The issue of excusing ignorance in matters of creed?
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Question:
The listener Sa'id Ramadan sent a message containing a single question, in which he asks: Is there an excuse of ignorance in tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) and tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), or not? And is the excuse of ignorance a matter of analogical reasoning that varies according to time and place?
Answer:
In creed—tawhid al-rububiyyah, al-uluhiyyah, and the names and attributes—there is no excuse. Rather, it is obligatory for the believer to hold the correct creed, to affirm the oneness of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), and to believe that He is the Lord of all worlds, the Creator, the All-Knowing, and that He is unique in His lordship, with no creator other than Him. He is the sole one worthy of worship, apart from everything else, and He possesses the most beautiful names and the highest attributes, with no one like Him and no one equal to Him.
He must believe in this, and he has no excuse for being lax in this matter, except if he is far from the Muslims in a land where the revelation does not reach him. In that case, he is excused, and his affair is left to Allah. His ruling is the ruling of the people of the intervals (ahl al-fatarat). His affair is left to Allah on the Day of Resurrection; he will be tested. If he answers with a correct answer, he will enter Paradise. If he answers with a defective answer, he will enter the Fire.
The point is that this varies. If he is in a remote place where he does not hear the Qur'an and the Sunnah, then his ruling is the ruling of the people of the intervals. According to the scholars, their ruling is that they will be tested on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever answers correctly will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys will enter the Fire.
As for being among the Muslims, hearing the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and then remaining in shirk (associating partners with Allah) and denying the attributes, he is not excused. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
The presenter: In his final question, he asks Your Eminence, the Shaykh: Is the excuse of ignorance a matter of analogical reasoning that varies from time to time and from place to place?
The Shaykh: It does not vary. No, ignorance is not an excuse regarding creed, except if he is in a place where the call has not reached him, neither the Qur'an nor the Sunnah.
As for rulings, it is an excuse if he is ignorant of the Islamic ruling in some rulings that may be obscure, or in the details of the attributes, some attributes that may be obscure. This is an excuse. But in clear matters, matters that are known by necessity, such as believing in the oneness of Allah, that He is the Creator, the All-Knowing, that He is worthy of worship, and that He is perfect in His names and attributes, and believing in what came in the great Qur'an and the pure Sunnah regarding the names of Allah and His attributes, this is not a place for excuse if he is among those to whom the Qur'an and the Sunnah have reached. We ask Allah for safety.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.
The listener Sa'id Ramadan sent a message containing a single question, in which he asks: Is there an excuse of ignorance in tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) and tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), or not? And is the excuse of ignorance a matter of analogical reasoning that varies according to time and place?
Answer:
In creed—tawhid al-rububiyyah, al-uluhiyyah, and the names and attributes—there is no excuse. Rather, it is obligatory for the believer to hold the correct creed, to affirm the oneness of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), and to believe that He is the Lord of all worlds, the Creator, the All-Knowing, and that He is unique in His lordship, with no creator other than Him. He is the sole one worthy of worship, apart from everything else, and He possesses the most beautiful names and the highest attributes, with no one like Him and no one equal to Him.
He must believe in this, and he has no excuse for being lax in this matter, except if he is far from the Muslims in a land where the revelation does not reach him. In that case, he is excused, and his affair is left to Allah. His ruling is the ruling of the people of the intervals (ahl al-fatarat). His affair is left to Allah on the Day of Resurrection; he will be tested. If he answers with a correct answer, he will enter Paradise. If he answers with a defective answer, he will enter the Fire.
The point is that this varies. If he is in a remote place where he does not hear the Qur'an and the Sunnah, then his ruling is the ruling of the people of the intervals. According to the scholars, their ruling is that they will be tested on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever answers correctly will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys will enter the Fire.
As for being among the Muslims, hearing the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and then remaining in shirk (associating partners with Allah) and denying the attributes, he is not excused. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
The presenter: In his final question, he asks Your Eminence, the Shaykh: Is the excuse of ignorance a matter of analogical reasoning that varies from time to time and from place to place?
The Shaykh: It does not vary. No, ignorance is not an excuse regarding creed, except if he is in a place where the call has not reached him, neither the Qur'an nor the Sunnah.
As for rulings, it is an excuse if he is ignorant of the Islamic ruling in some rulings that may be obscure, or in the details of the attributes, some attributes that may be obscure. This is an excuse. But in clear matters, matters that are known by necessity, such as believing in the oneness of Allah, that He is the Creator, the All-Knowing, that He is worthy of worship, and that He is perfect in His names and attributes, and believing in what came in the great Qur'an and the pure Sunnah regarding the names of Allah and His attributes, this is not a place for excuse if he is among those to whom the Qur'an and the Sunnah have reached. We ask Allah for safety.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.