What is the ruling on one who refuses to apply some matters of the Shari'ah on the grounds of lack of conviction, such as hijab, for example?
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Question : Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on one who refuses to apply some matters of the Shari'ah on the grounds of lack of immunity? For example, if a woman refuses hijab on the grounds that she is not convinced by it, and does this belief affect her creed?
Answer : If a person leaves off an act because he is not convinced by it, this does not escape two states. The first state is that he knows that this is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger, and he says, "But I am not convinced by this." This makes him a disbeliever because he is rejecting the ruling of Allah and His Messenger. And Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:50] And Allah the Exalted said: [Ali 'Imran 3:85].
The second state is that he does not know that this is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger, but he is not convinced by the statement of the scholar who stated it. This does not make him a disbeliever without doubt, because he says to himself, "If I knew that this was the requirement of the Book and the Sunnah, I would act upon it, but I do not accept that this is the requirement of the Book and the Sunnah, even though some of the people of knowledge say so." This does not make him a disbeliever, but he should fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and he should not follow the dispensation. If he sees a dispensation from the people of knowledge, he takes it because it suits his desire. He should test the statements of the people of knowledge and take what he sees as closest to the truth. Do you see if a man is afflicted with an illness and there are two doctors in the town, one of whom is more knowledgeable in medicine than the other, does he go to the doctor who is more knowledgeable in medicine, or does he go to the other doctor who is more knowledgeable in scholars? Yes, Nayil, the first one without doubt. So if you know that this scholar who stated this ruling is higher than the second, meaning it is predominant in your opinion that he is higher than the second, then take his statement and do not follow him as a special case, yes.
Answer : If a person leaves off an act because he is not convinced by it, this does not escape two states. The first state is that he knows that this is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger, and he says, "But I am not convinced by this." This makes him a disbeliever because he is rejecting the ruling of Allah and His Messenger. And Allah the Exalted said:
Then is it the judgement of [the time of] ignorance they desire? But who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who are certain [in faith].
أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْمًا لِّقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَAnd whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.
وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَThe second state is that he does not know that this is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger, but he is not convinced by the statement of the scholar who stated it. This does not make him a disbeliever without doubt, because he says to himself, "If I knew that this was the requirement of the Book and the Sunnah, I would act upon it, but I do not accept that this is the requirement of the Book and the Sunnah, even though some of the people of knowledge say so." This does not make him a disbeliever, but he should fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and he should not follow the dispensation. If he sees a dispensation from the people of knowledge, he takes it because it suits his desire. He should test the statements of the people of knowledge and take what he sees as closest to the truth. Do you see if a man is afflicted with an illness and there are two doctors in the town, one of whom is more knowledgeable in medicine than the other, does he go to the doctor who is more knowledgeable in medicine, or does he go to the other doctor who is more knowledgeable in scholars? Yes, Nayil, the first one without doubt. So if you know that this scholar who stated this ruling is higher than the second, meaning it is predominant in your opinion that he is higher than the second, then take his statement and do not follow him as a special case, yes.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 72 - 79 ما حكم من يرفض تطبيق بعض أمور الشرع بحجة عدم القناعة كالحجاب مثلا؟ - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.