Question:
What is the ruling on someone who despises and opposes devout youth and says, “They are the worst in the country?” Does this fall under the category of “Whoever hates something that the Messenger brought, even if he does it...?”
Answer:
The one who despises the devout youth and the callers to faith because they uphold Allah's Shariah or because they call to the truth, this person is feared to be like those whom Allah said about: “And if you ask them, they will surely say, 'We were only conversing and playing.'” (At-Tawbah: 65), and this person may be seen as hating Allah's Shariah.
However, if someone dislikes another person for personal reasons, not because of their commitment to religion, this does not fall under the aforementioned ayah.
If someone were to ask: What is the difference?
We would say: The difference is significant. If a person dislikes someone for their religious commitment, then they hate them because of their religion. But if they dislike them for personal reasons, it is not because of their religion.
I will give you an example: Some people, when they see a young man raising his garment to the middle of his shin, they dislike him. But if they saw one of our esteemed scholars doing the same, would they dislike the scholar? No. Therefore, their dislike of the young man is not because of his commitment to religion. Some people dislike a person when they see him committed but do not dislike someone similar if he has a higher status in society.
This matter is very intricate. We must ask this person: Do you dislike him because you dislike what he practices from the Sunnah, or is it a personal dislike? If he says the former, we say: This is a dislike of what Allah has revealed, and Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says: “That is because they disliked what Allah revealed, so He rendered worthless their deeds.” (Muhammad: 9) If he says: Whether he does this or not, I dislike this man, or I think he is an extremist, so I dislike him for his extremism, we say: This dislike does not make the person a disbeliever, nor is it like the first scenario.
And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
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Taken from official website of Sheikh ibn Uthaymeen.
