…for a dispensation that has been abrogated is no longer a religion after its abrogation; it was counted as religion only before it was repealed. Once abrogated, it ceases to be the religion, and the abrogating dispensation becomes the valid religion. Thus the law of Islam has annulled all previous codes. Whoever persists in Judaism or Christianity after the mission of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is an unbeliever, because he is practicing a dispensation whose allotted time has expired. (77) The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—said: Allah has made it obligatory for all people to disbelieve in the taghut (every false object of worship, allegiance, or obedience that exceeds its bounds) and to believe in Allah. He then defined the term taghut. Taghut is mentioned by the Exalted in many verses, among them His words in Surah al-Baqarah: “Whoever rejects the taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the firmest handhold that will never break. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Allah is the ally of those who believe; He brings them out of darkness into light. As for those who disbelieve, their allies are the taghut; they bring them out of light into darkness. Such are the inhabitants of the Fire, and there they will abide forever.” (2:256–257) And in Surah al-Nisa He says: