One's responsibility for giving bad advice to people

20-9-2011 | IslamWeb

Question:

Please tell me to what degree we will be held responisable for incorrect advice we give to people. If you give bad advice to someone (on purpose or unwittingly), will you be held responsable for the consequences or is it the person making the mistake that will be held accountable? I know that the person who guides to good gets the same reward as the one who performs it but what if you made the mistake of advising something bad (for example teens who push eachother to do bad things). Djazzak Allah o gairan.

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Answer:

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.

Giving advice is part of religion and whoever gives a piece of advice which includes committing a sin is sinful because he is cheating in his advice while the Prophet said: “Whoever advises his brother (in Islam) to do something while knowing that another matter is better than it, he has indeed betrayed him.” [Abu Daawood] Moreover, the Prophet said: “Whoever cheats is not one of us.”

Hence, if the advised person commits a sin because of acting according to that advice, then the adviser is his partner in the sin as the Prophet said: “…and whoever calls to misguidance will have upon him the sin like the example of the sin of those who followed him without decreasing anything from their sins.” [Muslim] Allaah Says (what means): {That they may bear their own burdens [i.e. sins] in full on the Day of Resurrection and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide without [i.e. by lack of] knowledge. Unquestionably, evil is that which they bear.}[Quran 16:25]

Indeed, Al-Bukhari entitled a Chapter in his Saheeh “Chapter: The sin of whoever invites others to misguidance or institutes an evil custom, for the Saying of Allaah (which means) {…and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide…}”

Allaah Knows best.