Benefit 69: Al-’Udhr bil Jahl

The following summary was taken from Sheikh Yaḥya's "Mukhtaṣar Al-Maqāl" POINT 1. There is no doubt whatsoever concerning those whom Allah has declared to be disbelievers in the Qur'ān, such as the Idolaters, Polytheists, Jews and Christians... {إِنَّ ٱلَّذِینَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنۡ أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلۡمُشۡرِكِینَ فِی نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدِینَ فِیهَاۤۚ أُو۟لَـٰۤئكَ هُمۡ شَرُّ ٱلۡبَرِیَّةِ} “Those who disbelieve among the People of the Book and the idolaters will have the Fire of Hell, there to remain. They are the worst of creation.” [Sūrah Al-Bayyinah: 6] POINT 2. "Ahlul Fatrah" are those people who live in the period between two Prophets wherein revelation is discontinued, such as the period between Ēsā عليه السلام and Muḥammad ﷺ. The ruling of "Ahlul Fatrah" varies: A. If the message of the previous Prophet reached them and they accepted it, then they are believers; like Zaid ibn ’Amr ibn Nufail and Waraqah ibn Nawfal. B. If the message of the previous Prophet reached them but they rejected it, they are disbelievers by ijma'; like the Prophet's mother and father. {وَكُنتُمۡ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفۡرَةࣲ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنۡهَا} “And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it.” [Sūrah Āli-ʿImrān: 103] قال ابن كثير رحمه الله: "وَكَانُوا عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرة مِنَ النَّارِ بِسَبَبِ كُفْرِهِمْ، فَأَبْعَدَهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْهَا: أنْ هَدَاهُم لِلْإِيمَانِ." C. If the message of the previous Prophet did NOT reach them, we refrain from passing Judgement upon them. Rather, their fate will be determined in the Hereafter where they will be tested by Allāh ﷻ; so whoever obeys Him will be admitted to Jannah, and whoever disobeys Him will be admitted to Hellfire. This category includes: - The deaf who couldn't hear anything - The foolish/insane who had no understanding - The senile - Those who died in infancy POINT 3. The one who complies with those aspects of Islam which have reached him, but he falls into major Kufr due to being ignorant of the other aspects of Islam which have not reached him...is this person excused due to ignorance? This is an issue of differing amongst Ahlus-Sunnah! POINT 4. There are preventatives which stand between declaring someone to be Kāfir. These preventatives have to be taken into consideration in the above case, such as committing Kufr mistakenly, like the man who mistakenly said: اللهم أنت عبدي وأنا ربك “O Allāh You are my servant and I am your Lord.” In the same way, ignorance is a preventative; as proven by: * The ḥadīth concerning the man who told his relatives to burn his body after his death and scatter the ashes out of fear of Allāh. He did this based on his ignorance of Allāh’s capability. * likewise, the ḥadīth concerning the Companions who requested a Dhāt Anwāṭ like that of the Idolaters. They only said this out of ignorance since they had just embraced Islām. We also have to take into account whether or not the Ḥujjah (evidence) has been established: {وَمَن یُشَاقِقِ ٱلرَّسُولَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا تَبَیَّنَ لَهُ ٱلۡهُدَىٰ وَیَتَّبِعۡ غَیۡرَ سَبِیلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ نُوَلِّهِۦ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصۡلِهِۦ جَهَنَّمَۖ وَسَاۤءَتۡ مَصِیرًا} “And whoever defies the Messenger after guidance has become clear to them and follows a path other than that of the believers, We will let them pursue what they have chosen, then burn them in Hell—what an evil end!” [Sūrah An-Nisāʾ: 115] Ultimately, this (establishing the Ḥujjah) is the objective of the Prophets & Messengers: {رُّسُلࣰا مُّبَشِّرِینَ وَمُنذِرِینَ لِئَلَّا یَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ حُجَّةُۢ بَعۡدَ ٱلرُّسُلِ} “˹All were˺ messengers delivering good news and warnings so humanity should have no excuse before Allah after ˹the coming of˺ the messengers.” [Sūrah An-Nisāʾ: 165] * Therefore, if the Ḥujjah had not reached him, or it reached him while he was unable to understand it, and he was genuinely ignorant and was not careless in seeking the truth, then he is excused based on the excuse of ignorance (العذر بالجهل).