The Ruling on Declaring the Followers of Sufism to be Disbelievers
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The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh Salih, the questioner asks: Is it permissible to declare the followers of Sufism who call upon the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous to be disbelievers and to have exited Islam? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
Yes, the scholars have examined this issue thoroughly and completely. They stated that one who speaks of shirk (associating partners with Allah) or commits shirk in the lands of the Muslims, and to whom the Qur'an has reached, is declared to be a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) and a kafir (disbeliever), because the proof has been established against him. Allah the Exalted says to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):[Al-An'am 6:19] ... so the matters are clear. The matters of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the matters of shirk are clear and evident in the Book and the Sunnah. The prohibition of zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), the prohibition of khamr (intoxicants), the prohibition of riba (usury or interest), the obligation of salah (the ritual prayer), and the obligation of zakah (the obligatory alms) are clear matters. Therefore, whoever denies them is judged accordingly and is not excused by ignorance, because these are clear matters, and he lives among the Muslims and hears the Qur'an. As for a person who is cut off from the Muslims, such as one who lives in remote jungles and to whom the Qur'an has not reached, or a person who has recently embraced Islam and then does something that contradicts Islam, he is excused by ignorance because he has not been able to acquire knowledge to understand.
As for the hidden matters that require clarification, one is excused in them by ta'wil (figurative interpretation) and by ignorance until it is clarified to the person. But as for the clear matters—the matters of shirk, the matters of kufr (disbelief), the clear prohibitions, the clear obligations, and what is known of the religion by necessity—this is not excused by ignorance for one who lives among the Muslims and hears the Qur'an, or even memorizes the Qur'an, and perhaps memorizes it with the ten canonical recitations. He memorizes the Qur'an and then calls upon other than Allah?
The questioner:
This is not known.
The Shaykh:
The proof has reached him. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh Salih, the questioner asks: Is it permissible to declare the followers of Sufism who call upon the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous to be disbelievers and to have exited Islam? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
Yes, the scholars have examined this issue thoroughly and completely. They stated that one who speaks of shirk (associating partners with Allah) or commits shirk in the lands of the Muslims, and to whom the Qur'an has reached, is declared to be a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) and a kafir (disbeliever), because the proof has been established against him. Allah the Exalted says to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
And this Qur'an was revealed to me that I may warn you thereby and
وَأُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنُ لِأُنذِرَكُم بِهِ وَمَنAs for the hidden matters that require clarification, one is excused in them by ta'wil (figurative interpretation) and by ignorance until it is clarified to the person. But as for the clear matters—the matters of shirk, the matters of kufr (disbelief), the clear prohibitions, the clear obligations, and what is known of the religion by necessity—this is not excused by ignorance for one who lives among the Muslims and hears the Qur'an, or even memorizes the Qur'an, and perhaps memorizes it with the ten canonical recitations. He memorizes the Qur'an and then calls upon other than Allah?
The questioner:
This is not known.
The Shaykh:
The proof has reached him. Yes.
Source
التحذير من الغلو في التكفير — islamhouse.com (59:33)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.