What is the ruling on a person who is told that something is disbelief and apostasy from Islam, but he is not convinced by this statement after the proof has been established against him?

The questioner : All right, a person has not denied it after the scholars have conveyed that this is disbelief, but he is not convinced. He was told that this is disbelief and apostasy from Islam, but he is not convinced by this statement after the proof has been established against him. Does this also take him out of the religion?

The Shaykh : Your question differs completely from what I was dealing with, but this question benefits us now. Many of our brothers think, and you can interpret "think" here however you wish; you can interpret it as the linguistic meaning of "think" or as the legal meaning of "think." The linguistic meaning is what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) denied regarding the polytheists when He said of them: . Many young people think that they have been given some knowledge, whether you interpret "think" this way or the opposite, as He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said regarding the believer who is given his book in his right hand: . So "think" has two completely opposite meanings. As the linguists say, it is "one of the words of contradiction." One word gives two completely opposite meanings, and this is the example before you. In the language, it is said "the sun has set" (banta) meaning it rose, and it set. It is said "a noble man" (jaleel) meaning great, and mean. There is no harm in me telling you a story, perhaps they say in some gatherings that knowledge is what came, so let us soften it a bit with a story like this. I was in a gathering with a Lebanese Maronite priest. You know, Lebanese people are Arabs, even if they are Christians, they speak Arabic. A long discussion took place between me and him, and the point reached was that he criticizes Muslims for forbidding the translation of the Qur'an. I said to him: What do you mean by the translation of the Qur'an when you attribute to Muslims that they forbid the translation of the Qur'an? Do you mean literal translation or meaning-based translation? He said: No, I mean literal translation. I said: This is impossible, this is not possible. He said: How? I said: Because there are words and sentences in the Arabic language that cannot be translated literally into any other language. The Lebanese, like the Syrians, were ruled by France, so many of them studied in government schools and learned the French language. So this Maronite knows the French language well, naturally. I said to him: Let us enter into a very simple experiment. You are now combining your knowledge of the Arabic language with your knowledge of the French language. I will present to you a very short verse, and it does not have many words. Translate it so we can see. He said: Bring it. I said to him: He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: . So he was astonished. How does one begin? He said: What does "a'sa'a" mean?

The questioner: Hehehe.

The Shaykh : I said to him: This is the intended meaning. "A'sa'a" in the language means "approached," and "a'sa'a" means "receded." Look at the eloquence of the Qur'an. He thought a little, and said: I look at the context and the preceding text. Look, the "evil one" has some Islamic cultural knowledge. He said he looks at the context and the preceding text. So which of the two meanings did the context and the preceding text indicate? I chose one of the two meanings. I said: For example, now you interpret "a'sa'a" to mean "approached" in the French language. He said: Yes. I said: It is possible that another person comes and disagrees with you completely and says: No, I see that the context and the preceding text say "a'sa'a" means "receded." The man was silent. I said: And a third man may come and say: No, I see neither this nor that, but I see "approached" and "receded," and this is closer to the miraculous nature of the Qur'an and the horizons . So both the approaching of the night and its receding are a sign. So you will not be able to translate the Qur'an literally, word for word. What is "a'sa'a"? Here, by your testimony, we now have three translations of "a'sa'a": "approached," "a'sa'a": "receded," "a'sa'a": "approached and receded." The Qur'an cannot be translated, but if you intend the translation of the meanings of the Qur'an, no Muslim says that this is not permissible. Rather, this is what the Muslims did before this time, where they interpreted the Qur'an into the Turkish language, into the Persian language, and perhaps some of it was interpreted into the Albanian language. But the issue is about the interpretation, the literal translation of the Qur'an. We return to what we were in. Some students may think that they have been given, that they have been given some knowledge, and they say: I met so-and-so and established the proof against him, and he was not convinced. I say to him: Wait, my brother, you may not be in the position of establishing the proof. You think in yourself that you are a scholar, and that you are a scholar of deep understanding, and that you have known the Qur'an and the meanings of the Qur'an, and that you have encompassed a very large portion of the hadiths of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but in the reality of your matter, you are not, as it is said, "in the caravan nor in the raid."

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : The establishment of the prayer is near.

The Shaykh : That is, if you wish, we can catch the prayer, so we leave.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Come on, please proceed.

The questioner : Glory be to You, O Allah.

The Shaykh : The Kurds, specifically regarding some of the shaykhs...

The questioner: Hehehe.