Al-Qawl al-Sadid fi al-Radd ala Man Ankara Taqsim al-Tawhid - Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr - (86)

Al-Qawl al-Sadid fi al-Radd ala Man Ankara Taqsim al-TawhidAbd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr

Declaring someone an unbeliever also falls within the category of threatened punishment. For even if a statement denies the truth of what the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, the person making it may have only recently embraced Islam or may have grown up in a remote desert region. Such a person is not declared an unbeliever for what he denies until the proof has been established against him. He may not have heard those texts; or he may have heard them without their authenticity having been established for him; or something else may, in his view, have conflicted with them and required a different interpretation, even though he was mistaken.

I would always cite the hadith in the two collections of authentic hadith concerning the man who said:

‘“When I die, burn me, then crush me and scatter me in the sea. By Allah, if Allah has power over me, He will surely punish me as He has never punished anyone else in all creation.”

They did this to him, and Allah said to him, “What prompted you to do what you did?” He replied, “Fear of You.” So He forgave him.’

This man doubted Allah’s power and whether He would restore him to life after his remains had been scattered. Indeed, he believed that he would not be resurrected. The Muslims agree that this is unbelief, but he was ignorant and did not know this. He was a believer who feared that Allah would punish him, so Allah forgave him on that account. Someone qualified to exercise independent scholarly judgment who interprets the texts while earnestly seeking to follow the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is even more deserving of forgiveness than such a man.”1

Consider, then, how painstaking he was and how precise his words were on this issue, and how scrupulous and just he was in dealing with it. There are a great many passages from him similar to those quoted above, as anyone who reads his books and writings knows. Were it not for fear of undue length, I would quote many of them. Yet even so, he—may Allah have mercy on him—did not escape this writer and others like him, who disparage him by accusing him of declaring Muslims unbelievers. I think this is an instance of the saying, “She accused me of her own failing, then slipped away,” for it is the adherents of innovation who rush to declare others unbelievers, and it is they

1 Al-Fatāwā (Legal Opinions), vol. 3, pp. 229–231.

والتكفير هو من الوعيد. فإنَّه وإن كان القول تكذيباً لما قاله الرسول ﷺ لكن قد يكون الرجل حديث عهد بإسلام أو نشأ ببادية بعيدة، ومثل هذا لا يكفر بجحد ما يجحده حتى تقوم عليه الحجة، وقد يكون الرجل لم يسمع تلك النصوص أو سمعها ولم تثبت عنده أو عارضها عنده معارض آخر أوجب تأويلها وإن كان مخطئاً. وكنت دائماً أذكر الحديث الذي في الصحيحين في الرجل الذي قال: "إذا أنا مت فأحرقوني ثم اسحقوني ثم ذروني في اليم، فو الله لإن قدر الله عليَّ ليعذبني عذاباً ما عذبه أحداً من العالمين. ففعلوا به ذلك فقال الله له: ما حملك على ما فعلت؟ قال: خشيتك، فغفر له". فهذا رجل شكَّ في قدرة الله، وفي إعادته إذا ذُري، بل اعتقد أنَّه لا يعاد، وهذا كفر باتفاق المسلمين، لكن كان جاهلاً لا يعلم ذلك، وكان مؤمناً يخاف الله أن يعاقبه فغفر له بذلك، والمتأول من أهل الاجتهاد الحريص على متابعة الرسول ﷺ أولى بالمغفرة من مثل هذا"١. فانظر إلى شدة تحريه ودقة كلامه في هذه المسألة، وشدة ورعه وعدله فيها، والنقول عنه في مثل ما تقدم كثيرة جداً يعلمها من يطالع كتبه ومؤلفاته، ولولا خشية الإطالة لنقلت منها الكثير. ومع ذلك لم يسلم ﵀ من هذا الكاتب وأمثاله ممن يلمزونه بأنَّه يكفِّر المسلمين، وأحسب أنَّ الأمر من قبيل ما قيل: "رمتني بدائها وانسلت" إذ أهل البدع هم المتسرعون في التكفير، وهم

١ الفتاوى (٣/٢٢٩٢٣١) .