Does the verse: “And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, it is they who are the disbelievers” apply to our rulers today?

The questioner : A large group of brothers are asking. They say: A large group of brothers are asking. They say: The saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): ; does this apply to the rulers of today?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that the rulers of today differ in every respect. Among them are those whose origin is known to have been non-Muslim, and they only became Muslim when they were imposed as heads of state in some Islamic countries. Others are known to be the sons of Muslims, but they fall short in many of the obligatory acts of worship and obedience required of them. In addition to that, they do not judge by what Allah has revealed. There is another type of ruler who maintains the prayers and the symbols of Islam, but they are undoubtedly falling short in applying many of the Islamic rulings. Therefore, it is a grave error, both religiously and in reality, to equate the ruling on all these rulers who can be said not to judge by what Allah has revealed. As detailed above, some do not judge by it at all, but have made the disbelieving Western laws their system, constitution, and methodology. Some strive to apply some of the Islamic rulings, and some apply more of them, each according to his capacity. What can be said definitively, and what every Muslim must believe with firm conviction, is that disbelief is not a matter related to action, but rather disbelief is related to the heart. This is because the root “kafara” in the language means to cover, and covering a thing means denying it. Why? Because he covers it to hide the truth of that matter. Therefore, many scholars have explained this reality. I recall now, as an example, Imam al-Ghazali in his book *Ihya’* (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), and in his first book, *The Book of Beliefs*, he mentioned that the Muslim does not exit Islam except by denying what he entered it with. When does a Muslim become a disbeliever? When he denies something he used to believe from Islam and disbelieves in it. This is a reality that every Muslim must believe in: that disbelief is a matter of belief. This belief is sometimes hidden, known only to our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), but the person holding this disbelieving belief may utter the word of Islam. So what does Islam rule on this speaker? And you must know with me, also, that there is Islam and there is faith. Islam encompasses the practical rulings, while faith relates to the matters of the heart. So the disbeliever is the one who declares his disbelief with his tongue and fights the caller to Islam. But the hypocrite displays Islam and says: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, but in his heart he is a denier and a disbeliever. And he is, as He (the Exalted) said on the Day of Resurrection: .
So when we find a ruler who falls short in applying the religious rulings, whether much or little, but we find that he maintains the prayer, for example, then it is not permissible to declare him a disbeliever. Why? Because we have not heard from him any denial of Islam, or of some of the rulings of Islam that he lived with for a long time. For this reason, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said in his interpretation of the aforementioned verse: . He said in its interpretation: “Disbelief less than disbelief,” “disbelief less than disbelief.” The verse, as explained by the Imam of interpreters, Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, in his famous interpretation: “It was revealed concerning the Jews and the Christians,” who do not judge by what Allah has revealed, meaning by the Shari'ah of Islam. So whoever among the Muslim rulers is in the position of the Jews and Christians who do not believe in the rulings of Islam, his disbelief is disbelief of apostasy, having nothing to do with Islam. But whoever whose disbelief is practical disbelief; meaning he believes that these rulings are the truth, and are the Shari'ah, and that they should be implemented, but he finds an excuse for himself, which is not an excuse religiously, but the important thing is that he acknowledges these religious rulings, but he does not apply them. So the disbelief of this type of ruler is called by Ibn Abbas practical disbelief. Why? – And this is a very important reality – because it differs from those who deny judging by what Allah has revealed with their hearts and their tongues. So if we find a person of this type who denies the Shari'ah of Allah and the rulings of Allah with his tongue and his heart, then he is certainly not a Muslim. If we find another person who testifies and acknowledges that this is Islam, and that it should be applied, but practically he does not apply it, then there is a similarity between him and the first group in the practical aspect. Those disbelieved in it with their hearts and denied it, also, with their actions. As for this Muslim, he acknowledged the ruling of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in his heart, but he did not apply it with his action. So in his action, he does the action of the disbeliever. Therefore, this reality becomes clear to you when you hear in the sermon of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Farewell Pilgrimage. It was among the things he preached to the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he admonished and reminded them, saying to them: . What does “disbelievers” mean? Does it mean atheists? Does it mean you deny the Shari'ah of Allah after you believed in it and acted upon it? No, this is not the intended meaning. Rather, it means: do not return after me as disbelievers by your actions, doing the actions of the disbelievers, striking each other’s necks. This is the meaning of “disbelievers” here in this hadith. Similarly, for example, the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in the authentic hadith: , , is like his saying in the hadith before it: . Fighting is disbelief; meaning: the action of the disbelievers who do not prevent themselves, even though they are in one religion, from killing each other. So do not do the action of the disbelievers. . Therefore, the people of knowledge say: “Disbelief is of two types: belief-based disbelief and practical disbelief.” So whoever disbelieves with belief-based disbelief, he is not from the Muslims. And whoever disbelieves with practical disbelief; meaning he does the action of the disbelievers, but he does not consider it permissible in his heart, and he does not say this is lawful, but rather he acknowledges that it is forbidden, but “may Allah curse Satan” – as the sinners say!
Therefore, you must know that if we do not distinguish between the one who considers the sin permissible in his heart, and the one who considers the sin permissible in his action without his heart; there would remain no Muslim except that you should rule on him as a disbeliever. Why? When the thief steals, do we declare him a disbeliever? Theft and zina and the like are like killing; both are forbidden. So if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said that the fighting of a Muslim against his Muslim brother is disbelief, and it is not interpreted as belief-based disbelief, but rather as practical disbelief; so if a Muslim commits zina, is he a disbeliever with the disbelief of apostasy? The answer: It is necessary to distinguish. This is the fornicator, and that is the thief, and that is the liar, and every person who commits a sin; it is necessary to distinguish between when he considers it permissible in his heart, and he is a disbeliever who has apostatized from his religion, and when he does not consider it permissible in his heart, but he considers it permissible in his action; so he does the action of the disbelievers who do not make things lawful or forbidden. So this one who considers the sin permissible in his action, not in his heart; this is a Muslim who is an open sinner, and not a disbeliever; because he did not disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger in his heart and in his belief. This is what must be distinguished, so that we do not be afflicted with what afflicted the Khawarij before, whom Ali ibn Abi Talib fought; because they declared the Muslims disbelievers merely on the basis of their assumption. If only they had been correct that they judged by other than what Allah has revealed, then he (peace be upon him) said regarding these people: . The principle that saves the Muslim from eternal abode in the Fire is correct belief, and committing sins qualifies him to enter the Fire if Allah (Mighty and Majestic) does not forgive him. As for if a Muslim does not disbelieve in anything of the Shari'ah of Allah, it is not permissible to declare him a disbeliever. He (peace be upon him) said: .
You know, for example, from the hadiths related to prayer: . The majority of scholars agreed that the one who abandons prayer has two states:
The first case: he abandons it out of denial. The scholars agreed that this is disbelief (kufr). For example, some of the misguided youth today, when you say to them, "My brother, you are not praying? Pray," they say to you, "No prayer, no such thing." This is disbelief (kufr) because it is denial; it is disbelief (kufr) by the consensus of the Muslims.
The second case: among those who abandon prayer, there is the one who abandons it while believing in it and holding it to be obligatory, but he is lazy, or he is preoccupied with worldly matters. Naturally, this is not something to be praised; rather, he is severely blamed. But does his action place him in the same position as the first one who denies the legitimacy of prayer? The answer is: the majority of scholars say that the one who abandons prayer out of laziness does not become a disbeliever (kafir); rather, the one who denies it becomes a disbeliever. Even in a narration from Imam Ahmad, which is famous for him saying that the one who abandons prayer, even out of laziness, is declared a disbeliever, there is another narration in which he agrees with the majority of scholars that the one who abandons prayer out of laziness is not a disbeliever, but rather an open sinner (fasiq). Some say he should be killed, and this is the correct view: he is killed as a fixed punishment (hadd). Some say he should be detained and imprisoned, but the first opinion is the most correct.
The important point is that one must distinguish, regarding faith in the laws and rulings, between the one who denies any of them in his heart, and thus is a disbeliever (kafir), and the one who does not deny but affirms them, yet falls short in action. This is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: . Therefore, the one who abandons prayer, in whatever form the abandonment takes, is not declared a disbeliever (kafir) who is punished and eternally abiding in the Fire, because the one who is eternally abiding in the Fire is the one who associates partners with Allah (mushrik), as He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: . When the Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned in the hadith about the five prayers the one who maintains them, he said that he has a covenant with Allah that He will admit him to Paradise. And he mentioned the one who does not maintain prayer, and he left his matter to Allah, saying: . Therefore, he is not declared a disbeliever (kafir); because if he were a disbeliever (kafir), he would fall under His saying (the Exalted): . This is what can be said on this occasion.