“Whoever declares anyone who prays facing the qiblah an unbeliever has himself disbelieved if he considers doing so lawful; otherwise, he is sinfully disobedient.”

When his case is brought before the judge, the judge must discipline him and impose a discretionary punishment sufficient to deter others like him. If the judge leaves him unpunished despite having the power to act, he is sinful. And Allah Most High knows best.

Written by Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Baghdādī, serving the Mālikī community at the noble Mustansiriyya Madrasa. May Allah have mercy on its founder.

Another respondent answered as follows:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds, and may His blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family.

In his statement, our master—the learned imam who acts upon his knowledge, a man of manifold virtues and beneficial learning, an ocean of knowledge and a fountain of excellence, Jamāl al-Dīn, whose handwritten statement precedes this writing of mine—has presented the plain and manifest truth and eschewed the indulgence shown by the shaykhs. May Allah adorn Islam through him and lavish His abundant favours upon him.

As for the question and answer that preceded his statement, no one possessed of discernment and reason can fail to see that he provided an answer corresponding to the question by relating the statements of earlier scholars. The only challenge remaining would be for someone to dispute the accuracy of his transmission, whereupon he would produce it