Is it obligatory for us to declare the Shi'ah disbelievers in general?
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The questioner : Shaykh, one of the brothers is asking you: Do the Shi'ah fall under the ruling of disbelievers, or do they not? And should we call upon Allah to grant victory to the disbelievers over them? Naturally, this is our brother who is asking in Lebanon, meaning about the Shi'ah. He says that the Shi'ah do not do what the Shi'ah do; he says to you that they do acts of disbelief that disbelievers do not do. So, do these people fall under the ruling of disbelievers, and should we call upon Allah to grant victory to the disbelievers over them so that we may be rid of them?
The Shaykh : As for calling upon Allah to grant victory to the disbelievers over these Shi'ah whom the questioner thinks... meaning they are a harm to the Muslim community. As for whether we rule that the Shi'ah are disbelievers, this is, as I always say, not permissible to issue a ruling of disbelief on every individual of the Shi'ah. Rather, it is necessary to qualify that by every Shi'ite who holds a belief that entails disbelief. Without doubt, through experience, we know that the scholars, the scholars who know the correct knowledge, are without doubt more knowledgeable than the masses of people. Take, for example, the issue of the divine attributes; the scholars are more knowledgeable about the details of this issue than the general Muslims, exactly the opposite. The scholars who deviate from the Book and the Sunnah, such as the Shi'ah and the Khawarij and their like, are, in my critique and knowledge, more astray than the general public. This is clear.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Ah, why? Because they are cultured with an academic culture... which is distorted from the Book and the Sunnah, whereas the general Shi'ah and the general people of the other sects mostly live on their fitrah (innate natural disposition). To the extent that one of them delves into knowing his madhhab (school of jurisprudence), he delves into misguidance, and the opposite is the opposite. And on this basis, it is not permissible to declare the general Shi'ah as disbelievers. Rather, we say in detail: the one who holds among them a belief that entails disbelief, and it is not upon us after that whether he is from the elite or the general public, whether he is from the scholars in their claim or from the students of knowledge or from their general people... we look to see if his heart contains a belief that entails disbelief or not. If the answer is affirmative, may Allah forbid it, then we declare him a disbeliever; otherwise, we do not.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The Shaykh : As for calling upon Allah to grant victory to the disbelievers over these Shi'ah whom the questioner thinks... meaning they are a harm to the Muslim community. As for whether we rule that the Shi'ah are disbelievers, this is, as I always say, not permissible to issue a ruling of disbelief on every individual of the Shi'ah. Rather, it is necessary to qualify that by every Shi'ite who holds a belief that entails disbelief. Without doubt, through experience, we know that the scholars, the scholars who know the correct knowledge, are without doubt more knowledgeable than the masses of people. Take, for example, the issue of the divine attributes; the scholars are more knowledgeable about the details of this issue than the general Muslims, exactly the opposite. The scholars who deviate from the Book and the Sunnah, such as the Shi'ah and the Khawarij and their like, are, in my critique and knowledge, more astray than the general public. This is clear.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Ah, why? Because they are cultured with an academic culture... which is distorted from the Book and the Sunnah, whereas the general Shi'ah and the general people of the other sects mostly live on their fitrah (innate natural disposition). To the extent that one of them delves into knowing his madhhab (school of jurisprudence), he delves into misguidance, and the opposite is the opposite. And on this basis, it is not permissible to declare the general Shi'ah as disbelievers. Rather, we say in detail: the one who holds among them a belief that entails disbelief, and it is not upon us after that whether he is from the elite or the general public, whether he is from the scholars in their claim or from the students of knowledge or from their general people... we look to see if his heart contains a belief that entails disbelief or not. If the answer is affirmative, may Allah forbid it, then we declare him a disbeliever; otherwise, we do not.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.