Okikiola Qasim
It is fervently established that whoever live long will see a lot of misinterpretations and the misconceptions of the deen (Islam). We will be talking of islamaphobia when we see non Muslims calling us names and even telling us that we will not inherit the paradise base on their creed that at time, Jesus was the son of God and at another time he was and still the God. This is very incontrovertible that Allah had decided their case in this world and the world beyond.
It would be an issue of concern when the Muslims “tekfur” themselves among one another not base on apostasy but base on methodology which is just on the basis of position upheld and cannot be presented as the view of the prophet in totality, that of the sahabah and/or the view of the acceptable scholars of Islam.
It is no more news that one of the advocates of no jamah (la jamah) a syndrome introduce by a set of Muslims to condemn and named everyone that has not imbibe their methodology as kafir not base on creed but on flimsy occurrences that need not to draw attention to, such as condemnation of gathering, raising the Issue of Muharram for the sisters to attend Islamic Programs in considerate of the fact that the worst situation is their being in school without their parents and/or guidance.
One of them has a court injunction pronounced on him this week regarding unnecessary criticism and condemnation of the book written on Nigeria Politics and Muslims and made a position that the scholar ought to have been massacred in the face of what he has written to enlighten the Muslims in Nigeria base on what is knowledge and our environment portrays.
Rasheed Mustapha a.k.a. Abu ibeji based in Ibadan, the leader of “Laajamah” group in Ibadan was sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction in Iwo to two month imprisonment without option of fine due to his position on many instances that Dr. Bilal Asrah is spreading bidiah and went to the extent of calling him kafir, and that he should be killed. The Doctor of the letter in Islamic Shariah from Saudi Arabia took this issue up in order to put to rest the daunted character of the group in naming everyone as kafir.
The issue took two year before the court now gave a final judgment on the case. It has to be stressed that Abu ibeji took a Muslim as his lawyer in the first instance who saw that the evidence before the court is too intimidating not for him to be jailed. The lawyer sought for settlement out of court. The respondent was not satisfied and went ahead to employ the service of another lawyer and this time around not a Muslim.
Upon realizing that the judge is a Muslim, the respondent request for the change of the judge with a position that the former was going to be biased and justice cannot be gotten from the quarter. This made the court to assent to the demand and eventually the judgment is now what is on the table for lessons to all of us.
The scholar like shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen was asked, “The conditions for the judgement of takfir of a Muslim? And the judgment upon the one who did any action that is mukaffir (i.e. expels from the religion) but only in jest (not seriously)?”
The Shaykh replied by saying, “For the judgment of the takfir of a Muslim, there are two conditions: The first, that the evidence that this matter is something that expels from the religion is established. The second, the application of the ruling upon the one who does that, in that he has knowledge of it and that he intends it (aaliman bidhaalik qaasidan lahu).
Thus, if he is ignorant, he does not become a disbeliever, due to His saying, “And whoever contends with the Messenger after the guidance has been made clear to him, and he follows a path other than the path of the believers, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen and land him in Jahannam, an evil refuge” (4:115) and His saying, “And Allaah is not one to misguide a people after He has guided them, until He explains to them that which they should avoid…” (9:115), and His saying, “And We never punish until we have sent a Messenger.” (17.15).
However, when this person is neglectful in abandoning learning and attaining clarity, he is not to be excused. Such as when it reaches him that this action of his is kufr, and then he does not verify it (that it is as such), and nor does he investigate, then in this situation, he is not to be excused.
And if he did not intend (ghayr qaasid) the action (i.e. wilfully, knowingly, deliberately), then he does not become a disbeliever. He does not become a disbeliever. Such as for example, when he is compelled to kufr while his heart is secure with Imaan, such as when his thinking becomes confused, so he does not know what he is saying, due to extreme joy and what is like that. Or such as the man with the camel who lost it, then he sat under the tree, waiting for death, and then he finds it tied to the tree, and so he takes it, then he said, “O Allaah, you are my servant and I am your lord”, so he erred due to extreme joy.
However, the one who did something that expels from the religion, only in jest (maazihan), then he becomes a disbeliever, because he intended that [action or statement] (qasada dhaalik), as has been textually stated by the people of knowledge.” (Majmoo al-Fataawaa, 2/125-126).
Takfir or the condemnation of a Muslim by another Muslim as a kafir is strictly prohibited in the Quran, the Hadith, and the writings of many eminent Muslim authorities.
According to the Quran,
tif a person says assalamu alaikum to us to indicate that he is a Muslim, we cannot say to him “you are not a believer.’’ (4:94)
The second thing we learn from this verse is that if, from among a non-Muslim people, a person addresses us by assalamu alaikum, that is sufficient proof that he is a Muslim. When such incidents took place during the Holy Prophet’s life-time, sometimes it was suspected by some Muslims that such a person was not sincere. But the Holy Prophet would say to them: “Did you tear open his heart to see what was in it?’’
Thirdly, the verse cited above goes on to say: “You yourselves were like this before.’’ That is, you too embraced Islam in this way, so what was sufficient for you is sufficient for them.
In the hadith Ibn Umar related that the Holy Prophet said: If a Muslim calls another kafir, then if he is a kafir let it be so; otherwise, he [the caller] is himself a kafir.’’)
Abu Zarr reported that the Holy Prophet said: No man accuses another man of being a sinner, or of being a kafir, but it reflects back on him if the other is not as he called him.’’ (Bukhari, Book of Ethics; Book 78, ch. 44)
The teaching contained in these hadith is meant to stop Muslims from dubbing each other as sinners and kafirs.
“Withhold [your tongues] from those who say `There is no god but Allah’ — do not call them kafir. Whoever calls a reciter of `There is no god but Allah’ as a kafir, is nearer to being a kafir himself.’’ (Tabarani, reported from Ibn Umar)
Call not the people of your Qibla [i.e. those who face the Ka`ba in Makka for prayer] as kafir.’’ “Nothing expels a man from faith except the denial of that by which he entered into it [i.e. the Kalima].’’
“Three things are the basis of faith. [One is] to withhold from one who says `There is no god but Allah’ — do not call him kafir for any sin, nor expel him from Islam for any misconduct.’’
There are many other hadith prohibiting that the “people of the Qibla’’ be dubbed as kafir. Such a great sin is it that the Holy Prophet issued the warning:
“Whoever attributes kufr [unbelief] to a believer, he is like his murderer.’’ (Tirmizi, ch. Iman (Faith);
Takfir of Muslims is also prohibited in the standard, classical works of Islamic law (fiqh) and creed (`aqa’id) accepted by the Ahl as-Sunna.
“And among the doctrines of the Ahl as-Sunna is that none of the people of the Qibla can be called kafir.’’ (Sharh `Aqa’id Nasfi, p. 121)
Regarding Imam Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi system of Islamic law, which has more followers than any other system in Islam, it is written: “He did not call as kafir anyone from among the people of the Qibla.’’
He said: “Nothing expels a man from faith except the denial of that which made him enter it.’’ (Rad al-Mukhtar, vol. iii, p. 310)
“It is extremely serious to expel a Muslim from the faith.’’
“A ruling of takfir against a Muslim should not be given if it is possible to interpret his words in a favorable manner.’’
“As for statements of takfir found in books of rulings (fatwa), these are not proof if the authors are unknown and the arguments are missing, because in matters of faith, beliefs depend on conclusive proof, and the takfir of a Muslim is attended with troubles of all sorts.’’
Allama Sayyid Jalal-ud-Din wrote: “The takfir of people of the Qibla is itself an act of unbelief.’’ Ibn Abu Hamra, a saint, wrote: “It has already been stated that the rule of the Ahl Sunna is that they do not call kafir, or consider as going to hell eternally, anyone who is of the people of the Qibla.’’
“The Imams have made it clear that if there is any ground for not issuing takfir, a ruling of takfir should not be made, even if that ground is weak.’’
“Some prejudiced persons from the Asharis call the Hanbalis as kafir, and some Hanbalis call the Asharis as kafir. But their calling each other kafir is not right because the belief of the trustworthy Imams of the Hanafis, Shafi`is, Hanbalis, and the Asharis, is that none of the people of the Qibla can be called a kafir.’’
“The generality of the theologians and the jurists are agreed that none of the people of the Qibla can be called a kafir.
aja Mir Dard (d. 1785 C.E.), wrote: “We do not call kafir anyone of the people of the Qibla, even though he may be following falsehood or novel beliefs in most matters, because the acceptance of the oneness of God, and the affirmation of the prophet hood of Muhammad, and the turning to the Qibla, do not expel them from faith as such. So he would be of those who follow later inventions and falsehood from among the Muslims. The Holy Prophet said: `Withhold in the matter of the people of the Qibla, that you do not call them kafir’.’’
If these could be the position of the Islamic scholars then, in my opinion, we should work on the best side of one and other and tolerate others with their levels of faith.
I rest my case
