Excuse by Ignorance in Matters That Are Apparent and Matters That Are Hidden
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner asks and says: Is a person excused by ignorance if he does something that entails disbelief, or something wrong, or something else?
Answer:
Matters are divided into two categories: apparent matters, in which one is not excused by ignorance, such as shirk (associating partners with Allah), kufr (disbelief), sihr (sorcery), and the like. These are apparent matters; the evidence for them is clear and explicit, so one is not excused by ignorance while he hears the Qur'an, hears the sermons, and hears the reminders. The proof has been established against him and the proof has reached him. As for the hidden matters, in which it is necessary for the scholars to clarify their ruling, one is excused by ignorance in them until it is clarified to him. Yes.
The questioner asks and says: Is a person excused by ignorance if he does something that entails disbelief, or something wrong, or something else?
Answer:
Matters are divided into two categories: apparent matters, in which one is not excused by ignorance, such as shirk (associating partners with Allah), kufr (disbelief), sihr (sorcery), and the like. These are apparent matters; the evidence for them is clear and explicit, so one is not excused by ignorance while he hears the Qur'an, hears the sermons, and hears the reminders. The proof has been established against him and the proof has reached him. As for the hidden matters, in which it is necessary for the scholars to clarify their ruling, one is excused by ignorance in them until it is clarified to him. Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/299 — archive.org (4:56)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.