Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (13/398)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

the Last Day with the faith that entails submission and acceptance. Faith is not merely for a person to say, “I believe in Allah, and I believe that I will be resurrected.” Rather, he must accept and submit. For this reason, they are not believers. Even if they say, “We believe in Allah,” we would say: “You are lying. Had you believed in Allah, you would have believed in His Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.”

Accordingly, some scholars are of the view that, if she is a Jewish or Christian woman, she is not required to observe mourning. They cite this hadith as evidence, as well as the fact that disbelievers are not addressed with the subsidiary rulings of Islam in a manner requiring action, though they are addressed by them in a manner that establishes their liability to punishment. Thus, one does not say to a disbeliever, “Do not engage in usury, for usury is forbidden.” Rather, one says to him, “Accept Islam first.” Nor does one say to him, “Do not wear a gold ring, for it is forbidden.” Rather, one says to him, “Accept Islam.” Likewise, we do not tell him, “Pray”; rather, we say, “Accept Islam.” Thus, they are not addressed with the subsidiary rulings of Islam in a manner requiring action, but rather in a manner that establishes their liability to punishment. This is why Allah, Most High, says:

“Except the companions of the right. In gardens, they will ask one another about the wicked: ‘What has brought you into Saqar?’ They will say, ‘We were not among those who prayed, nor did we feed the poor, and we used to engage in vain discourse with those who engaged in it.’” [al-Muddaththir]

They mentioned these matters; and had they not affected their punishment, they would not have mentioned them.

What, then, is the response to this argument?

The response is as follows:

As for the hadith—the Prophet’s saying, peace and blessings be upon him, “It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for a deceased person except for her husband”—what is intended by it is exhortation and encouragement; that is, urging a woman to do so. It is not a restrictive qualification that excludes anyone else, just as when you say, “It is inconceivable for a noble man to dishonour his guest,” your purpose is to urge him to honour his guest. Likewise,

اليوم الآخر الإيمانَ الذي يقتضي الإذعان والقبول، فليس الإيمان مجرد أن يقول: أنا أؤمن بالله وأؤمن بأني سأبعث، بل لا بد أن يقبل ويذعن، ولهذا فهم غير مؤمنين، وإن قالوا: نؤمن بالله لقلنا: كذبتم، لو آمنتم بالله لآمنتم برسوله محمد ﵊. فنقول: ذهب بعض أهل العلم إلى أنها إذا كانت كتابية فإنه لا إحداد عليها، واستدلوا بالحديث، وبأن الكفار لا يخاطبون بفروع الإسلام مخاطبة فعل، وإن كانوا يخاطبون بها مخاطبة عقوبة؛ فلا تقل للكافر: لا تُرَابِ؛ لأن الربا حرام، بل قل له: أسلم أولاً، ولا تقل له: لا تلبس خاتم ذهب؛ لأنه حرام، وإنما قل له: أسلم، وكذلك ما نقول له: صلِّ، بل نقول: أسلم، فهم لا يخاطبون بفروع الإسلام مخاطبة فعل، إنما مخاطبة عقوبة؛ ولهذا قال الله تعالى: ﴿إِلاَّ أَصْحَابَ الْيَمِينِ *﴾ ﴿فِي جَنَّاتٍ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ *عَنِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ *مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَرَ *قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَ *وَلَمْ نَكُ نُطْعِمُ الْمِسْكِينَ *وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ الْخَائِضِينَ *﴾ [المدثر]، فذكروا هذه الأشياء، ولولا أن لها أثراً في عقوبتهم ما ذكروها. فما الجواب عن هذا الاستدلال؟ الجواب كالتالي: أما الحديث وهو قوله ﵊: «لا يحل لامرأة تؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر أن تحد على ميت إلا على زوج» فالمراد بذلك الحث والإغراء، أي: إغراء المرأة على الفعل، وليس قيداً يخرج ما عداه، كما تقول: لا يمكن للكريم أن يهين ضيفه، قصدك بهذا أن تحثه على إكرام الضيف، وكذلك أيضاً