The Ruling on Governments That Rule by Man-Made Laws
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Do governments that rule by man-made laws in most matters commit disbelief that is permissible to declare, thereby expelling them from the religion?
The Shaykh:
With one.
The questioner:
Do you not declare them disbelievers with a disbelief that expels them?
The Shaykh:
Expelling them from the religion.
The questioner:
In the name of Allah.
The Shaykh:
If they do not consider it permissible. There is a distinction among the scholars on this. If they consider it permissible, or say that there is no harm, and that it is equal to the Shari'ah, or that the law is all the same, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels a person from the religion.
As for the one who rules by other than what Allah has revealed in some cases, following a bribe he was given or his own desire, this is one who commits a major sin but does not consider it permissible. He knows that he is contradicting the ruling of Allah, but he does this for lust or a bribe only. He knows that he is a sinner and that he is ruling by other than what Allah has revealed, and he admits that he is a sinner. This is considered one who commits a major sin. As for the one who says that it is all the same, or that ruling by law is better than ruling by the Shari'ah, or that they are equal, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels a person from the religion, because he equated the ruling of Allah with the ruling of others, or said that the ruling of other than Allah is better than the ruling of Allah. There is no doubt that this is disbelief, and this is by complete consensus.
Likewise, the one who completely removes the Shari'ah and replaces it with law, this is proof that he considers this better than the Shari'ah. There is no doubt in his disbelief either. Yes.
Do governments that rule by man-made laws in most matters commit disbelief that is permissible to declare, thereby expelling them from the religion?
The Shaykh:
With one.
The questioner:
Do you not declare them disbelievers with a disbelief that expels them?
The Shaykh:
Expelling them from the religion.
The questioner:
In the name of Allah.
The Shaykh:
If they do not consider it permissible. There is a distinction among the scholars on this. If they consider it permissible, or say that there is no harm, and that it is equal to the Shari'ah, or that the law is all the same, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels a person from the religion.
As for the one who rules by other than what Allah has revealed in some cases, following a bribe he was given or his own desire, this is one who commits a major sin but does not consider it permissible. He knows that he is contradicting the ruling of Allah, but he does this for lust or a bribe only. He knows that he is a sinner and that he is ruling by other than what Allah has revealed, and he admits that he is a sinner. This is considered one who commits a major sin. As for the one who says that it is all the same, or that ruling by law is better than ruling by the Shari'ah, or that they are equal, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels a person from the religion, because he equated the ruling of Allah with the ruling of others, or said that the ruling of other than Allah is better than the ruling of Allah. There is no doubt that this is disbelief, and this is by complete consensus.
Likewise, the one who completely removes the Shari'ah and replaces it with law, this is proof that he considers this better than the Shari'ah. There is no doubt in his disbelief either. Yes.
Source
شرح قرة عيون الموحدين [42] — alfawzan.live (1:15:18)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.