The Third Issue:

Some have argued for takfīr in this case based on the ḥadīth concerning the darkening of the faces of the Jews. As mentioned earlier on page #, Allāh revealed Āyāt regarding them, as transmitted in Sahih Muslim (4415): "O Messenger, do not let those who hasten into disbelief grieve you," up to His statement: "And if you are given this, take it}" [Sūrah Al-Mā'idah 41], and His words: "And whoever does not judge by what Allāh has revealed—then it is they who are the disbelievers" [Al-Ma'idah 5:44], "And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed—then it is they who are the wrongdoers" [Al-Ma'idah 5:45], "And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed—then it is they who are the defiantly disobedient." [Al-Ma'idah 5:47]. They believe that the Jews were declared disbelievers because they made darkening the faces a general law. However, this argument is flawed because the Jews in question were declared disbelievers for reasons other than the supposed general legislation. This can be explained in two ways: First: They denied Allāh’s judgment regarding the adulterer, as explicitly stated in the ḥadīth. When the Prophet ﷺ asked them, "Do you not find stoning in the Torah?" they responded, "We find nothing about it!" [Bukhari 4556]. When their reader recited from the Torah, he covered the Āyah of stoning with his hand, reading only what came before and after it! [Bukhari 4556]. This denial constitutes rejection, which is unanimously agreed upon as major disbelief (refer to page #). Second: They altered Allāh’s ruling regarding the adulterer. When the Prophet ﷺ asked them, "What do you find in the Torah concerning stoning?" they replied, "We disgrace them and they are flogged" [Bukhari 3635]. They changed Allāh’s ruling and then falsely attributed what they invented to Allāh’s religion. This alteration is unanimously regarded as major disbelief (refer to page #). For this reason, Ibn ’Abdil-Barr, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: «وفي هذا الحديث أيضاً: دليل على أنهم كانوا يكذبون على توراتهم، ويُضيفون كذبَهم ذلك إلى ربِّهم وكتابهم» "This ḥadīth also provides evidence that they would lie about their Torah and attribute their lies to their Lord and their scripture" [At-Tamhīd (9/14)]. Therefore, it is incorrect to use this story as evidence for takfīr based on general legislation because the Jews committed two acts, each of which Ahlus-Sunnah unanimously agree constitutes disbelief, let alone both together. To claim that their disbelief was solely due to general legislation requires further evidence. I say: it is more appropriate to base takfīr on something explicitly mentioned in the narrations—about which scholars unanimously agree (whether it be rejection, substitution, or both)—than to base it on the contested issue of general legislation, for which there is no evidence of takfīr and no proof that the Jews' disbelief was due to it.