Help your colleagues but do not harm yourself

28/09/2011| IslamWeb

 Question

assalam alaikum.i am a medical student and alhamdulillah Allah has bestowed me with a hard working spirit and a good understanding of the material.i stay in the female hostel(sakan)of the university.because i do well,many students want assistance from me,and since our course is so stressful,sometimes its so hard for me to help everyone since our course is so stressful.then if i just keep helping,i will be backward on my studies,bear in mind that the other students want to be taught a whole lecture or two for example(some also want to know all about my ways of studyng in hasad perespective).when i come back from college to my room and i am tired,i dont open the door to anyone or pick up the room phone. and people dislike my habit,but i need time for myself,some privacy and i need to rest also and to study.some people come to the room just to waste my time also so i dont open the door,by doing this am i sinning?and if i cant offer help all the time is Allah going to punish me for this?jazakumullah khair.please answer me as soon as you can,ths matter really stresse me alot.

Answer

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.

It is permissible for you not to receive your female classmates especially if you know that welcoming them and teaching them will cause degradation in your educational level. Also, you are not sinful, Allah willing, for refusing to help them every time they ask you to do so. However, you should not totally stop helping them as the Prophet said: "Allah helps a person as long as he helps his fellow Muslim."  He also said: “Any favour one does is (considered as) charity.”

Therefore, you should not totally close this door and you should not totally open it. You should be moderate between the two.

Finally, we advise you to be keen on performing acts of obedience to Allah and perform your religious obligations and befriend righteous female believers. You should stay away from bad female companions as they may corrupt the affairs of a Muslim in regard to her worldly life and her Hereafter.

Allah Knows best.

 

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb