Although these groups have become numerous in our time, this is due to the scarcity of those who call people to knowledge and faith, and the waning influence of the prophetic message in most lands. Most of these people do not possess enough of the legacy of the prophetic message and the inheritance of prophethood to recognize right guidance, and many have never received it at all.

In times and places where prophetic guidance has faded, a person is rewarded for whatever little faith he possesses. In such circumstances, Allah forgives those against whom the proof has not been established for things He does not forgive those against whom it has been established. This is illustrated by the well-known hadith:

“A time will come upon people when they will know neither prayer nor fasting, neither Hajj nor ‘umrah, except for elderly men and women, who will say: ‘We remember our fathers saying: There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.’ Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān was asked: ‘What benefit will “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah” be to them?’ He replied: ‘It will save them from the Fire.’”

The underlying principle is that a statement constituting disbelief according to the Quran, the Sunnah and scholarly consensus is declared to be disbelief in general terms, as indicated by the evidence of Islamic law. Judgments concerning “faith” are received from Allah and His Messenger; they are not matters for people to decide according to their conjectures and desires.

Yet not every individual who makes such a statement is to be judged a disbeliever: the conditions for declaring him a disbeliever must first be established in his case, and the impediments to doing so must be absent. An example is someone who says that wine or usury is lawful because he has only recently embraced Islam or grew up in a remote desert region. Another is someone who hears words and rejects them without believing them to be part of the Quran or the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Some of the early generations likewise rejected certain things until it was established to their satisfaction that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had said them. Similarly, the Companions had doubts concerning certain matters, such as seeing Allah and other matters