Disbelief in Action and Conviction
~ Chapter 7 of the Book, entitled: 'Al Wala' wa'l Bara' Authored by: Muhammad Sa'eed Al Qahtani ~
Disbelief in Rulers
A few of the terms that appear in the preceding text of Ibn Al Qayim Al Jawziya have been misunderstood in the past, especially those dealing with political rule. Ibn Al Qayim has pointed out that to rule by something other than what Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala) has revealed is lesser disbelief. It is felt that some further explanation of this is necessary in order to avoid any confusion.
The Muslim community was founded on the adherence to and application of the Sharee'ah right from the time of its establishment by the Messenger of Allah (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam). This was also the case in the time of the Khulafaah u Raashideen (i.e. the Rightly Guided Caliphs), and the Umayyads continued their tradition.
Although some of them twisted it, the Law that they applied to the people was the Sharee'ah, whose protection, guidance and justice everyone enjoyed. When the Abbasids succeeded them, the Law by which they ruled was again the Sharee'ah, although at times people were hard pressed to realise it. Finally, the Tatars arrived and Hulaqu imposed their traditional law, known as 'Yasaq', upon the subject peoples. We will return to this subject again later - [Insha' Allah].
Everything else being equal, the opinion of the founders of the Muslim community, such as Ibn Al Qayim, are beyond reproach; and if a ruler is guilty of greed, nepotism, corruption, or anything similar, then such behaviour is without doubt a disbelief that is 'less than disbelief'.
However, what has befallen the Muslims in modern times is that our rulers have pushed the Sharee'ah of Allah (Ta'aala) aside, describing it as backward and reactionary, and claiming that it is ill-suited to modern life and the technological age. This is, in fact, a new kind of rejection of Faith that has arisen in the life of the Muslim community.
Furthermore, these ignorant claims do not just end here; rather these rulers have pursued them totally, and have replaced the Sharee'ah with French, English and American law, and with 'socialist humanism' or its like, drawn from the myriad variations of ignorant disbelief, exchanging a pearl for a glass bead.
The proofs against them are overwhelming, not the least of which is what has just been quoted from Ibn Al Qayim who states, 'This is real disbelief about which there is no doubt in anyone's mind.' Indeed there is no disagreement at all about it: to put the Sharee'ah aside with the claim that it is lacking and deficient, and then to claim that some other law is superior to it, and so to water it down to suit the times, is blatant disbelief (Al Kufr ul akbar).
Ibn Al Qayim also states that the ruler who does not stick to the letter of the Law or who neglects it in some way, but who is otherwise 'devoted' to Islam and to the observance of its Sharee'ah commits lesser disbelief. This 'devoted' ruler is the one to whom we apply the ruling of 'lesser disbelief' (Al Kufr ul asghar).
But this is clearly not the case of the ruler who replaces the Sharee'ah with his own law.
Then there is the matter of legislation regarding the things that the Sharee'ah permits or forbids. Our 'Ulamaa, both past and present, are all agreed that this is the exclusive domain of Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala), Who holds all creation in His hand. Whoever claims this right for himself has claimed one of Allah's Divine Attributes and has set himself up as an object worthy of worship along with Him. We will examine this point in more detail later on - [Insha' Allah].
To override the Divine Law and to impose instead of it the fleeting desires of man, is one of the acts that our 'Ulamaa have always said takes a person out of Islam; and this could not be otherwise. No one can deny this.
Allah (Ta'aala) says (Translation of the Meaning):
{His is the Creation and Commandment.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 7: Ayah 54)Thus we all recognise that it is Allah (Ta'aala) Who determines our Faith and our disbelief. He is the Creator of the Heavens and the earth, the Master of all Power and Authority, and Governance and Leadership. (1)
Muhammad Ibn Ibraheem Al ash Shaykh explains the words of Imam Ahmad which we mentioned earlier - 'This is real disbelief about which there is no doubt in anyone's mind' - saying,
'Clearly the greatest disbelief is to elevate a secular profanity to the position of the Revelation brought by the hand of Jibreel ('alayhee salaam), to the heart of Muhammad (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) so that his voice should ring out across the world.' (2)
Ibn Al Qayim says,
'The fact of the matter is that the phrase, {rule by other than what Allah has revealed}, refers to all disbelief, both greater and lesser, according to the circumstances. If a ruler understands the obligation to rule in accordance with what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed, but refuses to do so out of disobedience, while knowing full well that this exposes him to the threat of punishment, then this is a case of lesser disbelief.
But if he believes that this is not an obligation and that he is able to choose this or that, when he knows that the only option is the Rule of Allah (Ta'aala), then this is greater disbelief. Finally, if his error is because of ignorance, then the ruling that applies to him is the same as for anyone else who makes a mistake.' (3)
Ibn Taymeeyah says,
'There is no doubt that whoever does not believe in the obligation to rule by what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed to His Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), is a disbeliever. Whoever sanctions another to rule a people in whichever way he pleases, without reference to what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed, is a disbeliever. He may claim to be just, but there is no people who would not claim to be just, even if this justice were only discernible to the powerful amongst them.
Indeed many of those who like to call themselves Muslims still rule according to the tradition of their people, traditions which have nothing to do with the Revelation of Allah (Ta'aala), such as the ancient Bedouin codes of honour. Their princes were to be obeyed and they thought that their traditions were more appropriate to their people than the Sharee'ah revealed by Allah (Ta'aala).
This is disbelief.
Many people have accepted Islam yet rule only by force of habit which, like an addiction, demands its own continued observance. If any of them come to realise that it is not permitted for them to rule by anything other than what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed, yet still refuse to do so, and endorse a rule that is against what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed, then they are disbelievers.' (4)
In his commentary on the ayat (Translation of the Meaning):
{By Allah, we were truly, in a manifest error, when we held you
(false gods) as equals with the Lord of the 'Aalameen
(mankind, jinn and all that exists).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 26: Ayat 97-98),Ibn Al Qayim Al Jawziya says,
'They were compared to Allah (Ta'aala) in terms of love, deference and obedience to their will, not in terms of creative dynamism, omnipotence or divinity. As for equality, it is as Allah (Ta'aala) says in the ayah (Translation of the Meaning):
{All Praises and thanks are to Allah, Who (Alone) created
the Heavens and the earth, and originated the darkness and the light;
yet those who disbelieve hold others as equal with their Lord.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 6: Ayah 1)This means that they set up others as equals or rivals to Him, loving them, serving them, and sanctifying them, as they should serve Allah and glorify Him. They do not believe that a humanbeing is really equal to Allah (Ta'aala) in terms of actions and attributes, but they nevertheless ascribe to a humanbeing these Divine characteristics. And while they do this, conferring upon a humanbeing the same love, devotion, and reverence as they should to Allah (Ta'aala), they also know that there is a difference between them and Allah (Ta'aala). The answer to this paradox lies in the declaration of Faith,
"There is no god but Allah".' (5)
Disbelief by Conviction
Our scholars have mentioned five categories of disbelief by conviction, rather than by action. (6) These should clarify the status of someone who replaces the Sharee'ah; they include denial, pride, evasion, doubt and hypocrisy.
First, disbelief by denial is the belief that the Messengers were liars. These people are actually rather few, since Allah (Ta'aala) always assisted His Messengers, granting them proofs and signs of their Truthfulness that provided them with irrefutable evidence and deprived any whom they met of any excuse for denying them. Allah (Ta'aala) says of Fir'awn (Pharaoh) and his people:
{And they belied them (those Ayat) wrongfully and arrogantly, though
their own selves were convinced thereof [i.e. those (Ayat) are from Allah,
and Musa is the Messenger of Allah in Truth].}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 27: Ayah 14)And He (Ta'aala) said to His Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam):
{...it is not you that they deny (O Muhammad), but it is
the Verses (the Qur'an) of Allah that the dhaalimun
(polytheists and wrong-doers) deny.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 6: Ayah 33)Second, disbelief through haughtiness and pride is like the disbelief of Shaytaan and of those who knew the Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) and never found fault with him, but who turned away conceitedly. This is the most common type of disbelief amongst the enemies of the Messengers; Allah (Ta'aala) says, relating the words of Fir'awn and his people:
{Shall we believe in two men like ourselves, and their people are
obedient to us with humility (and we use them to serve us as we like).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 23: Ayah 47)The disbelief of Abu Taalib was also like this. He trusted the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), and had no doubt as to his Truthfulness, but was overcome by zeal for his clan, fearing to offend them by recognising the Prophethood of his nephew.
Third, disbelief by evasion is to turn away from the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), and his Message. These people neither listen to him, nor believe him; they do not deny him, or pay the slightest attention to anything that he says at all. This is like the disbelief of one of the Banee 'Abd Yalil who told the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam),
'By Allah, I will just say this to you. If what you say is true you are the most noble person I would ever oppose, and if you are lying you are the most odious person I can imagine speaking with.' (7)
Fourth, disbelief through doubt is that which neither affirms nor denies the trustworthiness of the Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), but which raises some doubt about it. It is not possible to maintain this position for very long. Either people turn totally away from the clear signs of the Truthfulness of the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), or they turn to it and commit themselves to belief; but in either case doubt does not remain.
Fifth, disbelief through hypocrisy is when people say that they believe, while concealing denial in their hearts; this is the greatest form of hypocrisy.
Shirk, Hypocrisy and Apostacy
As for shirk, it is of two types: greater, which takes one out of the community, and lesser, which does not. With regard to Greater Shirk (Shirk ul Akbar), Allah (Ta'aala) says:
{Verily, Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship)
with Him, but He forgives whom He Wills sins other than that...}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 4: Ayah 116)Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab has explained that there are four kinds of Shirk ul Akbar (Greater Shirk): These can occur when asking for help; in acts of devotion; when offering obedience; and in extending love towards something other than Allah (Ta'aala), in a manner which should only be directed to Allah (Ta'aala).
Allah (Ta'aala) speaks of supplication with these words:
{And when they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their
Faith pure for Him only: but when He brings them safely to land, behold,
they give a share of their worship to others.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 29: Ayah 65)About the shirk of those who devote themselves to something other than Allah (Ta'aala), He says:
{Whoever desires the life of the world and its glitter, to them We
shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no
diminution therein. They are those for whom there is nothing in the
Hereafter but Fire, and vain are the deeds they did therein. And of
no effect is that which they used to do.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 11: Ayat 15-16)Of those who associate a partner with Him when offering obedience, He (Ta'aala) says:
{They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their
monks to be their lords besides Allah.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 9: Ayah 31)Also, in the hadeeth related by Adiy Ibn Hatim who, when he heard the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) recite this verse asked, 'But did they really worship them?', the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) replied,
'Certainly they did, for they forbade them what was permitted and
they permitted them what was forbidden, and in this they followed
them; this is how they worshipped them.' (8)As for the shirk connected to love, Allah (Ta'aala) says:
{And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides
Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them as they love Allah. But those
who believe, love Allah more (than anything else).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 2: Ayah 165)Hypocrisy, too, may take a person out of the community. Ibn Taymeeyah explains this, saying,
'There is a Greater Hypocrisy, the likes of which will take you to the deepest pit of Hell, like the hypocrisy of 'Abdullaah Ibn Ubayy and others. It includes denial of the Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), rejection of some part of the Revelation, failure to believe in the obligation of obedience, joy at the setbacks of the Prophet's (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) Deen or displeasure at its successes, or some other element that can only mean enmity towards Allah (Ta'aala) and His Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam).' (10)
Apostacy is a type of disbelief that comes after Belief. This is the case of whoever declares disbelief and acts upon it, or takes pleasure in it wilfully, even though he may be acting against his own heart. The 'Ulamaa have discussed this at length and have said that an apostate is the one who disbelieves after having previously submitted himself to Islam, whether by word, by deed, or by belief. They have established that whoever declares his disbelief is a disbeliever even if he has spoken without conviction, and does not act upon it. The only exception to this is someone who has been compelled against his will.
In the same way, if someone performs an act of disbelief, he too is a disbeliever, even if he acts without conviction and makes no declaration of disbelief. This is also true if disbelief arises in the heart and overwhelms and conquers him, even though he made no declaration of it and does not act upon it. This is quite clear from what has been written on the subject. Anyone who has any Knowledge of the Deen must have come across this at some time. (11)
Footnotes
1) See Sayid Qutub's comments on this ayah in his Fi Dhilal al Qur'an, (3/1297). See also Tafseer Ibn Katheer.
2) Tahkim al Qawanin, p.1.
3) Madarij as Salikin, 1/337.
4) Majmu'at at Tawheed, ch.12.
5) At Tafseer al Qayim, p.396.
6) Madarij as Salikin, 1/337-338.
7) Muhammad Hamid al Fiqi notes here that many of those who call themselves by Muslim names and follow the Jews and Christians, giving one another great respect and claiming in their ignorance and foolishness that the way to progress and civilisation is in 'modernisation' and 'westernisation', are in this category of disbelief. [Madarij as Salikin, 1/228/margins.]
8) Tirmidhee, Kitab at Tafseer, 8/248, (3094); also Ibn Katheer, 4/77; al Albanee classifies it as Hassan.
9) Majmu' at Tawheed, p.3.
10) Ibn Taymeeyah, Majmu' al Fatawaa, 28/434.
11) Ahmad Ibn 'Atiq, ad Difaa', p.28.
Formatted and Edited by Abu Suhayb
Due to the inferiority of the original Qur'anic translations in this chapter - which was that of Muhammad Pickthall's - all translations of Qur'anic text have been changed to texts from the: 'The Noble Qur'an': A summarized Version of At-Tabari, Al Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir with comments from Sahih al Bukhari. Summarized in One Volume. Translation by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Deen Al Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.
Maktaba Dar-us- Salam: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1995