he is a disbeliever. The same applies to anyone who denies the prohibition of any manifestly forbidden thing whose prohibition is established through mass transmission, such as acts of gross indecency, injustice, lying, intoxicating drink, and the like.

As for those against whom the proof has not been established—for example, someone who has only recently embraced Islam, or who grew up in a remote desert region where the laws of Islam had not reached him, or someone in similar circumstances—or those who mistakenly believe that people who believe and do righteous deeds are exempt from the prohibition of intoxicating drink, as did those whom ‘Umar called upon to repent: such people are called upon to repent, and the proof is established against them. If they persist, they then become disbelievers; they are not judged to be disbelievers before that. Likewise, the Companions did not judge Qudāmah ibn Maz‘ūn and his companions to be disbelievers when they fell into their mistaken interpretation.

As for someone who abandons any of these four pillars while acknowledging its obligation, the scholars hold several views on declaring him a disbeliever, all of which are reported from Ahmad:

The first is that he becomes a disbeliever by abandoning any one of the four, even Hajj. Although the scholars differ over whether Hajj may be deferred, whenever he resolves to abandon it altogether, he becomes a disbeliever. This is the view of a group among the early generations and one of the positions reported from Ahmad, which Abū Bakr adopted.

The second is that he does not become a disbeliever by abandoning any of these duties so long as he acknowledges its obligation. This is the well-known position among many jurists belonging to the schools of Abū Hanīfah, Mālik, and al-Shāfi‘ī. It is also one of the positions reported from Ahmad, adopted by Ibn Battah and others.