What are the conditions for declaring a specific person a disbeliever, and what are the impediments?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The questioner asks: What are the conditions for declaring a specific Muslim a disbeliever? And what are the impediments?
The Shaykh : The conditions for declaring a specific man a disbeliever:
First: that the argument be established against him. If the argument is not established against him, it is not permissible to declare him a disbeliever, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:[An-Nisa 4:163] up to His saying [An-Nisa 4:165], and because He said: [Al-Isra 17:15]. However, if the argument reaches him and he opposes it and is stubborn in his adherence to his school of thought, then this ignorance does not benefit him; rather, he is obligated to submit to the argument. Because if we were to accept such an excuse, if we were to accept an excuse like this, then those who said: [Az-Zukhruf 43:22] would be correct, and Allah has invalidated this argument.
The second condition: that he intends what results in his being declared a disbeliever. If he does not intend it, he is not declared a disbeliever.
The evidence for this is what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): So his saying: "O Allah, You are my slave and I am your Lord," there is no doubt that this is disbelief, because the slave is the human being and the Lord is Allah. So when he reversed the matter and said: "O Allah, You are my slave and I am your Lord," he committed disbelief. But this man was not declared a disbeliever. Why? Because he made a mistake due to extreme joy, so he did not intend disbelief.
This also happens in the case of forgetfulness. A person may forget and something that is disbelief may slip from his tongue, but without intention. So this also does not make him a disbeliever. So what is the condition for declaring a specific person a disbeliever? That the argument be established against him, and second: that he intends it. If the argument is not established against him, he is not declared a disbeliever. Likewise, if he does not intend it, he is not declared a disbeliever.
If someone were to say: What do you say about the saying of the Exalted:[At-Tawbah 9:65-66] So Allah declared these people disbelievers, even though they were mocking and not saying this in earnest?
The answer to that is that we say: These people intended the word of disbelief while mocking Allah, so disbelief became incumbent upon them, unlike the man who did not intend disbelief at all. For this reason, the scholars said: If a person does what makes him a disbeliever, he is a disbeliever, whether he did it in earnest or in jest.
If someone were to say: What do you say about one who is forced into disbelief? Is he declared a disbeliever or not? The answer is: He is not declared a disbeliever if his heart is reassured with faith, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nahl 16:106].
The Shaykh : The conditions for declaring a specific man a disbeliever:
First: that the argument be established against him. If the argument is not established against him, it is not permissible to declare him a disbeliever, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:
Indeed, We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him
إنا أوحينا إليك كما أوحينا إلى نوح والنبيين من بعده[We sent] messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers
رسلا مبشرين ومنذرين لئلا يكون للناس على الله حجّة بعد الرسلAnd never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وما كنا معذّبين حتى نبعث رسولاIndeed, we found our fathers upon a religion
إنا وجدنا آباءنا على أمّةThe second condition: that he intends what results in his being declared a disbeliever. If he does not intend it, he is not declared a disbeliever.
The evidence for this is what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
that Allah the Exalted is more joyful with the repentance of His slave than a man who was on his mount, and on it was his food and drink, so he lost it—meaning: he lost it—so he sought it but did not find it, until when he despaired of it, he slept under a tree waiting for death. So when he woke up, he found the rein of his camel hanging from the tree, so he said: "O Allah, You are my slave and I am your Lord." He made a mistake due to extreme joy
من أن الله تعالى أشد فرحا بتوبة عبده من رجل كان على راحلته وعليها طعامه وشرابه، فأضلها _يعني: أضاعها_ فطلبها فلم يجدها، حتى إذا أيس منها نام تحت شجرة ينتظر الموت، فلما استيقظ إذا بخطام ناقته متعلقا بالشجرة، فقال: اللهم أنت عبدي وأنا ربك، أخطأ من شدّة الفرحThis also happens in the case of forgetfulness. A person may forget and something that is disbelief may slip from his tongue, but without intention. So this also does not make him a disbeliever. So what is the condition for declaring a specific person a disbeliever? That the argument be established against him, and second: that he intends it. If the argument is not established against him, he is not declared a disbeliever. Likewise, if he does not intend it, he is not declared a disbeliever.
If someone were to say: What do you say about the saying of the Exalted:
(65) And if you ask them, they will surely say, "We were only conversing and playing." Say, "Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?" (66) Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief. If We pardon one faction of you - We will punish another faction because they were criminals.
ولئن سألتهم ليقولن إنما كنا نخوض ونلعب قل أبالله وآياته ورسوله كنتم تستهزؤون لا تعتذروا قد كفرتم بعد إيمانكمThe answer to that is that we say: These people intended the word of disbelief while mocking Allah, so disbelief became incumbent upon them, unlike the man who did not intend disbelief at all. For this reason, the scholars said: If a person does what makes him a disbeliever, he is a disbeliever, whether he did it in earnest or in jest.
If someone were to say: What do you say about one who is forced into disbelief? Is he declared a disbeliever or not? The answer is: He is not declared a disbeliever if his heart is reassured with faith, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: