A hadith: Has one who walks with an oppressor to support him left Islam?

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The questioner : May Allah reward you. The questioner asks: How do we reconcile the saying of Allah the Exalted,

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ

[An-Nisa 4:48]

, with the hadith of Aws ibn Sharahbil, in which he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever walks with an oppressor to support him

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : to support him, while knowing that he is an oppressor, has left Islam.

The Shaykh : Allah the Mighty and Majestic says:

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ

[An-Nisa 4:48]

. We have discussed this verse and said: Do not let hope lead you to commit sins other than shirk (associating partners with Allah) and claim that they fall under divine will, because Allah says:

but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills

وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ

[An-Nisa 4:48]

. Are you guaranteed that Allah wills forgiveness for you? No, you are not guaranteed that. Therefore, do not let false hope based on such a verse deceive you. As for the hadith the questioner referred to, I do not know of it. However, if the hadith is authentic, it is to be understood as referring to one who walks with an oppressor in a form of oppression that expels him from the religion and supports him in it; in that case, he is outside the religion.

Source قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[5 من 31] حديث من مشى مع ظالم ليقويه فقد خرج من الإسلام؟!! الشيخ ابن عثيمين - مشروع كبار العلماء — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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