The Fourteenth Evidence

Ibn Kathīr, may Allāh have mercy on him, commented on some of the rulings in the Tatar code book (the Yasa or Yasaq), stating: «وفي ذلك كله؛ مُخالفة لشرائع الله المنزلة على عباده الأنبياء عليهم الصلاة والسلام، فمن تَرَكَ الشَّرْعَ المُحْكَم المُنَزَّلَ على محمد بن عبد الله خاتم الأنبياء، وتحاكم إلى غيره من الشرائع المنسوخة؛ كَفَرَ ؛ فكيف بمن تحاكم إلى الياسا وقدَّمها عليه؟ من فعل ذلك؛ كفر؛ بإجماع المسلمين» "All of these rulings contradict the divine laws revealed to the Prophets, peace be upon them. Whoever abandons the definitive Sharī‘ah revealed to Muḥammad ibn ’Abdullāh, the Seal of the Prophets, and turns to other abrogated laws has fallen into disbelief. So what about someone who turns to the Yasa and places it above the Sharī‘ah?! Whoever does so has committed disbelief, by the unanimous consensus of the Muslims." [Al-Bidāyah wa An-Nihāyah (13/128), Events of the Year 624 AH]. If someone says: This indicates a consensus on the disbelief of anyone who abandons the Sharī‘ah and resorts to other laws. The response: This consensus applies to one of two types of people: 1. One who considers it lawful to rule by other than what Allāh has revealed. 2. One who considers the judgment of other than Allāh superior to that of Allāh. I say: There is no disagreement regarding the disbelief of those who make such judgments lawful or superior. The proof for this is that Ibn Kathīr, may Allāh have mercy on him, only mentioned the consensus on the disbelief of the Tatars and those who acted like them, and the state they were in was unquestionably one of disbelief. This is evident for two reasons: The First: They deemed it lawful to judge by other than what Allāh had revealed. Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: «يجعلون دين الإسلام؛ كدين اليهود والنصارى، وأنَّ هذه كلها طُرُقُ إلى الله، بمنزلة المذاهب الأربعة عند المسلمين، ثم منهم من يُرجح دين اليهود، أو دين النصارى، ومنهم من يرجح دين المسلمين» "They equate the religion of Islam with the religion of the Jews and Christians, claiming that all of these are paths to Allāh, akin to the four madhhabs (schools of thought) in Islam. Among them, some prefer Judaism, others prefer Christianity, and some prefer Islam." [Al-Fatāwā 28/523] The Second: They considered the judgment of other than Allāh superior to that of Allāh. Ibn Kathīr, may Allāh have mercy on him, said regarding their book, which contains rulings devised for them by Genghis Khan: «وهو عبارة عن كتاب مجموع من أحكام قد اقتبسها من شرائعَ شتّى؛ من اليهودية، والنصرانية والملة الإسلامية، وفيها كثير من الأحكام أخَذَها من مُجرَّد نَظَرِهِ وهَوَاهُ، فصارت في بَنِيْهِ شَرْعاً مُتَّبَعاً، يُقدِّمونها على الحكم بكتاب الله وسنة رسوله ﷺ، فمن فعل ذلك منهم؛ فهو كافر، يجب قتاله حتى يرجع إلى حكم الله ورسوله، فلا يحكّم سواه في قليل ولا كثير» "It is a book compiled from various laws taken from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, along with numerous laws based solely on his own personal opinions and desires. It became a law followed by his descendants, and they prioritised it over the judgment by the Book of Allāh and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ. Whoever does this among them is a disbeliever, and fighting them is obligatory until they return to the judgment of Allāh and His Messenger, and do not resort to anything else, in either minor or major matters." [Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr (2/88), Al-Mā'idah 50] I say: Whoever reflects on this while affirming it will find the words of Ibn Kathīr, may Allāh have mercy on him, in agreement with the words of the scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah in transmitting the consensus on the disbelief of anyone who considers the rulings of other than Allah lawful or superior. Furthermore, if there were a consensus that merely abandoning the Sharia and turning to other laws without deeming them lawful or superior resulted in disbelief, this consensus would have been widely reported and confirmed by scholars, whether from the time of Ibn Kathīr, before him, or after him.