Lesson twelve

Lesson twelve:
Nullifiers of Islam
If we have understood that a servant will never be a Muslim until he testifies to the two testimonies. That is, testifying that no deity is worthy of worship except Allah and testifying that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Thus, he professes the unity of Allah and he follows the Prophet (S.A.W) and by so [doing] he becomes a Muslim.
And we have understood that the implication of testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah is sincerity to Allah alone in worship, and that servitude is built upon love, glorification and compliance.
And we understood that testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, implies loving, believing and obeying him. Whoever commits what violates these two testimonies is out of the Religion of Islam. Hence, he is a disbeliever in Allah (the Almighty and the Exalted) and [a disbeliever in] His Messenger (S.A.W) even if he observed prayer, fasting and claimed to be Muslim.
That is why, whoever lacked one of these things: sincerity to Allah in worship, love for Allah and glorifying Him, submission to Him and loving the Prophet (S.A.W), proving him and obeying him- is not a Muslim. If this apostasy happens to be total, that is, he has not establish the necessary rights of the two testimonies from his initial stage, he is then a pure unbeliever, and if he manifests Islam in that manner, then, he is a hypocrite.
But as for one who was a Muslim carrying out all necessary rights of the two testimonies, and after then one of these things falls short in his affairs after he has professed Islam, then, he is an unbeliever who has turned away from the Religion of Islam.
Apostasy can occur from anything whether speech or action or creed which results to the absence of the real [meaning of] testimony to the oneness of Allah and to the prophet hood of Muhammad (S.A.W).
And the types of nullifiers which withdraw from the Religion of Islam are numerous and unrestricted to a certain number, but it has meeting roots which are:
The first nullifier: Atheism, this means disproving the existence of Allah (the Exalted). Among its forms are:
Attributing creation to nature, and believing in the pre-existence of the World. That is, to believe that among creatures there is that which has no beginning in eternity.
The second nullifier: major polytheism; that is attributing partner to Allah (the Great and the Exalted) and it is of different kinds:
The first kind: polytheism in worship, which means performance of any act of worship to other than Allah (the Great and the Exalted) such as invocation or sacrifice or vow or seeking of help or call for help or seeking of refuge or other than that. Among its forms are:
1- What the worshipers of Idols, Prophets and men of God do by invoking them and seeking intercession from them, satisfaction of needs, bringing benefits and protection from harm. Whoever commits this is a polytheist, unbeliever even if he claims to be a Muslim and utters [the testimony] La'ilaha –illa-llah and he prays, gives charity, fasts, goes for pilgrimage and performs all kinds good. Thus, the major shirk destroys deeds and nullifies the Religion of Islam.
2- What magicians do and some of those who go to them such as slaughtering for the sake of worship to other than Allah (the Almighty and the Great) and calling for help from the devils.
The second kind: The attribution of partner to Allah in Deism, among its forms:
1- the believe of some polytheists in their gods and their great men that they have the knowledge of the unseen and they send down rain and they [independently] possess wealth, they cure diseases, they grant children, spouse, wealth and they remove adversity, they eliminate affliction, they satisfy needs and they answer the invocation of their invocators.
2- The belief of the Majus (worshipers of fire)that Being has two creators, light and darkness.
3- The belief of some extremist Sufis and Shiites that some of their great men have the knowledge of the unseen and they have power or authority to dispose of this being and that they respond to invocations and satisfy needs.
And among the [forms of] shirk in deism, is referring legislation to other than what Allah revealed, for whoever legislate with other than Allah's revelation is a taghut [i.e, tyrant] who made himself a partner to Allah in His legislation.
The third kind: polytheism in obedience: that is, following dignified persons in legalizing the unlawful and forbidding the lawful as the worshipers of taghuts do in obeying them and following them in legalizing what Allah forbids and forbidding what Allah legalized.
Among its forms are:
1- Referring legislation to taghut [false deities]; for whoever refer [legislation] to them willingly and voluntarily is an infidel, unbeliever because of the sayings of Allah (the Exalted):
﴿أَلَمۡ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يَزۡعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمۡ ءَامَنُواْ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ يُرِيدُونَ أَن يَتَحَاكَمُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَقَدۡ أُمِرُوٓاْ أَن يَكۡفُرُواْ بِهِۦۖ وَيُرِيدُ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنُ أَن يُضِلَّهُمۡ ضَلَٰلَۢا بَعِيدٗا ٦٠﴾ [النساء: 60].
Meaning: "Have you not seen those who claim to have believed in what was revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you? They wish to refer legislation to taghut, while they were commanded to reject it; and Satan wishes to lead them far astray. Q4: V60.
However, in the case of one who happens to be in a country where legislation is not based on what Allah revealed, and necessity warrants that he refers (legislation) to someone who he believes protects right and prevents injustice in other to save him from injustice and enable him to attain his right, then, he will not be an infidel, because of the saying of the Prophet (S.A.W) to his companions when he permitted them to migrate to Habasha [i.e, Ethiopia]:
«إِنَّ بِأَرْضِ الْحَبَشَةِ مَلِكًا لَا يُظْلَمُ أَحَدٌ عِنْدَهُ، فَالْحَقُوا بِبِلَادِهِ حَتَّى يَجْعَلَ اللهُ لَكُمْ فَرَجًا وَمَخْرَجًا مِمَّا أَنْتُمْ فِيهِ». [رواهُ البَيْهقِيُّ من حديثِ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَل بإسنادٍ حَسَنٍ].
Meaning: "Indeed, there is in the city of Abyssinian, a king who no one is oppressed in his land. Go to his country until God makes a way out for you. Reported by Albaihaqy on the authority of Ummu Salama with a good chain.
And [at that time] Najashi has not embraced Islam yet. Had they been oppressed and necessity demand that they refer to him for judgment; he would have been just to them. This is an evidence that it is permissible to refer a matter to one who is known to be just, and does not allow injustice.
And in conditions of constraint and need which may lead to difficulty, a Muslim who referred legislation to taghut did not in real sense intend that. Thus, he is not an unbeliever.
But as for the kind of litigation which implies adoration to other than Allah, forwarding of sacrifice and asking the fortune-tellers as is done by some idolaters is not permissible under any circumstances.
2- Obedience to evil scholars and tyrant rulers in legalizing [things] that are clearly forbidden in [Islamic] law, and forbidding [things] that are clearly permissible in [Islamic] law.
The third nullifier: Claiming any attribute among the attributes of Allah, regarding His Deism, Divinity, His names and qualities.
Among its forms are:
1- Invitation of some tyrants to the worship of themselves.
2- Claiming the knowledge of the unseen.
3- Claiming the ability to resurrect the dead.
The forth nullifier: Claiming prophecy.
Claiming Prophecy is disbelief with the consensus of Muslim legal scholars.
Among the things which are affiliated to it in ruling:
He who claims rivalry to the Qur'an and that he is able to reveal the same as what Allah revealed unto His Messengers. Allah the exalted said:
﴿وَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفۡتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوۡ قَالَ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ وَلَمۡ يُوحَ إِلَيۡهِ شَيۡءٞ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثۡلَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُۗ﴾ [الأنعام: 93].
Meaning: "And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, "It has been inspired to me," while nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says, "I will reveal [something] like what Allah revealed." Q6: V93.
The fifth nullifier: Disproving Almighty Allah and disproving His Messenger (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
For whoever disproves Allah and His Messenger, he is then an infidel, and a non-Muslim by the consensus of the entire Muslim jurists.
Among the forms of this nullifiers,
1- Denying things that are necessarily known in Islam, such as denying the necessity of [five daily] prayers or [compulsory] charity or denying the prohibition of usury or adultery or eating pork.
2- Denying something from the attributes of Allah (the exalted) and His qualities, without any ambiguity due to ignorance, the kind of which he may be excused and without interpretation.
3- Denying anything from the Glorious Qur'an.
4- Claiming contradiction and distortions in the Glorious Qur'an.
5- Denying the traditions of the Prophet (S.A.W).
6- Denying Resurrection and reward.
7- Not considering those who believe in other than Islam as Religion such as the Jews, the Christians, the Magi, the Atheists and the idolaters as unbelievers.
8- Believing that someone is excused from following the laws of Muhammad (.S.A.W) as Alkhidir was excused from following the laws of Moses (may the blessings of Allah be upon him).
9- Regarding the forbidden things whose prohibition is backed by authentic evidence as permissible, without any ambiguity or interpretation.
10- Proving one who claims prophecy.
11- Claiming that the Message of the Prophet (S.A.W) is just for the Arabs.
12- Claiming that Allah permits invocations to anyone besides Him among the righteous people or other than them.
13- Accusing the mother of the believers A'ishah (Allah be pleased with her) of [adultery] from which Allah has exonerated her, and accusing any of the mothers of the believers as well.
Also, anything which implies disproving Allah and His Messenger is a nullifier among the violators of Islam. However, there is need to differentiate between disproval of the tradition (of the Prophet) that is based on ignorance of its proof or unawareness of it or doubt in its authenticity or an interpretation from he that disproves which will prevent him from being a disbeliever, and the disproval of that whose authentic meaning is known. The last one is a nullifier without any dispute among the Islamic scholars. But as for the afore-mentioned situations, its companion will not be considered a disbeliever until an evidence is established upon him, and the authenticity of the tradition and its meaning was clear.
The sixed nullifier: Doubt
Doubt is contradictory to the obligatory ratification. So, whoever doubt the veracity of Allah's word and [doubt the veracity of] His Prophet's narration, he is then an infidel, unbeliever.
Among the forms of this nullifier:
1- Doubt in infidelity of one who does not practice the Religion of Islam.
2- Doubt in the resurrection after death.
3- Doubt in the authenticity of the glorious Qur'an, and its prevention from distortion and alteration.
The seventh nullifier: hatred of Allah and His Messenger, and hatred of the religion of Islam
Hatred is contradictory to obligatory love. Thus, whoever hates Allah and His Messenger or hates the Religion of Islam is a disbeliever, out of the Religion.
Among the things which are affiliated to it:
1- Insulting Allah and His Messenger, and insulting the religion of Islam, and disparaging the holy self (of Allah) and disparaging the position of the Prophet (S.A.W)
2- Hatred of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Insulting them as a whole, and regarding them as unbelievers unlike one who insults a group of them as a result of ambiguity which befalls him, with this, he has committed a prohibited act but he is not regarded as a disbeliever.
3- Hatred of the Imams of the Religion, narrators of the traditions of the Prophet (S.A.W), bearers of Islamic laws as a whole, and disproving them.
The eighth nullifier: Mockery of Allah, His signs and His Messenger. This is disbelief because it goes against an obligatory love and veneration.
Among the things that will be affiliated to it:
1- To make contempt of the (Holy) Qur'an.
2- Disparagement of any rite among the rites of Islam.
The ninth nullifier: taking disbelievers as allies instead of the believers, this will include two things:
1- Loving them in their Religion and agreeing with it and gratification in it.
2- Assisting the unbelievers against Muslims.
Among the forms of this nullifier:
1- Espionage of Muslims for the benefit of unbelievers.
2- Congratulating the unbelievers on their idolatrous festivals, contentment with what they do of polytheism and disbelief in Allah (the Great and Almighty). But as for one who joins them in order to eat with them or to enjoy with them an unlawful enjoyment in their lewdness and music, while in his heart is hatred for their infidelity and polytheism, in such case, he is on the edge of perdition, and it is feared that when a penalty befalls them, it may involve him.
3- Building places of worship in which other than Allah (the Great and the Exalted) is worshiped, or assisting in building it like the building of churches, monasteries and synagogues. And the building of sepulchers and sceneries in which invocation of other than Allah (the Great and the Exalted) is carried out.
4- Battling against the bearers of [the Islamic] law, among the scholars and propagators [of Islam], exerting pressure on them with the intention of oppressing the propagation of Islam.
5- Acting towards weakening the Muslims, [causing] enfeeblement to them and enabling the unbelievers to have domination over Muslims.
The tenth nullifier: Turning away from and abandonment (of Islam).
Whoever turned away from obeying Allah and His Messenger is an unbeliever, because he is incompliant to the Religion of Allah (the Exalted) because he neither observes the obligatory acts, nor did he abstains from the unlawful except that which pleases his wish.
Among the forms of this nullifier:
1- To consider obedience to Allah and His Messenger unnecessary upon him, and that it is not obligatory upon him to obey the commands of Allah (the Exalted) and the commands of His Messenger (S.A.W).
2- To turn away from the commands of Allah and the commands of His Messenger totally, in such a way that he does not learn the [jurisprudence of] Religion, and he does not ask about what is obligatory upon him of obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and he neither carries out the obligatory duties upon him nor does he abstains from the unlawful in obedience to Allah and His Messenger. However, as for he who is obedient to Allah and his Messenger, observing that with which he will remain a Muslim but he often falls into some wrongdoings, he does not become a disbeliever by committing that sin.
Among the things that are affiliated to this nullifier: Omission of Salah, because it is the pillar of Religion, if a servant omits it totally, then, he has turned away from the Religion of Allah (the Great and the Mighty). Umar bin Alkhattab said: whoever misplaces it [i.e, prayer] it is easier for him to misplace other than it.
Chapter: And these nullifiers are in total contradiction to the two testimonies [i.e, testifying that no deity is worthy of worship except Allah and testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah] whoever falls into committing any one of them after he has been a Muslim, while he is sensible and matured not forced and having no excuse due to ambiguity, he is then a disbeliever, and an apostate from the Religion of Islam. If he dies on that, he will abide eternally in the Hell Fire. Allah (the Exalted) said:
﴿وَمَن يَرۡتَدِدۡ مِنكُمۡ عَن دِينِهِۦ فَيَمُتۡ وَهُوَ كَافِرٞ فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ حَبِطَتۡ أَعۡمَٰلُهُمۡ فِي ٱلدُّنۡيَا وَٱلۡأٓخِرَةِۖ وَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِۖ هُمۡ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ ٢١٧﴾ [البقرة: 217].
Meaning: "And whoever of you reverts from his religion [to disbelief] and dies while he is a disbeliever- for those, their deeds have become worthless in this world and the hereafter, and those are the companions of the Fire; they will bide therein eternally. Q2: V217.
And whoever falls into any of these nullifiers or a part of it internally while he manifests Islam, he is then a hypocrite with major hypocrisy. We will treat him as a Muslim externally, and we will entrust his secret to Allah (the Exalted) as far as an apparent disbelief has not been clear to us from him.
Chapter: The nullifiers are of two levels:
The first level: a disclosed infidelity, this is the kind in which there is no ambiguity and no suspicion beside the disbelief of its companion and he has no excuse of unawareness or interpretation or compulsion.
Like one who is affiliated to [a religion] other than Islam, or worships other than Allah (the Great and the Almighty) and he who abuses Allah and His Messenger and the one who mocks the Religion and he who denies the Qur'an or the tradition of the Prophet, or deny what is necessarily known in Religion where as his knowledge about that is clear.
The companions of this level are considered to be disbelievers and they are the dwellers of Hell Fire if we are sure that they had died on that. Allah (the exalted) said:
﴿مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَن يَسۡتَغۡفِرُواْ لِلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ وَلَوۡ كَانُوٓاْ أُوْلِي قُرۡبَىٰ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمۡ أَنَّهُمۡ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡجَحِيمِ ١١٣﴾ [التوبة: 113].
Meaning: "It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hell Fire.Q9: V113.
The second level: that which is not a clear disbelief; this is of two types,
The first type: that which it is possible for its companion to be excused of being forced or madness or suspicion due to an interpretation or ignorance which may be tenable as an excuse and which may require establishing evidence upon him. When the evidence reaches him and he understood its meaning but still insists after the evidence has been made clear to him, then, he will be judged disbeliever. However, if the suspicion still remains in him, he will not be regarded a disbeliever.
That is why the great scholars of Ahlu- ssunnah [i.e, those who follow the exact teachings of the Prophet (S.A.W)] abstained from judging the companions of some misguided sects who deny some names and attributes of Allah as unbelievers because of the ambiguity of interpretation, after judging them innovators and that ambiguity will not give them an excuse in their wrong doing, but it will prevent them from being considered unbelievers.
It is in this form that a deed can be considered disbelief, but the one who performs it would not be judged as infidel until all conditions are fulfilled in him and all of the interdictors are absent.
The second type: In the case where the nullifier will be among the controversial nullifiers and the researcher falls into a kind of confusion and having no preponderance in it.
The Islamic scholars have disputed over some nullifiers, among which are:
1- Abstention from observing Prayer due to laziness and carelessness without denying its obligation and not arrogant in observing it.
The right opinion is that whoever leaves it totally, he is a disbeliever, and he who prays a times and abstains from prayer at other times is a dissolute, promised with a punishment due to his negligence of the congregations but he will not be judged a disbeliever. This is the intermediate opinion between the two opinions.
The first opinion is that he will become an unbeliever by leaving a single prayer.
The second opinion is that he will not become a disbeliever even if he abstains from prayer totally.
2- Magic, the scholars have disputed over the infidelity of he who learns magic and he who works with magic. The right opinion in this is that magic can never be done except by the acts of disbelief and major polytheism such as seeking assistance from the devils, pleasing them by offering sacrifices for their sake, vowing [to them] and scorning what Allah ordered to be glorified. There is no dispute between the scholars that whoever commits these acts is a disbeliever.
But among the scholars are those who call hidden tricks and visual artifice magic. And among them are those who consider making tricks by giving some syrup that functions against the sense of a person, his life and his perception as magic. That is why they do not absolutely judge a magician as a disbeliever until they inquire about the nature of his magic. If he does his magic by seeking help from the devil and approaching them they judge him a disbeliever, but if he does his magic with other than that they decide punishment on him.
3- Abandonment of Zakah [charity], fasting and pilgrimage. Some scholars are of the opinion that whoever leaves any of these obligations is a disbeliever even if he does not deny its obligation. But the right opinion is that, he who abandons that will not be considered a disbeliever except he denied its obligation, then, he will be judged a disbeliever because he has disproved Allah and His Messenger.
Many authentic traditions have indicated that one who abandons these obligations will be punished in the hereafter. Then, he will be shown his way either to Paradise or to Hell Fire, and this is an evidence that he has not necessarily became a disbeliever.
Chapter: Some acts that withdraw from the Religion may contain more than one nullifier. Thus, it is a disbelief in different ways.
Example of that is one who legislates with other than what Allah revealed while considering that to be lawful and preferring the legislation of tyrants to the legislation of Allah (the Great and the Almighty).
Hence, he is an unbeliever in different ways, He is an unbeliever because of his legislation with other than what Allah revealed and making himself a partner to Allah in His legislation and he is an unbeliever because of his legalization of what is necessarily known to be unlawful in the Religion of Islam.
He is an unbeliever because of his disproof of Allah and His Messenger as he regards the legislation of tyrants to be better than the legislation of Allah (the Great and the Almighty)
It is also worth noting that some unbelievers and apostates fall into different forms of nullifiers. Thus, some of them fall into major polytheism, disproving Allah and His Messenger, hating the Religion of Islam, alliance with the unbelievers and other things among the nullifiers. The more a servant falls into these nullifiers, the worse his disbelief will be, and of course his punishment will be more severe.
Chapter: And kufr [disbelief] is of two kinds, external and internal disbelief.
As for the internal disbelief, it has to do with the situation between him and Allah. He may be a disbeliever internally because he has committed that which nullifies Islam, but based on what people see, he manifests Islam. Hence, he is a hypocrite who should be treated as a Muslim externally but in the hereafter he will be together with the unbelievers in the Hell Fire abiding therein eternally. Furthermore, among the people is one who may commit a nullifier among the nullifiers of Islam from what appeared to the people, but he may have what will grant him excuse such as madness, excusable ignorance, or because he is new in Islam such that some words of disbelief which he is used to will be coming out of his tongue without him believing in it. He may be judged a disbeliever externally, but internally he may be having an excuse.
And a person is resurrected on what he died upon in terms of faith or disbelief.
Originally the proclamation of disbelief upon someone is referred to the scholars and the rulers. There could be an exception to this due to some incidences which will necessitate that, or because a work is related to that.
Among the things which must be noted, is hastiness in judging a person as an infidel while his infidelity has not been clearly established, because of the sayings of the Prophet (S.A.W):
«إِذَا قَالَ الرجلُ لأَخِيهِ: يَا كَافِرُ. فَقَدْ بَاءَ بِهَا أَحَدُهُمَا، إِنْ كَانَ كَمَا قَالَ، وَإِلاَّ رَجَعَتْ عَلَيْهِ». [مُتَّفقٌ عليه من حديثِ ابنِ عُمَرَ ب].
Meaning:" When a man says to his brother, "O unbeliever, one of them will certainly go with it, if it was as he said (then, so be it) otherwise it (i.e the word unbeliever) will return back to him. Reported by Bukari and Muslim on the authority of Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them). Abu dharrin (may Allah be pleased with him) also narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying:
«مَنْ دَعَا رَجُلاً بِالْكُفْرِ أَوْ قَالَ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ. وَلَيْسَ كَذَلِكَ إِلاَّ حَارَ عَلَيْهِ». [متفق عليه].
Meaning:" He who labels anyone with unbelief or calls him the enemy of Allah, and he was in fact not so, it returns back to him. Bukhari and Muslim.
This warning is in regards to that which occurs in the course of blaspheming, hastiness and judgment without qualification, but as for a scholar who is qualified, if he makes mistake in his judgment when requested for that without being negligent or following his wish, he will be rewarded for his effort and his mistake is forgiven.
Chapter: The scholars unanimously agree to the killing of the apostate because of the saying of the Prophet (S.A.W):
«مَنْ بَدَّلَ دِينَهُ فَاقْتُلُوهُ» [رواهُ البُخاريُّ من حديثِ ابنِ عَبَّاسٍب].
Meaning:" Whoever changes his religion, you should kill him" reported by Albukhari on the authority of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them).
And whoever died an apostate should not be washed, enshrouded, prayed upon and should not be buried in the cemetery of the Muslims. His wealth will not be bequeathed and he should not be prayed for after his death.
As for [the issue of] asking him to repent before killing him, that is based on the decision of the leader. If he hopes in his return to Islam or there is an incidental suspicion as a result of which he apostate, he has the right to give him respite for three days, presenting Islam to him. If he returns, that is it, but if he refuses he should be killed as an apostate.
If the leader observes that there is benefit to the Muslims in hastening to killing, for example, one who harms Muslims intensively after his apostate, or one who spies on them or the leader fears affliction and harm on the Muslims in delaying him, he can hastens in killing him so long as he does not repents before being caught.
O Allah, let us live as Muslims and cause us to die as Muslims and join us with the righteous and protect us from disgrace in this World and the punishment in the hereafter our Lord, You are indeed kind and merciful.