Answer: Praise be to Allah.
The Sahabah, Tabi’een and the Ahlus Sunnah who came after them were unanimously agreed that whoever says or does something which is blatantly Kuffr is a Kaafir, without any need to show that he believes it to be permissible.
The scholars agreed that Kuffr may take the form of denying, disbelieving or turning away.
This may be a verbal action, such as insulting Allah or His Messenger (saws),or mocking the religion and its rulings; or it may be a physical action, such as prostrating to idols, circumambulating graves, or offering sacrifices to the jinn and idols.
Or it may be an act of omission, such as not doing a certain kind of action at all. Ishaq ibn Taahawayh and others narrated that the Sahabah were agreed that the one who does not pray deliberately is a Kaafir. It was narrated in Sahih Muslim via Ibn Jurayj from Abu’l-Zubayr al-Makki from Jabir that the Prophet (saws) said, “Between a man and ash shirk or al-Kuffr there stands his neglecting the prayer.”
The use of the definite article – al - here indicates
that Major Kuffr (al-Kuffr al-Akbar) is being referred to. But there
are some differences among the A’immah of the Madhahib concerning
the Kuffr of one who does not pray. Some said that he does not become
a Kaafir in a complete sense so long as he does not deny that prayer
is obligatory.
Others said that he is guilty of major Kuffr, because there was consensus among the Sahabah on that point, although there were differences as to the point at which he becomes guilty of Kuffr by not praying. Some said that he is a Kaafir is he neglects to pray one prayer until the time for it is over; others said that he is not a Kaafir unless he neglects prayer completely.
To sum up, Ahlus Sunnah do not regard a person as a Kaafir for general sins or for every sin, as the Khawarij and Mu’tazilah said when they denounced people as Kuffar for major sins. They regarded as sins some things that are not sins, and applied the rulings of Kuffr in such cases. Sometimes they would condemn people for the apparent meaning of their words (i.e., they were too quick to judge). This is what many of the later Khawarij and Mu’tazilah do, because when judging people they do not differentiate between the action and the person, or between one issue and another. They may denounce as a Kaafir anyone who does not agree with them in these deviations. They were described by the Messenger of Allah (saws), “They kill the people of Islam and leave alone the people who worship idols.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
The Ahlus Sunnah tread a middle path between the Khawarij and the Murjiah. They do not denounce those who commit major sins as Kuffar, so long as they do not believe their actions to be permissible. Neither do they agree with the view of the Murjiah, that sin does not undermine a person’s faith at all, and that no one can be denounced as a Kaafir unless he is known to believe that his action is permitted. This is false according to the Qur’an, Sunnah and scholarly consensus (Ijmaa’). So anyone who insults Allah or His Messenger (saws) is a Kaafir, with no need to show that he believes his action to be permissible. Scholarly consensus on this point was narrated by more than one scholar. Ishaq ibn Raahawayh said that the scholars were unanimously agreed that whoever insults Allah, may He be glorified, or slanders His Messenger (saws), or rejects anything that Allah has revealed, or kills one of the Prophets of Allah – even if he believes in that which Allah has revealed – is a Kaafir.
And Allah knows best.
Others said that he is guilty of major Kuffr, because there was consensus among the Sahabah on that point, although there were differences as to the point at which he becomes guilty of Kuffr by not praying. Some said that he is a Kaafir is he neglects to pray one prayer until the time for it is over; others said that he is not a Kaafir unless he neglects prayer completely.
To sum up, Ahlus Sunnah do not regard a person as a Kaafir for general sins or for every sin, as the Khawarij and Mu’tazilah said when they denounced people as Kuffar for major sins. They regarded as sins some things that are not sins, and applied the rulings of Kuffr in such cases. Sometimes they would condemn people for the apparent meaning of their words (i.e., they were too quick to judge). This is what many of the later Khawarij and Mu’tazilah do, because when judging people they do not differentiate between the action and the person, or between one issue and another. They may denounce as a Kaafir anyone who does not agree with them in these deviations. They were described by the Messenger of Allah (saws), “They kill the people of Islam and leave alone the people who worship idols.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
The Ahlus Sunnah tread a middle path between the Khawarij and the Murjiah. They do not denounce those who commit major sins as Kuffar, so long as they do not believe their actions to be permissible. Neither do they agree with the view of the Murjiah, that sin does not undermine a person’s faith at all, and that no one can be denounced as a Kaafir unless he is known to believe that his action is permitted. This is false according to the Qur’an, Sunnah and scholarly consensus (Ijmaa’). So anyone who insults Allah or His Messenger (saws) is a Kaafir, with no need to show that he believes his action to be permissible. Scholarly consensus on this point was narrated by more than one scholar. Ishaq ibn Raahawayh said that the scholars were unanimously agreed that whoever insults Allah, may He be glorified, or slanders His Messenger (saws), or rejects anything that Allah has revealed, or kills one of the Prophets of Allah – even if he believes in that which Allah has revealed – is a Kaafir.
And Allah knows best.
[Answered by Shaykh Sulayman Al ‘Alwan (fakk Allahu asrah)]
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