The disbelievers, the open sinners, the wrongdoers: Do these three descriptions apply to a single described person, or do they vary depending on the person described?

The Shaykh : The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed on whether these three descriptions apply to a single described person or whether they vary depending on the person described. Among the judges who rule by other than what Allah has revealed, some we say are disbelievers, some we say are wrongdoers, and some we say are open sinners. Did you understand the difference between the two positions? The first position says that these three descriptions apply to a single described person; so whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed is a disbeliever, a wrongdoer, and an open sinner. Clear, right? The second position says that these descriptions apply according to the varying circumstances of the judge. So among the judges, some we say, "You are a disbeliever," and some we say, "You are a wrongdoer," and we do not say, "You are a disbeliever," and some we say, "You are an open sinner," and we do not say, "You are a wrongdoer" or "You are a disbeliever." Do you understand the difference now? Those who said that they are descriptions of a single described person said, "We have evidence. Allah described the disbelievers as wrongdoers, saying: And He described them as open sinners, saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, in Surat al-Sajdah: In contrast to the believers. This indicates that open sinfulness and wrongdoing are descriptions of the disbeliever, so the three descriptions are descriptions of a single described person. As for those who said that they are descriptions of multiple people according to what the ruling requires, they said: Whoever judges by other than what Allah has revealed while believing that it is like Allah's ruling, or better, or who establishes a law for the people that contradicts Allah's law and compels the people to judge by it, is a disbeliever. Because in the first case, he lied about the statement of Allah the Exalted: saying that his ruling is better than Allah's ruling. And in the second case, he replaced Allah's religion with another religion, meaning another methodology, meaning he removed the religion, removed Allah's ruling, and placed a tyrannical law in its stead. So he became a disbeliever because he was not pleased with Allah's ruling. As for the one described as a wrongdoer, he is the one who judges by other than what Allah has revealed while believing that Allah's ruling is the truth, but he wants to take revenge on a specific person, so he rules against him. This does not make him a disbeliever because he believes that Allah's ruling is the truth and better than others, but he has something against the one being judged; he wants to wrong him and take revenge on him. We say he is a wrongdoer, and we do not say he is a disbeliever. The third one, who is described as an open sinner, does not want to commit wrongdoing, nor does he want to replace anything with Allah's religion, but he wants to follow his own desire. So he is an open sinner and not a wrongdoer, because he did not wrong anyone and did not intend to wrong anyone, but he has a desire in himself. He wanted to judge as if there were disputes over lands, and he ruled in favor of a relative, even though the land did not belong to anyone, but legally, for example, it was not owned. But he ruled in favor of his relative. I mean a law supported by the Shari'ah, not one devoid of the Shari'ah. So we say he is an open sinner, not a wrongdoer and not a disbeliever. Even though every open sinner is a wrongdoer in the general sense, because the open sinner has wronged himself, but when multiple descriptions gathered for the one who does not judge by what Allah has revealed, it became necessary to apply this classification. And there is no doubt that this meaning, or this position, is undoubtedly more precise than the first position. Did you understand the first one?