Is ignorance an excuse for a group whose lack of knowledge prevails over them and whose gatherings are dominated by backbiting and talebearing?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : And their worship is shrouded in ignorance and lack of knowledge, and their gatherings are shrouded in backbiting and talebearing. Are these people excused by ignorance?
The Shaykh : First, do not say "ghaybah" (backbiting) but rather "al-ghibah" (the backbiting). Second, they are not excused by ignorance, because this is one of the common rulings known to all Muslims that it is not permissible.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The excuse of ignorance applies to matters that are hidden from all but a select few, or to matters that may not be hidden from the general public, but where the Muslim is a stranger in his land, such as those who enter Islam recently in lands of disbelief.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : One of them may live there drinking intoxicants, having become a Muslim, but not knowing that drinking intoxicants is forbidden, in which case he is excused.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for one who lives in the lands of Islam, where the rulings are known to the general Muslim population, and he is ignorant of them, as I have been told about some people and some women: that they pray while in a state of major ritual impurity. Why? He said: He does not know that when one is in a state of major ritual impurity, he must perform the full ritual bath! This person is not excused!
The Shaykh : First, do not say "ghaybah" (backbiting) but rather "al-ghibah" (the backbiting). Second, they are not excused by ignorance, because this is one of the common rulings known to all Muslims that it is not permissible.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The excuse of ignorance applies to matters that are hidden from all but a select few, or to matters that may not be hidden from the general public, but where the Muslim is a stranger in his land, such as those who enter Islam recently in lands of disbelief.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : One of them may live there drinking intoxicants, having become a Muslim, but not knowing that drinking intoxicants is forbidden, in which case he is excused.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for one who lives in the lands of Islam, where the rulings are known to the general Muslim population, and he is ignorant of them, as I have been told about some people and some women: that they pray while in a state of major ritual impurity. Why? He said: He does not know that when one is in a state of major ritual impurity, he must perform the full ritual bath! This person is not excused!
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.