What is the criterion for excusing ignorance in matters of worship?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you well, O honorable Shaykh. What is the criterion for excusing ignorance in matters of worship? Does every person who is ignorant of something in a matter of worship, especially in matters of independent legal reasoning, have the consequences of leaving that matter due to his ignorance lifted from him?
The Shaykh : The excuse of ignorance is established by the Qur'an and the Sunnah, by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-Baqarah 2:286], so Allah the Exalted said: , and by His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Ahzab 33:5], meaning: what your hearts intentionally did in a manner of opposing the Shari'ah.
Likewise, in the Sunnah, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) several cases that indicate the excuse of ignorance, among which is what is established in *Sahih al-Bukhari* from Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both):.
And among them is the hadith of 'Adi ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him):, and it was not the whiteness of the thread, which is the white rope, from the black one, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to repeat it.
Then Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said in His Book:[An-Nisa 4:165], and this indicates that if there are no messengers, then they have an argument against Allah, and likewise if they had messengers but did not know about them, because there is no difference between there being no messenger and there being a messenger about whom they did not know. And Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: [Al-Qasas 28:59], and the verses in this meaning are numerous.
For this reason, we say: every person who does something forbidden while ignorant of it, he has no sin upon him and no punishment is established for him, because Allah the Exalted is more merciful than to punish one who did not intentionally oppose Him and disobey Him. However, the consideration remains if a person is negligent in seeking the truth, such that he is careless, sees what people are doing and does it without investigating, then he may be sinful, indeed he is sinful for being negligent in seeking the truth, and he may not be excused in this case. And he may be excused if it did not occur to him that this action is a violation, and he has no scholar to alert him, in which case he is excused.
For this reason, the stronger position is that if a person lives in the desert far from the cities and does not fast Ramadan thinking that it is not obligatory, or if he has intercourse with his wife in Ramadan thinking that intercourse is lawful, then he has no making up of fasts because he is ignorant, and one of the conditions of being charged with the Shari'ah is that it be conveyed to the one charged so that he knows it. So the summary is that a person is excused by ignorance, but he may not be excused for his negligence in seeking the truth. Yes.
The Shaykh : The excuse of ignorance is established by the Qur'an and the Sunnah, by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred.
رَبَّنَا لا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَاHe has done so
قد فعلتAnd there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended
وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْLikewise, in the Sunnah, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) several cases that indicate the excuse of ignorance, among which is what is established in *Sahih al-Bukhari* from Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both):
That they broke their fast on a cloudy day during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then the sun appeared, and they were not ordered to make up the fast.
أنهم أفطروا في يوم غيم على عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم ثم طلعت الشمس ولم يُؤمروا بالقضاءAnd among them is the hadith of 'Adi ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him):
When he woke up fasting, he used to eat, and he had placed under his pillow two cords, one white and the other black, and he kept eating until the white cord became distinct from the black cord, so he stopped. He informed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) of this, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) explained to him that what was meant by that was the whiteness of the day and the darkness of the night.
حين أصبح صائما فكان يأكل وقد وضع تحت وسادته عقالين أحدهما أبيض والثاني أسود ، وجعل يأكل حتى تبين له العقال الأبيض من العقال الأسود فأمسك، فأخبر بذلك النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم ، فبين له النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم أن المراد بذلك بياض النهار وسواد الليلThen Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said in His Book:
[We sent] messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers
رُسُلاً مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِAnd never would your Lord have destroyed the cities until He had sent to their mother a messenger reciting to them Our verses. And We would not destroy the cities except while their people were wrongdoers.
وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ مُهْلِكَ الْقُرَى حَتَّى يَبْعَثَ فِي أُمِّهَا رَسُولاً يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِنَا وَمَا كُنَّا مُهْلِكِي الْقُرَى إِلَّا وَأَهْلُهَا ظَالِمُونَFor this reason, we say: every person who does something forbidden while ignorant of it, he has no sin upon him and no punishment is established for him, because Allah the Exalted is more merciful than to punish one who did not intentionally oppose Him and disobey Him. However, the consideration remains if a person is negligent in seeking the truth, such that he is careless, sees what people are doing and does it without investigating, then he may be sinful, indeed he is sinful for being negligent in seeking the truth, and he may not be excused in this case. And he may be excused if it did not occur to him that this action is a violation, and he has no scholar to alert him, in which case he is excused.
For this reason, the stronger position is that if a person lives in the desert far from the cities and does not fast Ramadan thinking that it is not obligatory, or if he has intercourse with his wife in Ramadan thinking that intercourse is lawful, then he has no making up of fasts because he is ignorant, and one of the conditions of being charged with the Shari'ah is that it be conveyed to the one charged so that he knows it. So the summary is that a person is excused by ignorance, but he may not be excused for his negligence in seeking the truth. Yes.