of them are new to Islam. Some have just began practicing the religion. Some may have little knowledge. Since he is also good at Arabic, I see a danger that he may mislead many Muslims. He is openly declaring his hatred against Islam through Twitter also. I would like to ask if you could write an article or something so that we could spread it and warn people against listening to him. I fear that he may mislead many. 40,000 subscribers - of which the majority are Muslims - are many to mislead. Many of these people are trying to call him back, which I think is dangerous. Most of these are young people who may not possess knowledge. He will perhaps create doubts in them if they continue to engage in dialogue with him. As mentioned, I know that you are very busy, but I hope that you will warn the people through an article or through a student of knowledge available on YouTube. I fear for our brothers and sisters.

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

We ask Allah to guide this man and to bring him back to the Truth. We have come to know that many preachers have refuted his misconceptions in English on YouTube, so perhaps Allah will make them a reason for his guidance and for foiling his plot.

With such behavior, he does not harm Allah in anything; rather, he only harms himself, as Allah does not need him. Allah says (what means): {But if you disbelieve - then to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And ever is Allah Free of need and Praiseworthy.} [Quran 4:131]

Abu Tharr, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet said in a Qudsi hadeeth, “…O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants…” [Muslim]

It is most likely that this man did that in order to make the Muslims doubt their religion. Many people preceded him in doing so, and they perished while Islam remained high and glorious, and people continue to embrace it in great numbers.

Allah says (what means): {And a faction of the People of the Scripture say [to each other:] Believe in that which was revealed to the believers at the beginning of the day and reject it at its end that perhaps they will abandon their religion.} [Quran 3:72]

Ibn Katheer said in his Tafseer (exegesis):

“This is a wicked plan from the People of the Book to deceive Muslims who are weak in their religion. They decided that they would pretend to be believers in the beginning of the day by attending the dawn prayer with the Muslims. However, when the day ended, they would revert to their old religion so that the ignorant people would say, 'They reverted to their old religion because they uncovered some shortcomings in the Islamic religion.'' This is why they said next {…that perhaps they will abandon their religion.}”

We advise the youth who do not have Islamic knowledge to be careful of that man and not to debate with him as he may influence them with his misconceptions and their hearts might be affected by them; as a result, they might fall into temptation in their religion and apostate (from Islam).

Ibn Al-Qayyim said in his book Miftaah Daar As-Saʻaadah (The Key to the Abode of Happiness):

“Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah be pleased with him, when I started to report one misconception after another to him, said to me, 'Do not let your heart be like a sponge for all the doubts that pass by it such that it absorbs them and overflows with them. Rather, let it be like solid glass; doubts pass over it but do not settle in it. Thus it will see them with its clearness and fend them off with its solidness. Otherwise, if you let your heart absorb every doubt that passes by you, it will become a settling place for all misconceptions and doubts,' or as he said. So I do not see that I have ever benefited from any advice in repelling misconceptions more than I benefited from this advice, because a misconception is called as such because the truth is confused with falsehood in it, as it puts the garment of truth on the body of falsehood…”

For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 298936.

It a person is confused about anything in his religion, he should consult the scholars so that they would clarify the truth to him and repel the misconception off him; Allah says (what means): {So ask the people of the message if you do not know.} [Quran 16:43]

We thank the Muslim brothers who are keen that none of the Muslims would apostate from their religion after having embraced it and that they would not be harmed by the enemies of Islam; at the same time, however, they should not be worried and distressed by such a matter, because the people who become Muslims are huge in number, and this is what disturbs the enemies of Islam and makes them plot against it. However, the truth will always triumph; Allah says (what means): {And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most of the people do not know.} [Quran 12:21]

Allah knows best.