The Warning: from careless accusations of Takfir
The following Article has been translated from the Book: Mafahim yajibu 'an tusahhaha, written by Shaykh al-Hadith, Muhaddith, 'allama Sayyad Muhammad 'Alawi Maliki Makki Hasani, Allah be pleased with him. [Servant of Islamic Sacred Sciences in the Haram of Makkah al-Mukarramah]
[Shaykh Sayyad Muhammad 'Alawi Maliki Makki, Allah be pleased with him, says:]
"Many people error May Allah [The Most Majestic & The Most Sublime] correct them in understanding the real reasons which removes a person out of the fold of Islam & necessitates the ruling of disbelief upon him. Thus, one see's them rushing to judge a Muslim with kufr [infidelity] over mere disagreements [on juristic issues or contraventions of Shari'ah], until there is hardly a Muslim on the face of the earth, save a handful. Whilst we seek to [legally] excuse such people, giving [them] the benefit of doubt & we say perhaps their intentions were good such as fulfilling an obligation to command the right & forbid the wrong, but, what escaped them is that the obligation of commanding the right & forbidding the wrong, in conveying it requires wisdom & good exhortation & when the matter [disagreement] requires [argumentive] discussion, it is imperative it be[done] with that which is better, as the Almighty has said:
"Call to the path of your Lord with wisdom & goodly exhortation & argue with them with that which is better."[al-Qur'an 16:125],
And this is likely to gain acceptance & nearer to achieving the expectation & to do contrary to it is error & foolishness.
So if you invite a Muslim - who prays [salah five times a day], fulfils the obligations [fara'id] of Allah [which He has ordained], avoids His prohibitions [maharim], disseminates His call [invites people to His Din], strengthens His Mosques [assists in maintaining & establishing Mosques] & keeps His covenants to something which you see as the Truth but he see's the matter to be contrary to you & the opinion of the [Islamic] Scholars in the matter is divided [mukhtalaf: controversial &] of long-standing, affirming [iqraran] & denying [inkaran], yielding not with your opinion; then you reproach him with kufr [disbelief] for merely opposing your opinion, then Indeed, you have perpetrated an enormous wrong & arrived at a terrible judgement [sin] one that Allah has forbidden & has called you in adopting wisdom [hikmah] & amicable means [al-husna: fairness] in this matter. Verily, there is [Scholarly] consensus [ijma'a] on the prohibition of charging kufr [takfir] on anyone who is from the ahl al-qiblah [people who submit prayers towards the K'abah] save in matters in which is denial of the Creator, the All-Powerful, Majestic & Sublime or an act of blatant polytheism [shirk] one that supports not interpretation [ta'wil: interpretation by extenuating circumstances] or denial of Prophethood [al-nubuwwah] or denial of that which is necessarily known as being from the Din [inkar ma 'ulima min al-Din bi al-darurati] or denial of a mutawatir [recurring transmission & continuous testimony of an Article of Faith reaching us today from the Blessed era of the Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, in succession, of the Qur'an or Hadith] or denial of something upon which there is [Scholarly] consensus of its being essentially known as from [part of] the Din [majm'a 'alayhi daruratan min al-Din wa'l m'alūm min al-Din daruratan]. Such as: Tawhid [Uniqueness of Allah, The Most Majestic & The Most Sublime] & al-Nubuwwat [characteristics & attributes of Prophethood] & khatm al-risalat bi Muhammadin [that Prophetic Messengerhood has ended with (Sayyiduna) Muhammad, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] & Resurrection on the Last Day & the [Final] Reckoning & the [ultimate] Recompense & Paradise & Hell the denier of [any of] which is a disbeliever & for which no Muslim has excuse of ignorance with, unless he is new in his covenant in Islam [i.e. a revert/convert], hence is excused until he learns after which he will not be excused.
... Indeed, to judge a Muslim with kufr in matters other than those explained [above] is an extremely dangerous matter, as in the Hadith:
"He who says to his fellow Muslim, 'O Kafir!' [O Disbeliever!] Surely one of them has earned the name."[Narrated by Abū Hurayrah, Reported by Imam Bukhari in his Sahih]
It is not correct to issue it [the judgement of kufr] save for the one [Scholar] who with the light [nur] of Shari'ah [Islamic Sacred Law] is well acquainted with the inclusions of the kufr & its acquittals & the decisive restrictions between iman & kufr according to the strict standards [rulings] of Shari'ah [mim man 'arafa bi nur al-shari'ah madakhil al-kufr wa makharijihi wa'l hudud al-fasilah bayn al-kufr wa'l iman fi hukm al-Shari'ah al-ghira']. Hence, it is not permissible for any human to hasten in this field & judge kufr on the basis of assumptions & conjecture without substantiating & certainty & seriousness of knowledge. Otherwise, the torrent will flood the valley floor & no Muslim will remain on the face of the earth save a few.
The Imam [Abu'l Ma'ali 'Abd al-Malik bin Muhammad al-Juwayni (419H/1028CE-478H/1085CE)] of the two Sacred Sanctuaries [al-Haramayn] would say: "If we were told to distinguish from the expressions that which necessitate takfir [judgement of kufr] from those which do not necessitate it, then we would reply; this is a desire for something undesirable [pointless to wish for] for this is verily too distant a reach [to be attainable] & a path too stony to tread, incorporating the principles [science] of al-Tawhid [Divine Uniqueness & Unity & principles of iman: faith, since iman & kufr are two opposites] & he who is unfortunate in attaining the far reaching facts will not achieve anything [remotely] reliable [in the form of a writ: fatwa'] to substantiate the criteria for takfir."
Because of this, we warn of utmost caution against rashness & carelessness with accusations of disbelief in other than the aforementioned cases, for they are seriously dangerous.
wa Allahu al-Hadi ila' sawa' al-sabil wa ilayhi al-masir
And Allah Guides to the Best of Ways & unto Him is the [ultimate] destiny