Declaring Apostasy (Takfir) on Muslims-Part I
Bismi Allahi Alrahmani Alrahim
by Ustadh Luqman al-Andalusi
Kafir (Arabic: كافر kāfir; plural كفّار kuffār) is a term used in an Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as “unbeliever” or “disbeliever” or sometimes “infidel.” The term refers to a person who rejects God or who hides, denies, or “covers” the truth.
The Protection of being under the Banner of ‘La Ilaha Illa’Allah, Muhammadur Rasul Allah’
[1] Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari reported: I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “Who are the most excellent among the Muslims?” He said, “One from whose tongue and hands the other Muslims are secure.” [Sahih Bukhari and Muslim]
[2] It is narrated on the authority of Abu Malik: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “He who testified that there is no god but Allah and made a denial of everything which the people worship beside Allah, his property and blood become inviolable, and their affairs rest with Allah.” [Sahih Muslim]
[3] Shaykh Abdullahi ibn Fodio said, “Among one of the signs of those that follow the Sunnah are having compassion for the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ by striving to ensure their welfare and repelling harm from them…” [Signs of those who follow the Sunnah]
[4] Shaykh Uthman ibn Fodio said, “The judgment of one’s faith is built upon the outward in this world in accordance with the Book [Qur’an], the Sunnah and the Consensus [ijma] of the Scholars. Allah says, “Do not say to those who give you the greetings of peace: ‘You are not a believer.” [Ihyas’ Sunnah wa Ikhmadul’ Bida‘]
[5] “And among the doctrines of the Ahl as-Sunna is that none of the people of the Qibla (direction of the Kaba in Mecca) can be called a Kafir.” [Sharh An-Nasafi]
[6] It is narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, “O Mu’adh ibn Jabal! No one witnesses that there is no God except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah truthfully from his heart except that Allah has made him unlawful for the Fire.” Mu`adh said: “O Messenger of Allah, shall I not tell the people so that they will be glad?” He replied: “If you do, they will rely on it [and leave everything else].” [Sahih Muslim, Imam Ahmad, Al-Bayhaqi] Imam Muslim in his explanation of the above hadith says, “Mu’adh narrated it at the time of his death to avoid sinning [by keeping it to himself].”
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar in his explanation said, “the hadith of “Allah forbids the Fire from touching him” are even more explicit than those of “Allah will enter him into Paradise” in establishing that the one who declares the oneness of Allah is saved even if he does not heed the orders and the prohibitions. [Fath Al-Bari]
[7] Abu Darda [ra] reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever says there is no God but Allah enters Paradise even if he commits adultery and even if he steals [i.e. even if he commits great sins].” [An-Nasa’i, At-Tabarani]
Verbal Testimony is Sufficient; it is Not to be Questioned Even if There is Doubt Concerning the Person
[8] Usama ibn Zayd [ra] said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent us on an expedtion and we made a surprise attack at dawn on al-Huruqat in the lands of Juwayna. I caught up with a man, and he said, “There is no god but Allah,” and I ran him through. I later had afterthoughts, and mentioned it to the Prophet ﷺ who said, “He said ‘There is no god but Allah,’ and you killed him?” and I replied, “O Messenger of Allah, he only said it out of fear of the weapon.” He said, “Why didn’t you split him open to see if his heart really said it or not?”—and he kept repeating this till I wished I had not become a Muslim before that day. [Sahih Muslim]
Imam an-Nawawi said “One must attest to the well known principle of Fiqh and legal methodology that rulings are based upon outward evidence, while Allah is responsible for the inward.” [Sharh Sahih Muslim]
[9] The great scholar of `aqeedah, Shaykh Muhammad As-Sanusi said, “Verily a human is well aware of his own soul, no one other than himself will be asked about it. As for others, a person’s share is only ignorance of the condition of the souls of others and he can never be certain concerning them with regard to their inward state. The exception to this was only when the Lawgiver testified concerning someone with something, and then the person was judged by that. For only Allah and His Messenger knows best.” He then said, “There is no way for us to have an evil opinion of the faith of anyone of the Muslims, whether he be among the common or not. This is because the place of knowledge is the heart. The only exception is when there manifest upon the tongue of a person that which gives evidence of what he conceals of his corrupt beliefs. Then in that case it is obligatory to be kind towards him by teaching him and assisting him as much as possible.” [Al-Wusta]
[10] Abd as-Salaam ibn Ibrahim al-Laqani said, “The iman which is sufficient in this world is verbal attestation [al-iqraar] only. For whoever makes the verbal attestation, then the judgment of Islam applies to him in this world and no one can judge him as a disbeliever except if there is connected to him some condition which gives evidence of his disbelief; like prostrating to idols for example.” [Itihaf al-Murid Bi Jawharat’ Tawhid]
Major Sins Don’t Take One Out of Islam
[11] ‘Abdullah ibn Masud [ra] said: When the words “It is those who believe and confuse not their Belief with Zulm [wrong]…” were revealed, the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were distressed and asked, “Who among us has not wronged himself?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “It is not as you think; rather it is shirk. Have you not heard what Luqman said to his son when exhorting him: ‘O my son! Join not in worship others with Allah. Verily, joining others in worship with Allah is a great Zulm [wrong] indeed’ [Qur’an, 31:13]?” [Bukhari and Muslim]
Imam An-Nawawi said: “This hadith contains a wealth of knowledge, such as the fact that sins, even if major, do not constitute kufr.” [Sharh Sahih Muslim]
[12] Imam Al-Bukhari is known to have held this belief as he said in Kitabul‘ Iman in his Sahih, “Sins are the matter of ignorance [jahiliyyah], but the sinner who commits them does not become an unbeliever [kafir] except in the case of shirk, because the Prophet ﷺ said “You are a man in whom there is some jahiliyyah” and Allah says: “Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him [in worship], but He forgives except that [anything else] to whom He wills.” [Qur’an, 4:48]
Even if One Committed Major Sins, We Have the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
[14] Abu Hurayrah [ra] inquired from the Prophet ﷺ, “O Messenger of Allah, who will be the most fortunate of people to receive your intercession on the Day of Resurrection?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied: “O Abu Hurayra, I knew, because of your love of what I say, that no one other than you would ask me of this hadith. The most fortunate of people to receive my intercession on the Day of Resurrection are those who said: La ilaha illa Allah purely and sincerely from the heart.” [Sahih Bukhari]
[15] Ibn Abi Shaiba,Imam Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Hakim narrate on the authority of Abi bin Ka’ab [ra] that the Prophet ﷺ said, “On the day of Reckoning, I will be the Leader, Spokesperson and Intercessor of the Prophets and I do not say this with any pride.” [Sunan Ibn Majah]
[16] Abdullah ibn Umar [ra] narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, “My Intercession is for those in my Ummah, who have committed major sins.” [Sunan Ibn Majah]
[17] Abdullah bin Umar [ra] reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Almighty Allah gave me the choice of either intercession or taking half my Ummah into Jannat. I took intercession for it is that which will be of more use and more needed. Do you think that my intercession is for those who are pure Muslims? No, but my intercession is for those sinners that are covered in sin and wrong.” [Musnad of Imam Ahmad, Sunan ibn Majah]
The main proofs for the permissibility of the intercession of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are the following verses of the Quran, “Who should intercede with him, except by his permission?” and “there is no intercessor save after His permission,” and “they will have no power of intercession, save him who has made a covenant with his Lord.” [This all pertains to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ] But this is not the subject of the topic at hand.
How One Handles the Accusation of Kufr
[18] `Ubayd Allah ibn `Umar [ra], from Nafi` who reported that a man said to Ibn `Umar: “I have a neighbor who bears witness against me that I commit shirk.” He replied: “Say: ‘La Ilaha illa Allah,’ you will make him a liar.”
[19] Sawwar ibn Shabib al-A`raji also reported that he was sitting in Ibn Umar’s house when a man came and said: “O Ibn Umar! There are groups of people bearing witness against us and attributing to us kufr and shirk.” Ibn Umar replied: “Woe to you! Did you not say: ‘La Ilaha Ill Allah’?!” Whereupon the entire household began to say La ilaha illa Allah until the house was shaking.
[20] Al-Miqdad said, I asked, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, suppose I and one of the idolaters battled and he cut off my hand, then I was positioned to strike him and he said ‘La iaha illa Allah!’ Do I kill him or spare him?” He said: “Spare him.” I said: “Even if he cut off my hand?” He said: “Even so.” I asked him again two or three times whereupon he said: “If you kill him after he says La ilaha ill Allah then you are like him before he said it, and he is like you before you killed him.” [Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i, Imam Shafi`i in his Musnad, and Al-Bayhaqi in the Shu`ab]
