The Second Issue:
26 August 2024 • 1.05K views
Whoever considers "alteration" as an act of disbelief, must also regard mere abandonment of ruling by what Allāh has revealed as disbelief. This is because it is inconceivable for a person to be a ruler who abandons the divine law of Allāh and then sit among his people without ruling by anything at all. Therefore, the ruling on alteration is equivalent to the ruling on abandonment.
I say: Declaring someone a disbeliever merely for abandoning divine law has not been endorsed by any scholar of Ahlus-Sunnah. In fact, it contradicts the narration of ’Abdullāh ibn Shaqīq, may Allāh have mercy on him, who said:
«كان أصحاب محمد ﷺ يرون شيئاً من الأعمال تركه كفر غير الصلاة»
"The companions of Muḥammad ﷺ did not consider the abandonment of any deed as disbelief, except for the abandonment of prayer." [At-Tirmidhi (2622), Al-Ḥākim (1/7/12), Al-Marwazi in 'Ta’dhīm Qadr Aṣ-Ṣalāh' (948); authenticated by Al-Ḥākim according to the conditions of Al-Bukhāri and Muslim, and approved by Adh-Dhahabi; as also authenticated by Al-Albāni in 'Ṣaḥīḥ At-Targhīb' (564)].
If it is said: Doesn't the apparent meaning of Allāh’s words:
{وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللهُ فَأُولَيكَ هُمُ الْكَفِرُونَ﴾
"And whoever does not judge by what Allāh has revealed, then it is those who are the disbelievers." [Al-Mā'idah 44], imply disbelief due to abandonment?
The answer is: Yes, the apparent meaning of the Āyah does suggest this, but Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamā’ah have unanimously agreed not to apply this apparent meaning. Rather, they attributed such an application to the Khawārij and the Mu’tazilah.
Al-Ājurri, may Allāh have mercy on him, said:
«ومما يتبع الحرورية من المتشابه قول الله عز وجل: ﴿وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ الله فَأُوْلَيكَ هُمُ الكفرُونَ} [المائدة ٤٤]، ويقرؤون معها: {ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بربهم يَعْدِلُونَ﴾ [الأنعام ١]، فإذا رأوا الإمام يحكم بغير الحق قالوا: قد كفر! ومن كفر فقد عَدَلَ بربه! فهؤلاء الأئمة مشركون! ... فيخرجون، فيفعلون ما رأيتَ، لأنهم يتأوَّلون هذه الآية»
"Among the ambiguous Āyāt that the Ḥarūriyyah (a sect of the Khawārij) follow is Allāh's statement: 'And whoever does not judge by what Allāh has revealed, then it is those who are the disbelievers' [Al-Mā'idah 44], and they also recite alongside it: 'Then those who disbelieve are those who equate others with their Lord.' [Al-An’ām 1]. So, when they see the ruler judge by other than the truth, they say: 'He has disbelieved! And whoever disbelieves has equated others with his Lord! Thus, these rulers are polytheists!'…They then revolt, and do what you have seen, because they misinterpret this Āyah." [Ash-Sharī’ah (44)]
Ibn ’Abdil Barr, may Allāh have mercy on him, said:
«وقد ضلَّتْ جماعة من أهل البدع؛ من الخوارج والمعتزلة في هذا الباب، فاحتجوا بهذه الآثار ومثلها في تكفير المذنبين، واحتجوا من كتاب الله بآيات ليست على ظاهرها مثل قوله عز وجل: ﴿وَمَن لَّمْ يحكم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللهُ فَأُولَيكَ هُمُ الْكَفِرُونَ﴾»
"A group of innovators, namely the Khawārij and the Mu’tazilah, have gone astray in this matter. They cited such narrations and others like them to justify declaring sinners as disbelievers, and they used verses from the Book of Allāh that are not to be understood according to their apparent meanings, such as Allāh's statement: 'And whoever does not judge by what Allāh has revealed, then it is those who are the disbelievers' [Al-Mā'idah 44]" [At-Tamhīd (16/312)].
Al-Qurṭubi, may Allāh have mercy on him, said regarding the Āyah:
وقال القرطبي رحمه الله: ﴿وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللهُ فَأُولَيكَ هُمُ الْكَفِرُونَ﴾ [المائدة ٤٤]: يَحتج بظاهِرِه مَن يُكفِّر بالذنوب، وهم الخوارج، ولا حُجَّة لهم فيه»
"'And whoever does not judge by what Allāh has revealed, then it is those who are the disbelievers' [Al-Mā'idah 44], Those who declare people disbelievers due to sins rely on its apparent meaning, and they are the Khawarij, but they have no valid argument" [Al-Mufhim (5/117)].