what the scriptural texts state concerning promises of reward, threats of punishment, and judgments of unbelief and sinfulness. Yet we do not judge that a particular individual falls under such a general ruling until the grounds for applying it to him are established without any countervailing impediment. I have explained this principle at length in “The Principle Governing Declarations of Unbelief.”

For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not declare an unbeliever the man who said:

“When I die, burn me, then scatter my ashes in the sea. By Allah, if Allah has power over me, He will punish me as He has never punished anyone in all the worlds.”

This was despite his doubt concerning Allah’s power and His ability to bring him back to life. Likewise, scholars do not declare someone an unbeliever for considering something forbidden to be lawful when this is due to his having only recently embraced Islam or having grown up in a remote desert region. A judgment of unbelief can only be made after the message has reached a person. Many of these people may not have received the scriptural texts that contradict their views, nor know that the Messenger was sent with those teachings. Thus, it is stated in general terms that a particular statement constitutes unbelief, while an individual is declared an unbeliever only when the proof whose rejection constitutes unbelief has been established against him—not otherwise. And Allah knows best.

What do the jurists, the imams of the religion, say concerning these Tatars who arrived in the year 699 AH and committed the widely known acts of killing Muslims, taking some of their offspring captive, and plundering the Muslims they encountered; who violated the sanctities of religion by humiliating Muslims and desecrating mosques—especially “the Holy House in Jerusalem”—and wreaked havoc there