Barriers of Takfeer

Answered by: Shaykh ‘Ali al-Khuadyr
Source: “Salafiyyun” forum 

Question: What are the barriers of Takfeer? 

Answer: Before knowing the Mawani’ (barriers) we should know the reasons for Kuffr; they are belief, saying, action, and/or doubt. This is because the definition of Kuffr is every saying, or action, or, belief that the texts make Takfeer for it and removes its doer from the Millah. 

Its elaboration is as follows: 
Barrier to the label of shirk; it is ikrah. He said, “Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief, except for one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith.” 
Barriers of Takfeer in issues that are obscure; which are those matters which are known only to specific people and what is intended by it (obscure issues) are the issues related to the people of desires and bida’ such as matters of Asma and Sifat, Imaan, Qadr, and other issues similar to that and other than the the extremists from them. 

The Mawani’ here are:

1. Ignorance.
2. Tawil.
3. Blind following.
4. Ikrah.
5. Lack of texts to know the truth.
6. Or it reached him but it was not confirmed with him.
7. Or it was confirmed but he was not able to understand it.
8. Or it was confirmed with him but a contrary argument was shown which led him to a tawil.
9. Or a misconception overcame in which Allah will excuse him.
10. Or he was a mujtahid in search of the truth.

Barriers of Takfeer in the matters that are apparent; those issues that the scholars and laymen know:

1. Ignorance due to living in a remote desert, or ignorant due to just leaving Kuffr, or due to living and growing up in the lands of Kuffr. As for whoever lived amongst Muslimeen, then he is not excused in matters that are apparent, and he is either someone who is a transgressor or who turned away.
2. Ikrah.

As for the barriers of Kuffr as a whole they are, and here it is with regards to the doer:

1. Has not reached purity.
2. Not of sound mind; that is a lack of cognitive capacity due to insanity, unconsciousness, sleep, or a state of intoxication, or excessive joy or anger, such as the one who made a mistake due to being overwhelmed with joy when he found his camel.
3. Lack of intention to do the act of Kuffr, or lack of intention to what it implies, or its outcome. However, if the action was intended and he wanted to do that but did not want Kuffr or to disbelieve due to that action, or if he knew it was Kuffr if he did not do it, then this is not what we are intending. What is meant by intending an action or a saying but but intending Kuffr is like the one who steps on a piece of paper not knowing anything about it. When in actuality it was the Qur’an, so he did not intended to step on it (i.e. the Qur’an) and insult it. That contrasts to the one who tears the mushaf. That is intending to tear it, so one disbelieves by it even if he did not intend to disbelieve.
4. Barriers in relation to the reason that the action or saying is done or said, and it is not outright or clear in its Kuffr.
5. The implication and outcome when he did not intend that or imply that, so the lack of intention and what it implies is a barrier.
6. Barriers in the proof that establishes his Kuffr with evidence and confirmation.
7. The hujjah has not been established upon him in which he would disbelieve by it.
8. Lack of options, and this is ikrah…

Those are the barriers that should be taken under consideration. And here are the barriers which should not be looked at but some consider them as such:

1. Fear.
2. Not intending Kuffr.
3. Making Kuffr to be only by belief only.
4. Being from the rulers, scholars, dua’a, or mujahideen prevents from their Takfeer, even if they come with clear and outright Kuffr.
5. Bad upbringing.
6. Maslahah of the da’wah or interests; what is being circulated around today is that intention of maslahah, even if it is an act of Kuffr, does not make one a Kaafir.
7. Jesting or lack of seriousness, so one does not disbelieve except if serious.
8. Lack of necessary laws and punishments and some make that a barrier to the one who comes with clear and open Kuffr saying he does not disbelieve because if you make Takfeer he is not killed nor rebelled against, and the result would be not inheriting and the separation from his spouse and since that does not happen then there is no Takfeer!

We say to that: there is a difference between the labels and the rulings, and the lack of ability to carry out the ruling does not prevent the corresponding label. 

Shaykh ‘Abdul-Latif said: "So whoever thinks and believes that the speech of the people of knowledge and restricts them with the establishment of the hujjah and the da’wah reaching a people that it negates the labels of Kuffr, Shirk, and Fujur, and the likes from actions and sayings which were labeled by the Legislator with those names… The absence of the hujjah being established does not change the Shari’ah labels, rather the label sticks to what Legislator labeled as Kuffr, shirk, fisq. There is no prevention for this label due to the doer not being punishment because the hujjah was not established and there is difference between a sin being Kuffr and Takfeer on its perpetrater." [Al-Minhaj, p. 316] 

With this I would like to highlight the manhaj and usul of the Murjiah today, the defeatists and modernists, and clarify their principles with regards to Takfeer:

1. Warning against Takfeer in general without any elucidation.
2. Making the difference between the saying and and the speaker, and the action and the doer always and in every issue, whether in the matter of major shirk on in the matters that are apparent to whom the hujjah was established against saying that the action or saying is Kuffr… but the doer or speaker … then he does not disbelieve, even though the causes are met and the barriers are removed. For this reason, there are no specific individuals they make Takfeer of except hat is explicitly mentioned in the Book and Sunnah.
3. Abandoning the knowledge and understanding in the matter of Takfeer and warning from learning it and gaining understanding of it and not teaching it or writing about it. As well, warning from the books of the aimmah of the Da’wah an-Najdiyyah and considering the studying of the usul of Tawhid and repeating Kitab at-Tawhid by Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhab as unnecessary. And abandoning teaching the nullifiers of Islam and considering it to be fitnah and recklessness of Takfeer.
4. Lack of attention in the issue of Walaa and Baraa, and hatred and enmity. And a lack of concern in the issue of Kuffr bit-Taghut, repeatedly saying that they are not worshipers with that and Allah will not ask us about it and there is no benefit in that knowledge.
5. Unrestricted statements in the issue of excuse of ignorance and widening it until it is given to the ignorant ones of the Jews and Christians.
6. The call to tolerance and constantly repeating it.
7. Warning against Takfeer of the tyrants (literally “tughah”) and disregarding their Kuffr and making their enmity based on this foundation.
8. Making certain person personalities from those politically active the scale and litmus, so whoever makes Takfeer of them, even if they did clear Kuffr and their were no barriers, then he is a Haruri Takfeeri, a person of fitnah, and not from Ahlus-Sunnah or not a Salafi (rather not a Talafi). Although the issue of Takfeer on a specific person is from the matters related to ijtihaad, the foundation is that we say for example that “Whoever worships other than Allah is a mushrik, and whoever mocks the Qur’an is a murtadd,” and what is similar to that. Thus, this foundation does not allow any difference of opinion, and whoever opposes it is misguided and not from Ahlus-Sunnah, and as for the specific individual it is another matter.

Attention: here are some selected usul that we want the brothers to benefit from:

1. Indeed, Islam is the worship of Allah alone with no partners and having Imaan in the Messenger (saws) and following him in what he came with. If the slave does not do so, then he is not a Muslim.
2. Indeed, whoever is covered with major shirk is a mushrik except if he was forced.
3. The result of one whom it is established perform major shirk is that the label of shirk is put on him even before the establishment of the hujjah.
4. The obligation to make a distinction between the establishment of the hujjah and understanding the hujjah.
5. The condition of establishing the hujjah in which a mushrik deserves punishment is that the message has reached him and is not prevented from it.
6. The conditions of establishing the hujjah in the Shari‘ah is that one has the ability to gain knowledge and the ability to act on it.
7. The condition for Takfeer of the people of desires and bida’ is that the hujjah should established and the misconception removed.
8. The barriers of Takfeer of the people of desires and bida’ are: absence of texts necessary to learn the truth; or they reached him but they were not established with him; or they were established but he was unable to understand them; or they were established but a counter argument was presented which led him to a tawil; or a misconception overcame him in which he is excused in front of Allah for; or he was a mujtahid in search of the truth.
9. The hujjah is established upon the morally obliged person by understanding the speech (meaning, in a language he knows), not by knowing the truth and the correct path.
10. The obligation to make a distinction between the matters that are apparent and obscure.
11. Whoever denies a matter known in the Deen by necessity disbelieves with the exception of one who just left Kuffr, or lives in a far away desert, or in the lands of Kuffr (which the da’wah has not reached).
12. One does not disbelieve if he opposes a matter from the issues that are obscure except after the conditions are fulfilled and the barriers are removed.
13. Whoever makes ijtihaad in pursuit of the truth in the issues that are obscure and does not attain it is rewardable, and the one who over steps the boundaries is sinful.
14. The applicable threats towards the people of fisq and disobedience rests on the absence of barriers.