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Declaring others as Infidels
Shaykh Abdur Rahman As Sudays [(Rabee'ul Awwal 25, 1425 (May 14, 2004)]
All praise is due to
Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the
Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow Muslims!
Abundant blessings and are the fruits of piety and God-consciousness.
Allaah says,
“O you who believe (in Mûsa (Moses) (i.e.
Jews) and 'Iesa (Jesus) (i.e. Christians))! Fear Allaah, and believe in His
Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) He will give you a double portion of
His Mercy, and He will give you a light by which you shall walk (straight), and
He will forgive you. And Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
(Al-Hadeed 57:28)
Brethren in faith! Those who are sincerely concerned with the current situation
of the
Muslims would agree that the Ummah is now faced with great crises and hardships.
There is however a calamity with which the Ummah has been afflicted throughout
its history. It
is a painful calamity from which the Ummah has been suffering for a long time.
The
calamity is a situation where some members of the Ummah declared others as
infidels.
Dear brethren! Reckless declaration of others
as disbelievers is a great evil and huge danger. It has caused the Ummah many
woes and horrible consequences. Whoever has the least piety or knowledge will
never hasten to wade into it. It is tendency that should frighten the hearts and
disgust the minds.
Ash-Shawkaanee said, “Here, tears should be
shed and Islaam and Muslims should be mourned for what religious bigotry has
caused whereby some Muslims accuse one another of disbelief, not in the light of
the Qur’aan or Sunnah and with no valid evidence. This problem emerged when
religious bigotry becomes well-established among the Muslims and Satan was able
to cause disunity among them, it is then that he taught them to force on another
views that are as useless as a dust or mirage in a lowland. What a great
catastrophe is this the like of which has never afflicted the Muslims before!”
He then said, “Evidences regarding the obligation of protecting a Muslim’s
honour and respecting him imply that he should never be attacked as regards his
religion, would declaring him of having gone out of the fold of Islaam to
disbelief not be regarded as prohibition with a greater reason? This is an
unequalled crime. Where does this man who declares his brother an infidel stand
regarding the Prophet’s saying, ‘the Muslim is a brother of his fellow Muslim;
he should neither wrong him nor surrender him [to enemy]’? and his saying,
‘insulting a Muslim is a sinful act and killing him is an act id disbelief’? and
his saying, ‘indeed, your blood, properties and honours are inviolable’?”
Brethren in faith! There are many texts from
the Qur’aan and the Sunnah that warn against this unfortunate tendency.
Allaah says,
"O
you who believe! When you go (to fight) in the Cause of Allaah, verify (the
truth), and say not to anyone who greets you (by embracing Islaam): "You are not
a believer"; seeking the perishable goods of the worldly life.”
(An-Nisaa 4:94)
Allaah’s Messenger said,
‘Whoever accuses another man with disbelief or tells him, ‘O you
enemy of Allaah’ and he is not as he has said, that accusation will rebound on
the accuser.” He also said, “Whoever accuses a believer with disbelief, it is as
if he has killed him.”
It is therefore on this
clean and clear path that all his companions matched. Ahmad reported on the
authority of Aboo Sufyaan who said “I asked Jaabir [ibn Abdillaah] while he was
staying in Makkah: ‘Did you use to regard any Muslim a polytheist?’ He was
frightened when he heard that and he said, ‘May Allaah forbid!’ And a man asked
him, ‘Did you use to regard any Muslim a disbeliever?’ He replied, ‘No.’”
Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn
Taymiyyah said, “Know that the issue of declaring others as disbelievers or
sinners is one of the issues upon which the promises of reward and punishment in
the Hereafter are based. It is also the basis for renunciation, execution, and
immunity and so on in this world. This is because Allaah makes Paradise the
abode of the believers and made it forbidden for the disbelievers. This general
rule applies to all times and places.”
Ibn Al-Wazeer said,
“There is a huge difference between declaring the Muslim factions and the
majority of the Muslim scholars as disbelievers and thereby enhance the ranks of
the enemy, and between counting them among the Muslims and thereby help the
cause of Islaam by their multitude. It is therefore, not permissible to cause
disunity among the Muslims by declaring some members of the Ummah as
disbelievers with weak evidences that contradict other stronger evidences that
encourage unity and protection of lives. The Khawaarij were given the severest
punishments and strongly condemned because they declared sinful Muslims as
disbelievers. Let no one among those who declare others as disbelievers beware
lest they meet the same fate as that of the Khawaarij.”
Shaykh Abdullaah bin
Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhaab said, “It is incumbent on whoever is sincere with
himself not to wade into this issue without knowledge and evidence from Allaah.
He should beware of regarding a person as non-Muslim based on his mere
understanding and opinion because doing so is one of the greatest matters of
religion.”
Ash-Shawkaanee said,
“Know that declaring that a person is no longer a Muslim and that he has become
a disbeliever is a matter that no Muslim who believes in Allaah and the Last Day
should embark on without an evidence that is as clear as the sun in the midday.
This is because it is authentically reported on the authority of a group of the
companions that the Messenger of Allaah said, ‘Whoever tells his brother: ‘O you
disbeliever’, either of them is actually a disbeliever.’” In another narration,
the Messenger of Allaah said, ‘Whoever accuses another man with disbelief or
tells him, ‘O you enemy of Allaah’ and he is not as he has said, that accusation
will rebound to accuser.’” He also said, “Whoever accuses a believer with
disbelief, it is as if he has killed him.”
Ibn Daqeeq al-‘Eed
said, “This is a great threat against anyone who wrongly accuse any Muslim with
disbelief.” He further said, “And this is a great trouble in which some scholars
have fallen. When they disagreed on matters of Islaamic belief they declared one
another as disbelievers.”
Fellow Muslims!
Declaring someone as a disbeliever is an Islaamic decision. The disbeliever is
someone who disbelieves in Allaah and His Messenger. Making that decision is
therefore not the prerogative of any man. Only Allaah knows those who disbelieve
in Him. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “That is why the scholars who follow the Sunnah do
not regard their opponents as disbelievers even if the opponents regard them as
such. This is because declaring a person a disbeliever is an Islaamic decision.
Therefore, no man has the right to punish his opponent with a similar
accusation, as you cannot hit back at a person who lied against you by lying
against him in return, because lying is forbidden. Declaring a person as a
disbeliever is also an exclusive right of Allaah and none should be declared as
a disbeliever except him that Allaah declares as such. The Khawaarij, whom the
Prophet ordered to be fought were fought by ‘Alee bin Abee Taalib and other
Muslim leaders among the companions and their followers. The evidences and
consensus of the Ummah established the erroneous way of the Khawaarij but none
of the Muslim leaders regarded them as disbelievers. They only fought them
because of their transgression. Therefore, none of these differing groups who
could not recognise the truth in many issues should declare another as
disbelievers or violate their lives and properties. For, these are issues in
which even more knowledgeable scholars make mistakes.”
Ibn Taymiyyah further
said, “Imaam Ahmad used to pray behind members of Jahmiyyah group who called to
their erroneous beliefs and ruthlessly tormented those who disagreed with them.
Imaam Ahmad never regarded them as disbelievers. Rather, he regarded them as
believers, recognised their leadership and supplicated for them. He regarded
praying behind them and going to battles in their company as lawful. He was also
of the view that people should not revolt against them. He and other eminent
scholars refuted the false statement that was tantamount to great disbelief,
which these leaders ignorantly innovated. Imaam Ahmad refuted this view and
exerted all his efforts to persuade them into abandoning this erroneous view. He
therefore, combined between obeying Allaah and His Messenger by proclaiming the
Sunnah, refuting the innovations of the erroneous people and protecting the
rights of the Muslims and their leaders even if they were ignorant, innovators
and sinners.”
Fellow Muslims! We must
therefore know in the light of the above that the matter of belief and disbelief
is in the heart and that none but Allaah alone knows it. Allaah says,
“Whoever disbelieved in Allaah after his
belief, except him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Faith;
but such as open their breasts to disbelief, on them is wrath from Allaah, and
theirs will be a great torment.”
(An-Nahl 16:106)
The disbeliever is the one whose heart is
comfortable with disbelief. Therefore, there is no consideration for erroneous
belief especially if the person who holds it is under the influence of ignorance
and if he does not deny the path of the people of Islaam. There is no
consideration for a statement of disbelief if its utterer does not meant to
renounce Islaam. There is no consideration for a statement of disbelief which a
Muslim utters though he does not intend its meaning. These views and beliefs
must be strongly refuted and condemned and regarded as forbidden in Islaam. But
in no way should it be regarded as a clear-cut evidence of its sayer’s
renunciation of Islaam.
Dear brethren! The issue of declaring others
as disbelievers has misled many people. Muslims should therefore beware of this
undesirable tendency. We must also exert all efforts to unite our ranks. Discord
causes nothing but narrow-mindedness, self-righteousness and scorning of others.
It also weakens the call to the way of Allaah and minimizes the benefits of
knowledge. And this is exactly the goal of the enemy. Allaah says,
“O you who believe! When you go (to fight) in
the Cause of Allaah, verify (the truth), and say not to anyone who greets you
(by embracing Islaam): "You are not a believer"; seeking the perishable goods of
the worldly life. There are much more profits and booties with Allaah. Even as
he is now, so were you yourselves before till Allaah conferred on you His Favors
(i.e. guided you to Islaam), therefore, be cautious in discrimination. Allaah is
Ever Well-Aware of what you do.”
(An-Nisaa 4:94)
Fellow Muslims! Having made it clear that
declaring others as disbelievers is fatally dangerous, this does not, in any
way, amount to tolerating acts of apostasy on the path of any person whose
renunciation of Islaam has been proved beyond any iota of doubt. The purpose is
this sermon is only to underline the gravity of this horrible tendency and to
warn the Muslims from wading into it. Some scholar said, “If you die without
saying anything against Pharaoh, Allaah will not blame you for that on the Day
of Resurrection.”
Dear brethren!
Declaring somebody as an infidel has conditions and hindrances explained by the
scholars. The person who is to be declared a disbeliever might be ignorant of
the evidences that should have let him know the truth; he might even be aware of
the evidences but does not believe in their authenticity or might not understand
their implications; he might have some ambiguities for which Allaah may forgive
him. So, any Muslim who strives to know the truth but errs, Allaah will forgive
him his error, whatever that error may be. This is the confirmed view of the
companion of the Prophet and the majority of the scholars of Islaam. They would
declare a deed as an act of disbelief but they would not declare the person who
performed the deed as a disbeliever, for declaring him as such demanded that he
should not have had any acceptable excuse.
Brethren in Islaam!
Fear Allaah and be dutiful to Him. Guard your tongues and do not let the Satan
deceive you. Unite your ranks on the truth and
“Help you one another in righteousness and
piety; but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allaah.
Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment.”
(Al-Maaidah 5:2)
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