"There is no action, which takes a person outside Islam unless..."

Question: “Can we say about a person that he is a Murji due to his saying, ‘There is no action, which takes a person outside Islam unless it is accompanied with Juhood or Istihlaal,’ while at the same time he says, ‘Imaan is sayings and actions and beliefs?’” 

Answer: The principle when labeling a person a being a Khariji or a Murji or a Mu’tazili or other than that, is that his Usool are the Usool of that Mathhab. An example of that is if a person says, ‘I believe that Imaan is sayings and actions and beliefs, but I also say that the actions – there is nothing from them that is Kuffr except that which is based upon Juhood or Istihlaal or something like that.’ This man took an ‘Asl from the Usool of the people of Irjaa, even if he says, ‘I believe that Imaan is sayings and actions,’ because this belief is not correct and not established in his heart. And that is because if he truly believed that Imaan is sayings and actions and beliefs, then he would have declared the Kuffr of the one who abandons the actions because there is no difference of opinion among Ahlus-Sunnah that Tawheed is sayings and beliefs and actions. So if he truly believed that Tawheed was sayings, beliefs and actions, then why does he not make Takfeer to the one who abandons the actions? And for this, Shaykhul Islam Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhab in “Kashf ash-Shubuhaat” – in its conclusion – he said, ‘There is no difference of opinion that the Tawheed must be in the heart and upon the tongue and the actions. And if any of those were absent, then the man would not be a Muslim. So if he knows Tawheed but does not act upon it, then he is a stubborn Kaafir, such as fir’awn and iblees and the likes of them. And this is the general thing of most of the people. They say, ‘This is true, and we understand this and we bear witness that it is correct; however, we are unable to perform it and it is not allowed amongst the people of our country except for us to comply with them,’ or other than that from their excuses. And this poor person does not know that most of the leaders of Kuffr know the truth and they did not abandon it except for something of the excuses like He, the Most High said: 
"They purchased with the Ayaat of Allah a miserable gain…"

Mankind divided into 3 groups !

Know – may Allah have mercy upon you – that since Allah sent Muhammad (saws) and honored him with Hijrah and victory, mankind has divided into three groups: the Mu’mineen (believers), who are those who believe in him inwardly (in the heart) and outwardly (in words and deeds); the Kuffaar (disbelievers), those who disbelieve in him outwardly, and the Munafiqeen (hypocrites), those who believe in him outwardly but not inwardly. In this regards, Allah commenced Surah al-Baqarah with four Ayaat describing the believers, two describing the disbelievers, and thirteen describing the Munafiqeen.

Imaan (belief), Kuffr (disbelief), and Nifaq (hypocrisy) each have pillars and branches, as proven by the Book and the Sunnah and as explained by ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (ra) in a narration reported from him. Nifaq includes major nifaq, which causes one to be in the lowest level of Hellfire. This is like the nifaq of ‘Abdullah Ibn Ubayy and others and it includes belying the Messenger (saws), rejecting part of what he brought, hating him, not believing it to be obligatory to follow him, reveling in the losses suffered by his Deen, or becoming upset over victories for his Deen, and similar traits only held by the enemies of Allah and His Messenger (saws). This form of nifaq existed during the life of the Messenger (saws) and it continues to exist thereafter, even more so, since the causes of Imaan were stronger in his time. If nifaq existed despite the strength of Imaan then, it is more likely to exist in later times. This is major nifaq, from which we seek refuge with Allah.

As for minor nifaq, then it is hypocrisy in one’s own actions, like lying when speaking, going back on one’s promise, or betraying trusts, as is famously reported from the Prophet (saws), that he said, “The signs of the Munafiq – even if he does Salaah, fasts, and claims to be a Muslim – are three: When he speaks, he lies, when he promises, he goes back on his promise, and when he is entrusted, he betrays the trust.” [Muslim from Abu Hurayrah] Included in this category is the abandonment of Jihaad, as this is a trait of the Munafiqeen, as he (saws) said, “Whoever dies without having fought nor having incited himself to fight, dies upon a trait of nifaq.” [Muslim from Abu Hurayrah]

Summary on Excuse of Ignorance (‘Uthur bil Jahl) !

 

Question: Would it be possible for you, may Allah preserve you, to mention for us a short summary regarding the issue of “excuse of ignorance” (in major shirk)? 

Answer: Excuse of ignorance is differed upon into three sayings: 

١. Those who give excuse of ignorance completely (in all cases). 

٢. Those who don’t excuse the people with ignorance in Tawheed, completely, regardless if it was regarding the asma (applying the name of mushrik upon him) in this world or the hukm in the Afterlife, so they consider him to be in the hellfire eternally, even if the Risalah (Message) didn’t reach him, and they used the first covenant (fitrah) as proof. 

٣. And this is the correct view, that there are some ignorance which can be excused, and other which isn’t: 

A) So it would be excused in the Masa’il al-Khafiyyah (Hidden/Unclear Matters), such as Qadar, Imaan, Attributes and in the likes of the apparent Ahkam al-‘Amaliyyah (Shari’ah regulations to do with actions) which is other than Tawheed, like Salaah, Zakaah, the prohibition of alchohol & other than that.
 

Evils destroying the Ummah...

The role of the individual in Islam is not limited to fulfilling the five pillars. The Muslim in an Islamic community has a greater responsibility than is usually understood. All of a Muslim's activities in life are included as acts of worship depending upon the intention underlying them. Nothing is required from a Muslim beyond service to Allah and nothing is accepted from him, which is not a service. Every individual's responsibilities fall into two parts: his responsibility to adhere to the teachings of Islam and his responsibility to enjoin good and forbid evil – which is social reform. There is a reason why enjoining good and forbidding wrong comes first, even before faith. It emphasizes the Muslim's duty and implies faith can only be realized by certain actions, which maintains a relationship between the individual and society.

Neglecting these duties leads to widespread corruption and an increase in evils that consume the core of the community, such as the following:

Indifference: Muslims are commanded to play a positive role in their community and assist in enjoining matters of virtue and preventing evil by as much as they can. Many Muslims stray away from the right path because they do not find anyone to assist them and rescue them from straying in their communities, as those around them act indifferently. One should not underestimate any input he can give in such cases and consider the story of the imprisonment of Imaam Ahmad to see how effective a person can be if he takes the initiative and does not act indifferently. When Imaam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy upon him, was imprisoned, a thief was with him in the same cell. The thief said to him, “O Ahmad! I persevere and tolerate the punishment I receive while I am upon falsehood and being punished for a sin. Would someone like you, who is suffering as a result of being upon the truth, not persevere and endure?" Thus, this thief played an important role in comforting and consoling Imaam Ahmad in a difficult situation.