Did ulama of Najd not rule the ignorants kafir nor Muslim? http://www.darultawhid.com/en/forum/index.php?topic=1979.msg5958#msg5958 Quote "Children of Muhammad b Abdulwahab (ra), and Hamad b Nasr al-Muammar said: if he was acting kufr and Shirk due to his ignorance or due to the absence of anyone who would inform him, then we do not rule with his disbelief until Hujjah has been established upon him. But we do not rule that he is a Muslim." (ad-Duraru’s-Saniyya, X, 136) The entire quote is the following: “Narrated from two children of Muhammad b Abdulwahab (ra), and Hamad b Nasr al-Muammar said when they were asked verily the believer in Allah and His messenger when he says or does what would be kufr in ignorance from him regarding it, then do not make takfir upon him until the Hujjah Risaliyyah (the proof from Islam, Messenger, texts) has been established before him, so if the one with such condition is killed before this call becomes apparent, is it to be dropped or not?’ Thus they answered saying (if he was acting kufr and Shirk due to his ignorance or due to the absence of anyone who would inform him, then we do not rule with his disbelief until Hujjah has been established upon him. But we do not rule that he is a Muslim. But rather we say, his this action is what permits his wealth and his blood, though we do not rule upon this individual due to absence of the Hujjah being established upon him. And it is not said that if he is not a kafir then he is a Muslim, but rather we say his action is the action of the Kuffar and ruling upon this individual specially rests upon reaching the Hujjah Risaliyyah. Verily the people of knowledge mentioned verily the people of Fatrah (people who lived between two messengers to whom the message of Allah did not reach) they are to be tested on the day of judgment on that place and they did not make their ruling that of the kuffar and neither that of the pious.” (ad-Duraru’s-Saniyya, X, 136-137) Nowadays there are corrupted minded people around and try to use this saying as evidence for not making takfir of those individuals who perform kufr and shirk due to their ignorance. However in the mentioned passage above their not attributing them as kafir nor Muslim means; not giving the hukm of kafir due to not knowing his engraving the punishment in the hereafter or not, while not giving the hukm of Muslim. Here the hukm of kafir is used to refer the hukm of his engraving the punishment in the akhirah. The term of ‘takfir’ sometimes used as a different meaning then its usual and general meaning. It usually is used as referring to 'the one who is not on the path of Islam, kafir’; sometimes although not often it is used to refer ‘to the kafir who deserves the punishment of both this dunya and akhirah’. This hukm used here is concerning the principles of Takfir and Punishment and not for the attribute of 'belief'. Therefore those who are among the ahl shirk will be attributed as mushrik by ijma. However they would not be made 'takfir' of 'with the meaning that they will be punished'. Those will not be punished in this dunya with ijma. Punishments of hadd and jihad are also included in this hukm. For this reason it is prohibited to attack suddenly to those tribes who had never heard of Islam. However they are mushrik even before the hujjah is established against them and they are not Muslim. According to the entire ulama those ahl fatrah and those who had not reached the call of the prophets will not be attributed as Muslim. The reason for this is, their not actualizing the asl of Islam meaning the tawhid. However there is an ihktilaaf among the ulama regarding their engraving the punishment in the akhirah. Some of the ulama stick on the view of there is a test for them in the akhirah. For this reason they did not give the hukm of kafir. Ibn Qayyim is among them however some of the ulama gave the hukm of kafir with the both meaning of dunya and akhirah. Ibn Qayyim said the following regarding the person who does not worhip Allah: “Islam is, actualizing the oneness of Allah, worshipping Him solely, not associating anything to Him, putting iman in Allah and His rasul and subject to things which the rasul had brought along. The slave who does not actualize these is not Muslim. If this individual who does not actualize these is not a stubborn (meaning the one who rejects knowingly) kafir then he is an ignorant kafir. These individuals who are evaluated as ignorant, even though they do not persist against truth, they go through kufr because of their ignorance. Not being stubborn does not prevent them from being kafir. It is because kafir is the one who rejects the tawhid of Allah and denies the prophet of Allah; by persisting, by ignorance or by following those who are stubborn. Those muqallid (blind followers) of the stubborn individuals go through kufr because of following the stubborn ones although they do not persist. It is fard upon a slave to believe that those who do not submit to Islam are kafir. Without doubt, Allah (swt) will not punish anyone in the day of qiyamah without establishing the hujjah by a rasul. In general the hukm is in this manner. It is the right of Allah (awj) to decide if it is needed to establish hujjah for certain people on the day of qiyamah and both punishment and reward in the hereafter is bound to this hukm. However in dunya the hukm is given according to the zaahir. For this reason children of the kuffar and the insane among them are kafir with the worldly hukm. It is because they carry the same hukm as their wali.” (Tariqu’l-Hijratayn, 17th degree, 382) Following is the explanation of the above passage by Abdullatif ibn Hafiyd: “Ibn Qayyim in his words which are mentioned previously says that: those individuals who turned their faces from haqq and imitate their sheikhs regarding the kufr while they had ‘ability to seek knowledge’ (opportunity to learn the truth), become kafir. However he evaluates the one who does not have the ‘ability to seek knowledge’ (opportunity of learning truth) and does not reach the call of the prophets, the same as the one who is among the ahl fatrah and had not reached the call of the prophets. Even those ulama who did not make takfir of such person, did not evaluate him as a Muslim.” (Fatawa of ulama Najd, III, 231) Ibn Sahman abd Abdullatif and Ishaq who are the children of Abdurrahman al-Hafiyd, while quoting the ijma of ulama from Ibn Qayyim said: “Those who lived in the era of fatrah and had not reached the call of the prophets will not be evaluated as Muslim and the attribute of Islam will not be given to them. Even those who do not make takfir of them do not evaluate them as Muslim. Therefore the best attribute for them is the attribute of ‘shirk’ and they attribute as ‘mushrik’. What will remain once asl of Islam and the kalima are corrupted?” (Fatawa of Ulama Najd, III, 94) The Judge of Ad Dar’iyyah, Shaikh Abdulaziz, said the same as what we quoted from the sons of Shaikh Ibn Abdulwahhab (ra) previously: when asked regarding the believer in Allah and His Messenger when he says or does a thing which maybe disbelief in ignorance in his part regarding it, thus you do not make takfir of him until Hujjah is established upon him?’ (Ar-rasail wal Masail An-Najdiyyah, V, 576) Sons of Muhammad bin Abdulwahhab (ra); Shaihk Hussain and Abdullah, said in regards of the one who dies before this call and he did not see Islam and these actions which people do today while Hujjah had not been established upon him, (so) what is the ruling in his regard? Thus they both answered: “Verily the one who dies from the people of Shirk before this message reaches him, so the matter (with which) he is ruled upon is; if he is famous with doing Shirk and taking it as a religion and dies upon it, then with this his apparent is that verily he died upon disbelief. And he not to be supplicated for nor are sacrificed made for him nor charity is given on his behalf. As for his true nature then it is up to Allah (awj). Thus if the Hujjah has been established upon him in his life and he retracts, thus he is a kafir in apparent and within. And if Hujjah has not been established upon him then his matter is to Allah” (ad-Durar as-Saniyyah, X, 142) Ibn Taymiyyah (ra) said: “The judgment of the Khitab (of the shari’ah) does not become proven in the rights of the Mukallafin (people burdened with the Shari’ah), except after their ability to know it, (this) from the most sound (view) of the sayings).” (Majmu‘ul Fatawa, XX, 25) And he also said: “Alalh (awj) says: ‘and we are not to punish until we send a messenger.’ The Hujjah is established upon the slaves with two things: With the requirement of ability to know what Allah (swt) revealed and the power to act upon it. Thus as for the unable person from knowledge like a madman or the unable one to act, there is no command or forbiddance upon him. And when the knowledge is not found in some matters of religion or inability occurred from some of it: it will be in the right of the one who is unable from knowledge or acting with his saying, like the one whose knowledge has been cut from all the knowledge of the religion or became incapable from all of it, like a madman for example, and there are the times of fatrah (where the shari’ah is not found due to the time passage between messengers.) (Majmu‘ul Fatawa, XX, 59) And he also said: “As the taklif (being burdened with the Shari’ah) is made a requirement with the ability to know which’s reality it ‘Understanding’ and with the capability upon action.” (Majmu‘ul Fatawa, X, 347; XXI, 634) And Ibn Taimiyah (ra) also said: “And this excuse will not be an excuse except with the incapability to make it go. And or else thus whenever a human was capable to know the truth thus he was careless (means he did not strive or did not do anything to make the ignorance go) he will not be excused.” (Majmu‘ul Fatawa, XX, 280) He also said: “And collectively; there is no difference (of opinion) between the Muslims; (that) verily who is in the Daru’l-Kufr, and he believes and he is incapable to make Hijrah, (then) it is not obligatory upon him from the Shari’ah from what he is incapable upon, but obligation is with abilty. And likewise; which’s ruling is not known, thus he doesn’t know that verily the prayer is obligatory upon him, he will not pray and making qadha (praying what was not prayed) is not obligatory in the most apparent of the two sayings of the scholars. And this is the school of thought of Abu Hanifah (ra) and the people of Dhahir. And it is the one of the ways in the madhhab of Ahmad -until he said-and the correct view in all this chapter is; verily the ruling is not proven except with the capability to know, and he will not make qadha of, of its obligation he was unaware of.” (Majmu‘ul Fatawa, XIX, 225-226; XI,406) And Ibn Taimiyah (ra) also said: “Thus as for the one who intentionally alters the book, its words or meaning or knows what the Messenger brought, thus becomes refractive, thus he is the one deserving of punishment, and likewise the one who doesn’t try enough in seeking the truth and following it while following his desires, busy with the world leaving that.” (Al-Jawabu’s-Sa’hih Liman Baddala Deenu’l-Masee’h, I, 310) Shaikh Abu Butayn (ra) answered a question in the following manner to those who asked him: “You are making takfir of Muslims.’ The individual who say ‘you are making takfir of Muslims’ to us does not know Islam or tawhid. It is understood from his statement that his Islam is not sound/valid. It is because this individual does not reject the shirk of today’s mushrik and he does not evaluate it as shirk which nullifies tawhid. An individual who is in such situation is not Muslim.” (Majmuatu’r-Rasail, I, Part 3, 655) Abdullatif b al-Hafiyd narrated from ulama that, there is an ijma of ulama regarding the one who performs major shirk while uttering the kalimat does not enter Islam. (al-Minhaj, 10; Fatawa of Ulama of Najd, III, 93)
