What are the rulings related to judging a person as a disbeliever?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

This is a very serious issue, and one in which many people have been misled. We ask Allaah The Almighty to guide us to the right path. Truly, He guides whom He wills.

Please note the following:

1- Judging a person to be a disbeliever is a very serious matter because it may entail that this person is to be killed after having been protected under Islam. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam , explained that Allaah The Almighty commanded him to fight people until they testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah. The life and wealth of the person who says these words are protected unless he does something that deserves punishment, such as refusing to pay Zakah [Obligatory charity] and if he does so, he is to be fought and the Zakah is to be taken from him by force, and his reckoning will be with Allaah The Almighty in the hidden matters that he conceals. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

In another narration, the text reads that until they testify that there is no god worthy of worship except Allaah and believe in him, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and in what he came with. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also pointed out that accusing a Muslim of disbelief renders the accuser a disbeliever if the accused is not so.  [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

2-  A person is acknowledged to be a Muslim when he utters the two Testimonies of Faith or via any word or action that replaces them due to the inability of the person, such as if he cannot speak or is non-Arab. The fact that a person is judged to be a Muslim as soon as he declares his belief in Islam does not mean that he is not asked to fulfill the requirements of this declaration. In this regard, the followers of the Sunnah take a middle course between two extremes. They are between:

A- The way of those who say that mere acknowledgement or uttering the Two Testimonies of Faith or apparently observing some Islamic rituals are not enough for a person to be considered a Muslim. Rather, there must be investigation and certainty about what they consider to be the minimum requirements of Islam.

B- The way of those who say that merely uttering the Two Testimonies of Faith is enough for a person to be considered a Muslim, and he will remain a Muslim even if he does not pray and fulfill the other requirements of this declaration of belief.

Conversely, the right way adopted by the followers of the Sunnah differentiates between the conditions required for proving a person's acceptance of Islam and the conditions required for proving the continuity of this acceptance and judging this person to be a Muslim.

3-      We have to distinguish between judging an action to be an act of disbelief and judging the person who does this act. Not everyone who commits an act of disbelief is a disbeliever. These are two different matters. Judging a certain act that apparently features disbelief depends on the description given by the ruling of Sharee‘ah on this act. We cannot judge the person who does the act to be a disbeliever before we investigate the relevant circumstances. There might be something that prevents him from being judged as a disbeliever. For example, he might be ignorant that the act is one of disbelief, or perhaps he did the act under duress.

4-      In brief, it must be proven that the person cannot be excused due to ignorance, misunderstanding or compulsion. Moreover, establishing the evidence against him is something that should be done by a scholar. Ibn Taymiyyah stated that no one is allowed to accuse a Muslim of disbelief even if he has committed a wrongdoing that entails this except after the evidence is established against him and the right way is made clear to him. Ibn Taymiyyah further illustrated that a person whose Islam has been proven with certainty cannot be judged as a disbeliever based only upon doubts. Rather, he is not to be judged as a disbeliever except after the establishment of evidence and the removal of any misconceptions. Moreover, Ibn Taymiyyah went on to say that judging a person as a disbeliever has conditions and causes that would prevent it. Certain conditions must be fulfilled when judging a person as a disbeliever such as doing, believing in or uttering an act of disbelief. Likewise, the causes that would prevent judging a person as a disbeliever, such as ignorance, misunderstanding, misconception and lack of evidence against him, should not exist.

5-      Imaam Ahmad as well as all the other scholars who discussed these rules, did not necessarily individually accuse most of those who committed acts of disbelief. Imaam Ahmad accused the sect of Al-Jahmiyyah, which denies the Names and Attributes of Allaah The Almighty, of disbelief because its claims are clearly contradictory to what the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said. However, he never accused any specific person who followed this sect of being a disbeliever.

6-      Disbelief occurs when it settles in the heart and if it is manifested in words and actions. Ibn Taymiyyah stated that disbelief means to disbelieve in Allaah The Almighty and His messengers whether this is combined with accusing them of lying or not. It occurs by mere doubting or abandoning their teachings out of envy, haughtiness or following whims that thwart others from following their messages. As-Subki said that judging others as disbelievers is one of the rulings of the Sharee'ah which is applies if a person denies the Lordship or the Oneness of Allaah The Almighty, denies the  message of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, or commits an act or says a word that is proved in Sharee'ah to be a word or act of disbelief.

A person can be guilty of disbelief if he believes the message of the Prophet to be untrue; even if he keeps this belief in his heart. However, this kind is not common among the disbelievers as stated by Ibn Al-Qayyim because Allaah The Almighty supported His messengers and gave them proofs that indicate their truthfulness in a way that establishes the proof and leaves no excuse for the disbelievers. A person may also be guilty of disbelief because of the words he speaks even though his heart may not believe in the truthfulness of what he says. Abu Thawr stated that if a person said that Al-Maseeh (Jesus) is Allaah The Almighty and denies Islam but says that his heart does not believe in any of that, he is nonetheless a disbeliever. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And if you ask them, they will surely say, "We were only conversing and playing." Say, "Is it Allaah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?" Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief.} [Quran 9:65-66]

Ibn Nujaym stated that whoever utters such words of disbelief in jest or play has disbelieved regardless of what his beliefs are.  Ibn Taymiyyah stated that it is  disbelief to not believe what the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said or to abstain from following him after knowing the truthfulness of his message. This kind of disbelief is like that of Pharaoh, the Jews and others.

Ibn Al-Qayyim indicated that disbelief can be the result of words, deeds and beliefs. He said that disbelief has a root and branches, meaning that faith has branches that are considered a part of faith and this is also the case with disbelief that, likewise, has branches that are considered a part of disbelief. For example, modesty is a part of faith and the lack of modesty is a part of disbelief.

He also stated that there are two categories of disbelief: disbelief of actions and that of rejecting the message. It is considered disbelief if a person does not believe in the message that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came with from Allaah The Almighty, such as His names, attributes, actions and rulings. This kind of disbelief completely eradicates faith. Disbelief of action, on the other hand, can be that which contradicts faith and that which does not. For example, prostrating before an idol, belittling the Quran, killing a prophet and blaspheming him contradict faith.

Finally, dear questioner, this is a deep issue that requires a lot of explanation. What we have written is what Allaah The Almighty has enabled us to explain to you here and we hope that we have answered your question adequately.

Allaah Knows best.