What is the ruling on one who insults Allah and insults His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The questioner : In some matters, specifically in our lands, there is a relaxation regarding matters of disbelief. We see the danger of these to be greater than the issue we are addressing, which is insulting the religion and the Lord. Many of our people, I mean, insult Allah and the religion repeatedly and daily, yet they pray. But is this not disbelief?

The Shaykh : No, it is not restricted. Is it not disbelief? Yes. Describe the disbelief you are asking about...?

The questioner : ...One person?

The Shaykh : No, this is completely different.

The questioner : In detail, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : It does not require much detail. I believe that those from whom these verbal expressions of disbelief issue—let us call them by their actual reality—those from whom these verbal expressions of disbelief issue, we hear from many of them that they follow their disbelief with seeking forgiveness. What does this mean? It means that this person needs two or three sticks and will not return to such a word of disbelief again. I want to say that this is due to poor upbringing and the failure of the ruler to fulfill the obligation of educating Muslims in the Shari'ah of the Lord of the Worlds, as Allah Mighty and Majestic said: If there were a system that ruled by Islam, at least in some aspects, we know today, with great regret, that if an individual from the subjects were to insult a high-ranking human being, he must be punished and imprisoned, without the necessary legal scrutiny to determine if this is an accusation or a fact. Meanwhile, when a case involving insulting the Lord of the Worlds, or insulting His noble Prophet, or the Shari'ah of Islam arises, they understand well that this happened by mistake and in a state of confusion. This is all a reversal of the facts. If there were someone who disciplined these people once, twice, three times, and the news spread among such few in education and upbringing, you would not hear anyone falling into this verbal disbelief. So I want to bring this to our reality, with great regret, that there is no one who establishes the legal ruling on this open sinner. So what do we have against these people now? We have nothing except to remind them and inform them that this is disbelief. Do you mean what you say? We know that some disbelievers among the youth who were raised without religion may confront you with the reality by saying to you: "No Allah, no Islam, no such and such!!!!" This is the worst of what can be among the types of these open sinners. What can you do with him? Nothing. So you have, you have nothing but the good word, the advice, and reminding them that if you are truly a Muslim, it is not befitting for you to insult the Lord of the Worlds who created you and perfected you, and so on. Therefore, may Allah reward you, we must now focus on the dual reform: reform of the heart and the form, and not be enthusiastic saying, "This is disbelief, come kill him!" You will kill him, and you may be mistaken, because he may not have disbelieved in a way that makes his blood lawful, so you kill him, and in exchange for your killing him, the case may expand due to tribal or municipal reasons or the like. For this reason, we say that this detail is necessary to get rid of many problems, including this premature action.

The questioner : Does this include—may Allah reward you—what you mentioned regarding the wording of the hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim about the man whose camel was lost .

The Shaykh : Yes, this man said with his tongue what was not in his heart, but it is not hidden from all the attendees, especially from people like you, that there is a great difference between this, because this man, due to his distress, said this word of disbelief, but that one is due to his poor upbringing!

The questioner : I mean that the heart did not connect...

The Shaykh : Your meaning is completely understood, but I wanted to point out the difference.