What is the ruling on one who describes himself as secular or liberal?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: If one of the thinkers describes a person as secular or liberal,
The Shaykh:
What does liberalism mean?
The questioner:
I do not know, by Allah.
The Shaykh:
Is it animal freedom or Shari'ah freedom? If it is animal freedom, it is disbelief. But if it is Shari'ah freedom within the limits of the Shari'ah, there is no harm. People are free, praise be to Allah, in their lineages and in their affairs, within the limits of the Shari'ah. They are free in their wealth, free in their lineages, within the limits of the Shari'ah. Freedom is not absolute; it is freedom regulated by the regulations of the Shari'ah. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you. He says, in the continuation of his question:
The Shaykh:
And the ruling is not for the thinkers in this matter; the ruling is for the scholars. The thinker is not a scholar, and his words are not to be taken.
The questioner:
Yes. He says, may Allah keep you safe: If one of the thinkers describes a person as secular or liberal, is he certified as having faith, or does he fall within the circle of faith? What is our duty toward him, and do we hate him?
The Shaykh:
As we mentioned to you, if he believes in absolute freedom not regulated by the regulations of the Shari'ah, that he is free to be safe and not disbelieved, or to marry or commit zina, or that he is free and no one can restrict him, this is a disbeliever. But if he means the freedom that Allah has given him in his wealth, his family, and his affairs within the limits of the Shari'ah, in his lineage, that he is free and not a slave, there is no harm. Yes.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: If one of the thinkers describes a person as secular or liberal,
The Shaykh:
What does liberalism mean?
The questioner:
I do not know, by Allah.
The Shaykh:
Is it animal freedom or Shari'ah freedom? If it is animal freedom, it is disbelief. But if it is Shari'ah freedom within the limits of the Shari'ah, there is no harm. People are free, praise be to Allah, in their lineages and in their affairs, within the limits of the Shari'ah. They are free in their wealth, free in their lineages, within the limits of the Shari'ah. Freedom is not absolute; it is freedom regulated by the regulations of the Shari'ah. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you. He says, in the continuation of his question:
The Shaykh:
And the ruling is not for the thinkers in this matter; the ruling is for the scholars. The thinker is not a scholar, and his words are not to be taken.
The questioner:
Yes. He says, may Allah keep you safe: If one of the thinkers describes a person as secular or liberal, is he certified as having faith, or does he fall within the circle of faith? What is our duty toward him, and do we hate him?
The Shaykh:
As we mentioned to you, if he believes in absolute freedom not regulated by the regulations of the Shari'ah, that he is free to be safe and not disbelieved, or to marry or commit zina, or that he is free and no one can restrict him, this is a disbeliever. But if he means the freedom that Allah has given him in his wealth, his family, and his affairs within the limits of the Shari'ah, in his lineage, that he is free and not a slave, there is no harm. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [138 -560] ما الحكم فيمن قال عن نفسه أنه علماني أو ليبرالي؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.