What is your opinion of one who argues that lying about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is disbelief?

The questioner : The questioner says: Your Eminence, what is your opinion of one who argues that lying about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is disbelief by saying that lying about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) means establishing false laws and spreading defective rulings among people as if they were revelation from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and says: The one who does this indicates the weakness of his religion, the corruption of his creed, and his mockery of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); so it is not far-fetched that he is a disbeliever, an apostate, whose blood and wealth are lawful; how so, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the killing of one who was writing the revelation and changes "The Merciful" to "The Forgiving," and alters the verses from himself; and lying in hadith is like that; because it spreads rulings as if they were revelation from Allah?

The Shaykh : ... In response to this question, we return to the matter of disbelief and what the scholars said in dividing it into two categories: practical disbelief and creedal disbelief. So, if one lies about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while believing that it is permissible, there is no doubt that his disbelief is apostasy. And if one lies about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to achieve a purely worldly aim or a desire he fulfills, his disbelief is practical disbelief; because he does not consider lying about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) permissible in his heart; so his intention is... this is the case with all actions that issue from a Muslim; it is not appropriate for us to conclude that he considered them permissible in his heart and his action, or that he considered them permissible in his action without his heart; this returns to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) first, and secondly: ... from his action in some cases, and from his statement that he considers it permissible in his heart; in this case, he is judged to be an apostate, and he is invited to repent; if he repents, otherwise he is killed for apostasy.
On this occasion, I greatly like what the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned regarding the one who abandons prayer; where he mentioned that the scholars differed when one who abandons prayer is found or brought in, and he is ordered to pray but does not respond, so he is killed; this is the position of the majority, including Imam al-Shafi'i, let alone Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) (Blessed and Exalted is He), but Imam al-Shafi'i, as they reported from him, said: He is killed for disbelief, and is buried in the Muslim cemeteries, whereas Imam Ahmad said: He is killed for disbelief, and is not buried in the Muslim cemeteries, says the Shaykh al-Islam.

The questioner : No, he is killed as a hudud punishment.

The Shaykh : How?

Another questioner : He is killed as a hudud punishment.

The Shaykh : Listen, my brother.
Yes.

The questioner : The first one is killed as a hudud punishment or for disbelief?

Another questioner : Al-Shafi'i, al-Shafi'i.

The Shaykh : Al-Shafi'i, hudud punishment; Ahmad, disbelief.

The questioner : It was a slip of the tongue.

The Shaykh : Yes, this is part of human nature, especially for someone like me, and may Allah reward you with good.
The point is: Ibn Taymiyyah brings a decisive statement on the subject, saying: If he is invited to repent and ordered to pray but does not accept, and prefers killing to life with prayer; then there is no doubt that this person is a disbeliever in his heart; because it is not conceivable for a person who believes in the obligation of prayer, then he is given the choice between killing and death for abandoning his prayer, and what? That he prays, and is spared from killing, so if he prefers killing, then he is killed for disbelief and is not buried in the Muslim cemeteries, and there is no regret or sorrow for him.
Here, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah noticed a practical, apparent issue; it is not conceivable that a person prefers death to life with prayer; unless he has a disbelieving creed in his heart, like the communists and their like; in that case, he is killed for disbelief and is not buried in the Muslim cemeteries. This is the detail that should be said regarding all actions, some of which may have an explicit text stating that his action is disbelief; like prayer, for example, and a Muslim fighting his Muslim brother, and the like; so his disbelief may be creedal disbelief, according to the previous detail, and he is killed for disbelief, not as a hudud punishment, and his disbelief may be practical; in that case, his action is the action of disbelievers, and his creed is the creed of Muslims, so the creed prevails over his action here. This is the case with many of the sinners today who consume riba, consume the wealth of people by falsehood, like bribery and the like, steal, commit zina; all these sins, some of which are major sins, are they judged as disbelievers? The previous detail is necessary. This is what I testify to Allah with, and Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) knows best.
Yes.