Do we declare disbelief upon one who falls into religious innovation?
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The Shaykh : There is a question here: A large number of Muslims adopt a religious method in their worship... believing that it does not belong to any of the common paths, perhaps there are some errors in it that may be misleading; so can we say to them after their death that so-and-so is a disbeliever? And what is the ruling in that?
The Shaykh: ... Just as I told you, there is no way for us to declare someone a disbeliever; the matter differs; some matters are disbelief, and some matters are errors that contradict the Shari'ah. For example, the one who steals and commits zina, that is not disbelief. So if one dies while he is a fornicator, a thief, a deceiver, and so on; we believe that he is misguided and an open sinner... not... that he is a disbeliever. Likewise, if we know people among the Muslims who pray, fast, and give charity, and they do many of the known acts of worship that are from Islam, but added to that, they contradict the Sunnah in many of their acts of worship from their methods and their ideas; then we believe that they are innovators, and it is not permissible for us to say: that they are disbelievers. And the meaning of them being innovators is that the original ruling for all their acts of worship is that they are not accepted by Allah (Mighty and Majestic) if they contradict the Sunnah. And yet, some people among these innovators may be excused due to their ignorance, or because they asked someone they thought had knowledge and he misled them, and he thought that this is the Shari'ah; so this type is not like the type for whom it is decreed that someone clarifies to them that it is contrary to the Sunnah, and then they remain stubborn, arrogant, and contrary to the Sunnah; so this one is worse than the first without doubt or hesitation.
The Shaykh: And yet, the thing that we always clarify to our brothers is that it should not be our habit and our way to declare people disbelievers, but even to misguide them; meaning we do not say: so-and-so is a disbeliever and so-and-so is misguided; because Allah is the one who will hold him accountable. What concerns us is to advise people and remind them; we say that so-and-so is a disbeliever and so-and-so is misguided, that does not benefit us or him; even if the Preserved Tablet were revealed to us, and we are of course not among the people of revelation; even if the Preserved Tablet were revealed to us, we would find written: so-and-so is a disbeliever, so-and-so is misguided; we would say to him: O disbeliever, O misguided!! No, we do not benefit anything and he does not benefit anything. But if we say: this is misguidance, this act that you are doing is misguidance, this act that you are doing is disbelief; he will benefit; he will benefit because he does not know that this is disbelief or misguidance, so we informed him and he benefited. If he wants guidance, he will stay away from this misguidance and disbelief. If he does not want to, he will benefit from Allah who wants to hold him accountable.
The Shaykh: And I want also to remind you of what we always remind, or often remind, our brothers there; even open disbelief, sometimes the Lord of the Worlds forgives it. He does not forgive it;[An-Nisa 4:48], but this type that I said: Allah forgives it, is of the type where the nature of denial and the nature of stubbornness are not realized in its owner, meaning he remembers while knowing his state what he is doing; like the first disbelievers who were stubborn with the Messenger and fought him, like Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab and their like from those whom our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) intended by His saying: [An-Naml 27:14]; yes, this type of disbelief and shirk is what our Lord intended in the previous verse: [An-Nisa 4:48], as for the disbelief whose owner does not know that it is disbelief, then Allah (Mighty and Majestic) may forgive it, indeed Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forgives it if He knows that this person does not know that this is disbelief. And the evidence for this which I explained and clarified is the hadith of al-Bukhari from the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, not others, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: , our companion disbelieved, is there doubt? Why did he disbelieve? He doubted Allah's power over him, , what is this one planning? That even Allah cannot do anything to him, even what?
Eid Abbasi : ... .
The Shaykh : ...; I was afraid of you!! ; so he disbelieved without doubt; because he in reality represents the idea that Allah mentioned at the end of Surat Yasin: [Ya-Sin 36:78-79] to the end of the verse.
The Shaykh: This is it itself.
Yes?
The questioner : .
The Shaykh : Yes, this is it itself, this poor man, but look, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), the Wise, the All-Knowing, the Merciful, the Compassionate, knew from this servant of His that he was a believer in Allah and His power, but due to his knowledge of his oppression and his crime with his Lord, and that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) if He has power over him will punish him with severe punishment... from there his imagination of the punishment, he wanted to get out of the punishment, so this "nonsense" came out of him [everyone laughs!], but Allah now He knows by Himself that he knows that Allah is All-Powerful over everything, but He let him do it for the sake of escaping from the justice of Allah from His punishment, so Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: I have forgiven you.
The Shaykh: My purpose from this is not to encourage disbelief without doubt, but also not to encourage misguidance and error, but rather that we turn ourselves away from judging individuals that so-and-so is a disbeliever and so-and-so is misguided, maybe a person is in our hands and perhaps Allah forgave him, we... we do not judge him. We do not refrain from judging such a person that he is a disbeliever and eternal in the Fire and that Allah does not forgive him; why? We do not know what is in the breasts of people, we know... so what do we want with this problem?! What concerns us is guiding people, we can guide people without ever holding the word of declaring disbelief and misguidance, we say to them: this is permissible, this is not permissible, this is bad, this is religious innovation, this is disbelief, this is misguidance, this and so on, every matter we give its right, as for you are a disbeliever, you are misguided, maybe this person is excused, what do we know? So first... from declaring disbelief and misguidance, and secondly: we may err in this declaring disbelief and misguidance, but when we say: this is an error, we did not err at all; because this is contrary to the Sunnah, when we say: this is disbelief, we did not err; because it is disbelief, but not everyone who falls into disbelief has disbelief fallen upon him, the people of the period of ignorance are disbelievers, but they do not enter the Fire; why?[Al-Isra 17:15]... the misguided disbelievers that we are saying: disbelievers and misguided; maybe the call did not reach them, now like now the common people who call for aid to the dead; did the verses reach them? Did the verses reach them, like al-Albani is listening to what is the name of this reciter, Abd al-Samad Abd al-Ish?
The questioner : Abd al-Basit.
The Shaykh : Abd al-Basit, he is reciting the Qur'an with melody, but this O my Lord, what does he understand of the Arabic language? He does not understand anything, we are... our state is that we are Arabs... do we understand what is tawhid al-rububiyyah, what is tawhid al-uluhiyyah, what is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat? No, do we understand the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah? If the non-Arab understands the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah; then the common Syrians understand what is the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah, do the non-Arabs understand the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah for all non-Arabs or is it necessary for a teacher from a shaykh who knows the Arabic language to explain to them the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah? Yes, it is necessary, also we Arabs - we claim! - it is necessary for a shaykh to teach us what is the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah; do we teach people today the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah? No, so if we see them rubbing against the graves, calling for aid to the buried besides Allah (Mighty and Majestic), it does not concern us to rush and say: you are disbelievers, you are polytheists, these people the call did not reach them.
Yes?
The questioner : Leave him, let him satisfy his heart when one comes to visit his state at the Ka'bah.
The Shaykh : No, we do not leave him.
The questioner : Leave him, let him...
The Shaykh : I do not leave him, we clarify to him... a verse like this and a hadith like this...
The questioner : The meaning of La ilaha illa Allah...
The Shaykh : In brief, I will say: the answer to this question is that it is not our function to declare people disbelievers and misguide them, but rather our function is to guide them, lead them, and teach them only.
The Shaykh: ... Just as I told you, there is no way for us to declare someone a disbeliever; the matter differs; some matters are disbelief, and some matters are errors that contradict the Shari'ah. For example, the one who steals and commits zina, that is not disbelief. So if one dies while he is a fornicator, a thief, a deceiver, and so on; we believe that he is misguided and an open sinner... not... that he is a disbeliever. Likewise, if we know people among the Muslims who pray, fast, and give charity, and they do many of the known acts of worship that are from Islam, but added to that, they contradict the Sunnah in many of their acts of worship from their methods and their ideas; then we believe that they are innovators, and it is not permissible for us to say: that they are disbelievers. And the meaning of them being innovators is that the original ruling for all their acts of worship is that they are not accepted by Allah (Mighty and Majestic) if they contradict the Sunnah. And yet, some people among these innovators may be excused due to their ignorance, or because they asked someone they thought had knowledge and he misled them, and he thought that this is the Shari'ah; so this type is not like the type for whom it is decreed that someone clarifies to them that it is contrary to the Sunnah, and then they remain stubborn, arrogant, and contrary to the Sunnah; so this one is worse than the first without doubt or hesitation.
The Shaykh: And yet, the thing that we always clarify to our brothers is that it should not be our habit and our way to declare people disbelievers, but even to misguide them; meaning we do not say: so-and-so is a disbeliever and so-and-so is misguided; because Allah is the one who will hold him accountable. What concerns us is to advise people and remind them; we say that so-and-so is a disbeliever and so-and-so is misguided, that does not benefit us or him; even if the Preserved Tablet were revealed to us, and we are of course not among the people of revelation; even if the Preserved Tablet were revealed to us, we would find written: so-and-so is a disbeliever, so-and-so is misguided; we would say to him: O disbeliever, O misguided!! No, we do not benefit anything and he does not benefit anything. But if we say: this is misguidance, this act that you are doing is misguidance, this act that you are doing is disbelief; he will benefit; he will benefit because he does not know that this is disbelief or misguidance, so we informed him and he benefited. If he wants guidance, he will stay away from this misguidance and disbelief. If he does not want to, he will benefit from Allah who wants to hold him accountable.
The Shaykh: And I want also to remind you of what we always remind, or often remind, our brothers there; even open disbelief, sometimes the Lord of the Worlds forgives it. He does not forgive it;
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُAnd they rejected them, while their [inner] selves were convinced thereof
وَجَحَدُوا بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَا أَنْفُسُهُمْIndeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُThere was among those before you a man who had never done any good. When the time of his death approached, he gathered his sons around him and said to them: "What kind of father was I to you?" They said: "The best of fathers." He said: "Indeed, I am a sinner with my Lord, and if Allah were to have power over me, He would surely punish me with a severe punishment."
كان في مَن قبلكم رجلٌ لم يعمَلْ خيرًا قط ، فلما حضرته الوفاة جَمَعَ بنيه حوله ؛ قال لهم : أيُّ أبٍ كنت لكم ؟ قالوا : خير أب . قال : فإني مذنبٌ مع ربي ، ولَئِن قَدِرَ الله عليَّ لَيُعذِبَنَّي عذابًا شديدًاAnd if Allah were to have power over me, He would surely punish me with a severe punishment. So when I die, take me and burn me with fire, then scatter half of me in the wind—the violent wind—and half in the sea.
ولَئِن قَدِرَ الله عليَّ لَيُعذِبَنِّي عذابًا شديدًا ؛ فإذا أنا متُّ فخذوني وحرِّقوني بالنار ، ثم ذرُّوا نصفي في الريح - الريح العاصف - ، ونصفي في البحرEid Abbasi : ... .
The Shaykh : ...
When he died, they burned him with fire and took his ashes; they scattered half in the wind and half in the sea. Then Allah said to his particles: "Be so-and-so." So he became a complete human being. His Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) said to him: "O so-and-so, what compelled you to do what you did?" He said: "My Lord, I feared You."
فلما مات حرَّقوه بالنار ، وأخذوا الرماد ؛ نصفه في الريح ، ونصفه في البحر ، فقال الله لذرَّاته : كوني فلانًا ، فكان بشرًا سويًّا ، قال له ربنا - تبارك وتعالى - : أي فلان ، ما حَمَلَك على ما فعلت ؟ قال : يا ربي ، خشيتكHe said to him: "I have forgiven you."
قال له : قد غفرت لك(78) And he presents for Us an example and forgets his [own] creation. He says, "Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?" (79) Say, "He will give them life who produced them the first time
وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًا وَنَسِيَ خَلْقَهُ قَالَ مَنْ يُحْيِ الْعِظَامَ وَهِيَ رَمِيمٌ * قُلْ يُحْيِيهَا الَّذِي أَنْشَأَهَا أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍThe Shaykh: This is it itself.
Yes?
The questioner :
And he forgot his own creation.
وَنَسِيَ خَلْقَهُThe Shaykh : Yes, this is it itself, this poor man, but look, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), the Wise, the All-Knowing, the Merciful, the Compassionate, knew from this servant of His that he was a believer in Allah and His power, but due to his knowledge of his oppression and his crime with his Lord, and that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) if He has power over him will punish him with severe punishment... from there his imagination of the punishment, he wanted to get out of the punishment, so this "nonsense" came out of him [everyone laughs!], but Allah now He knows by Himself that he knows that Allah is All-Powerful over everything, but He let him do it for the sake of escaping from the justice of Allah from His punishment, so Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: I have forgiven you.
The Shaykh: My purpose from this is not to encourage disbelief without doubt, but also not to encourage misguidance and error, but rather that we turn ourselves away from judging individuals that so-and-so is a disbeliever and so-and-so is misguided, maybe a person is in our hands and perhaps Allah forgave him, we... we do not judge him. We do not refrain from judging such a person that he is a disbeliever and eternal in the Fire and that Allah does not forgive him; why? We do not know what is in the breasts of people, we know... so what do we want with this problem?! What concerns us is guiding people, we can guide people without ever holding the word of declaring disbelief and misguidance, we say to them: this is permissible, this is not permissible, this is bad, this is religious innovation, this is disbelief, this is misguidance, this and so on, every matter we give its right, as for you are a disbeliever, you are misguided, maybe this person is excused, what do we know? So first... from declaring disbelief and misguidance, and secondly: we may err in this declaring disbelief and misguidance, but when we say: this is an error, we did not err at all; because this is contrary to the Sunnah, when we say: this is disbelief, we did not err; because it is disbelief, but not everyone who falls into disbelief has disbelief fallen upon him, the people of the period of ignorance are disbelievers, but they do not enter the Fire; why?
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًاThe questioner : Abd al-Basit.
The Shaykh : Abd al-Basit, he is reciting the Qur'an with melody, but this O my Lord, what does he understand of the Arabic language? He does not understand anything, we are... our state is that we are Arabs... do we understand what is tawhid al-rububiyyah, what is tawhid al-uluhiyyah, what is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat? No, do we understand the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah? If the non-Arab understands the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah; then the common Syrians understand what is the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah, do the non-Arabs understand the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah for all non-Arabs or is it necessary for a teacher from a shaykh who knows the Arabic language to explain to them the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah? Yes, it is necessary, also we Arabs - we claim! - it is necessary for a shaykh to teach us what is the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah; do we teach people today the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah? No, so if we see them rubbing against the graves, calling for aid to the buried besides Allah (Mighty and Majestic), it does not concern us to rush and say: you are disbelievers, you are polytheists, these people the call did not reach them.
Yes?
The questioner : Leave him, let him satisfy his heart when one comes to visit his state at the Ka'bah.
The Shaykh : No, we do not leave him.
The questioner : Leave him, let him...
The Shaykh : I do not leave him, we clarify to him... a verse like this and a hadith like this...
The questioner : The meaning of La ilaha illa Allah...
The Shaykh : In brief, I will say: the answer to this question is that it is not our function to declare people disbelievers and misguide them, but rather our function is to guide them, lead them, and teach them only.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.