Ruling by other than what Allah has revealed and the conditions for declaring someone a disbeliever
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This questioner says: What is the ruling, or what is the opinion of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), regarding the issue of ruling by other than what Allah has revealed? Especially since some of the weak in knowledge delve into this issue, and perhaps they declare disbelievers those who are not deserving of being declared disbelievers. So what are the conditions for declaring someone a disbeliever, and what is your opinion of this action?
The Shaykh:
The Shaykh: The words of Allah the Exalted are sufficient for us: “And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, then[An-Nisa 4:151] and whoever does not judge [Al-Ma'idah 5:47] then those are the wrongdoers [Al-Ma'idah 5:47].” So the one who judges by other than what Allah has revealed is a disbeliever, a wrongdoer, and an open sinner. Therefore, it is not permissible to judge by other than what Allah has revealed. Yes.
The questioner:
The conditions for declaring someone a disbeliever, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
The condition for declaring someone a disbeliever: declaring someone a disbeliever is not something where everyone who declares someone a disbeliever must do so with knowledge. A person must have knowledge; one does not declare people disbelievers without knowledge, but merely out of zeal, or merely out of zeal for the religion, one declares people disbelievers. This is not sufficient. One must have knowledge of what the nullifiers are by which a person becomes a disbeliever, and when a person is excused and when he is not excused. This is a serious matter, and only specialized scholars enter into it. Yes.
This questioner says: What is the ruling, or what is the opinion of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), regarding the issue of ruling by other than what Allah has revealed? Especially since some of the weak in knowledge delve into this issue, and perhaps they declare disbelievers those who are not deserving of being declared disbelievers. So what are the conditions for declaring someone a disbeliever, and what is your opinion of this action?
The Shaykh:
The Shaykh: The words of Allah the Exalted are sufficient for us: “And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, then
Those are the disbelievers
أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَby what Allah has revealed
بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُAnd whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.
وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَThe questioner:
The conditions for declaring someone a disbeliever, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
The condition for declaring someone a disbeliever: declaring someone a disbeliever is not something where everyone who declares someone a disbeliever must do so with knowledge. A person must have knowledge; one does not declare people disbelievers without knowledge, but merely out of zeal, or merely out of zeal for the religion, one declares people disbelievers. This is not sufficient. One must have knowledge of what the nullifiers are by which a person becomes a disbeliever, and when a person is excused and when he is not excused. This is a serious matter, and only specialized scholars enter into it. Yes.
Source
ورثة العلماء — alfawzan.live (1:16:28)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.