In the light of this sound hadith—upon which the whole of this treatise is founded—and in view of the statement of Ahmad and other leading Hanbali authorities that concurs with it, declaring a professing Muslim who upholds monotheism to be an unbeliever on the basis of a deed he commits is impermissible unless it becomes evident that he is actually denying—even partially—what Allah has ordained, such as the person who is summoned to pray and, if he still refuses, is liable to execution, as mentioned earlier.

On this point I am struck by what al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar cites in Fatḥ al-Bārī (12/300) from al-Ghazālī: “One must avoid takfīr whenever there is any room to do so, for declaring the blood of Muslims who affirm the oneness of Allah to be lawful is a grave error. An error that leaves a thousand unbelievers alive is lighter than an error that spills the blood of a single Muslim.”

I have also learned that certain individuals, when confronted with this hadith, cast doubt on its proof that a Muslim who neglects the prayer will be spared eternal residence in the Fire together with the unbelievers, claiming that he is not mentioned in any of the groups removed from Hell.

Such obstinacy is astonishing and recalls the attitude of some fanatical partisans who reject the plain purport of the evidence in order to defend their school. The hadith is explicit that the first group comprised those who had prayed, the sign being that the Fire had not consumed their faces. It follows, obviously, that none of the ensuing groups contained worshippers. ⦗60⦘