and they say, for example, “Whoever commits fornication is a disbeliever; whoever steals is a disbeliever; whoever drinks wine is a disbeliever.” In their eyes every major sin amounts to unbelief—Allah protect us—casting its perpetrator out of the faith. Thus, those who brand Muslims unbelievers are themselves, beyond any doubt, the true unbelievers, for the Prophet ﷺ said that when a man calls his brother “O disbeliever,” the accusation inevitably rebounds upon one of them: if the charge is true, then the accused is indeed a disbeliever, but if it is false, the speaker himself becomes the disbeliever—Allah’s refuge is sought.

For this reason a person must keep both tongue and heart free from excommunicating Muslims: he should neither pronounce, “This man is a disbeliever,” nor inwardly believe it out of mere whim. The right to declare unbelief does not belong to Zayd or ʿAmr; it belongs solely to Allah and His Messenger. Whomever Allah and His Messenger have declared a disbeliever is a disbeliever, even if we insist he is a Muslim, and whomever Allah and His Messenger have not declared a disbeliever remains a Muslim, even if someone else claims otherwise.

Accordingly, we say to anyone who addresses a Muslim with “You disbeliever” or “Enemy of Allah”: if the person addressed truly is as alleged, then he is indeed a disbeliever and an enemy of Allah; but if not, the speaker himself becomes the disbeliever and enemy of Allah—Allah protect us. Hence such speech counts among the major sins when the one accused is not deserving of it. For this reason the author—may Allah have mercy on him—ruled categorically that it is forbidden to tell a Muslim, “You disbeliever” or “Enemy of Allah.”

We ask Allah, the Exalted, to shield our hearts and restrain our tongues from anything that angers Him or harms us. He is indeed capable of all things.