A condition which must be known while excusing with ignorance
23-03-2008
Sheikh Abdul Qādir bin Abdul Azīz فك الله أسره said in his book Al Jām’i:
And with all sadness, thus verily some of the people of the current times, let
loose the saying of ‘excusing with ignorance’ as I mentioned in the last part of
the second chapter. In this, they took proofs from the sayings of Ibn Taimiyah
رحمه الله, that verily the person. Upon whom the proofs of the Message (of Islām)
is not established, he will not become a Kāfir. And they did not mention in his
saying anything about the rule of ‘ability’. As his [Ibn Taimiyah’s] sayings are
all bounded with the rule of ‘ability’. And the sayings of the scholars must be
collected its parts with other [parts] so that its general and its limited and
its collective from its explained canbe understood. Its matter is like the
matter of the Shar’ī proofs. And this is agreed upon near the people of
knowledge.
From his sayings in regards of the obligation of establishing the proof of the
Message before takfīr, his saying رحمه الله (and this, with verily I am always,
and those who sit with me knows that from me: I am from the most forbidding
people to attribute a specific individual to takfīr, and tafsīq [declaring one a
fāsiq] and disobedience, except when it is known that verily the Hujjah
Risāliyyah has been established, which whoever goes against it, becomes a Kāfir
sometimes and a fāsiq in other times and a sinner another time) (Majmū ‘ul
Fatāwā) 3/229.
And he also said (but it is not that whoever speaks a word of kufr will become a
kāfir, until the proof which proves his kufr is established, and when the Hujjah
is established upon him, he becomes a Kāfir then) (Majmū ‘ul Fatāwā) 5/306. And
this is many in his saying.
As for his sayings which states in it, upon the rule of ‘ability to seek
knowledge’, thus from it:
His saying رحمه الله (the judgment of the Khitāb [the sharī’ah] does not become
proven in the rights of the Mukallafīn [people burdened with the Sharī’ah],
except after their ability to know it. [this] from the most sound [view] of the
sayings) (Majmū ‘ul Fatāwā) 20/25.
And he also said (verily Allāh تعالى says <<and we are not to punish until we
send a messenger>> and the Hujjah is established upon the Slaves with two
things: with the requirement of ability to know what Allāh revealed and the
power to act upon it. Thus as for the unable person from knowledge like a madman
or the unable one to act, there is no command or forbiddance upon him. And when
the knowledge is not found in some matters of religion or inability occurred
from some of it: it will be in the right of the one who is unable from knowledge
or acting with his saying, like the one whose knowledge has been cut from all
the knowledge of the religion or became incapable from all of it, like a madman
for example, and there are the times of fatrah [where the sharī’ah is not found
due to the time passage between messengers. Fatrah means the break] (Majmū ‘ul
Fatāwā) 20/59.
And Ibn taimiyah also said (and when this is clear, thus who leaves some of the
Al Eemān Al Wājib [matters which by not believing one becomes a kāfir] for his
incapability from it, either with his incapability to seek knowledge; like the
Message has not reached him or his inability to act, [then] he will not be
commanded with what he is incapable of. And this [the matter he doesn’t know due
to incapability] will not be from the religion and the Eemān al Wājib in his
case. Even though it is from the religion and Emān Al Wājib in reality) (Majmū
‘ul Fatāwā) 12/478-179.
And he also said (as the taklīf [being burdened with the Sharī’ah] is made a
requirement with the ability to know which’s reality it ‘Understanding’ and with
the capability upon action) (Majmū ‘ul Fatāwā) 10/ 347 and its likes are from
him in 21/634.
And Ibn Taimiyah also said (and this excuse will not be an excuse except with
the incapability to make it go. And or else thus whenever a human was capable to
know the truth thus he was careless [means he did not strive or did not do
anything to make the ignorance go] he will not be excused) (Majmū ‘ul Fatāwā)
20/280.
He also said (and collectively; there is no difference [of opinion] between the
Muslims; [that] verily who is in the Dār ul Kufr, and he believes and he is
incapable to make Hijrah, [then] it is not obligatory upon him from the Sharī’ah
from what he is incapable upon, but obligation is with abilty. And likewise;
which’s ruling is not known, thus he doesn’t know that verily the prayer is
obligatory upon him, he will not pray and making qadhā [praying what was not
prayed] is nto obligatory in the most apparent of the two sayings of the
scholars. And this is the school of thought of Abu Hanīfah [رحمه الله] and the
people of Dhāhir. And it is the one of the ways in the Madhhab of Ahmad- until
he said-and the correct view in all this chapter is; verily the ruling is not
proven except with the capability to know, and he will not make Qadhā of, of its
obligation he was unaware of) (Majmū ‘ul Fatāwā) 19/225-226, and for him is of
its likes in 11/406.
And Ibn Taimiyah رحمه الله said (and Allāh as he informs about it-the Nation- it
commands good and forbids evil, and this has been made a fardh Kifāyah, and from
it His saying <<and let their be a nation from you which calls to good and
commands to good and forbid from Munkar and they are the people of salvation>>
and when He informed about the happening of commanding with good and forbidding
munkar, it was not of its requirement that commands of the commander or the
forbiddance of the forbidder to reach every Mukallaf in the world, as this is
not from the requirements of the conveying the message, so how can what is a
following to that be made a requirement? But the requirement is that the
Mukallafūn are capable to reach it to them, then if they did not do enough and
did not try to reach it to them with the establishment of what would make it
obligatory upon him, then the mistake would be from them and not from him) (Majmū
‘ul Fatāwā) 28/125-126. I [Abdul Qādir] have inserted the word –Nation- between
two lines.
[Abdul Qādir says]:
And all the sayings of Sheikh ul Islām which passed explains in it the rule of
ability and the capable person if he doesn’t do enough in seeking the truth thus
then he is not excused, and verily it is not a requirement that the person who
is with the message reach every human.
And here are some other sayings of him which explains the rule of capability,
and he mentions in it some of the statuses in which the person is excused with
ignorance due to inability and from it the status of the one who embraces Islām
in Dār ul Kufr has passed. So from it:
His saying رحمه الله (and this, because the reaching wa’īd [the warning] reaches
to the one who does the Harām is required that he is capable to know of its
forbiddance, thus verily who grows up in a far away place [like a desert far a
from people] or who is new in Islām and did something from the forbidden without
knowing its forbiddance with not be sinful nor will he punished. Even though he
doesn’t depend on a Shar’ī proof to make it Halāl. So the one to whom the word
of forbiddance doesn’t reach and he depends upon a Shar’ī proof to make it
permissible is more appropriate to be excused) (Majmū ‘ul Fatāwā) 20/ 252.
And he also said (and many from the people they grow in places and times where
many from the knowledge of the prophecy are not found, until there not remains
who would convey what Allāh sent His messenger with from the Book and Wisdom.
Thus many from what Allāh sent his messenger will not be known and there would
be no one to convey it to him, and the likes of him will not be a kāfir. That is
why the Imāms agreed upon; verily the one who grows up in a Bādiyah which is far
away from people of Knowledge and Eemān, and he was a new to Islām, thus he
denies from the open Mutawātir rules, then verily he will not be ruled with Kufr
until he knows with what the messenger came with, and that is why it came in the
Hadīth <<a time will come upon the people they will not know prayer nor Zakāt
not fasting not Hajj except the old man and the old woman, they say ‘we found
our fathers saying ‘Lā Ilāha Illā Allāh’ they will not know prayer and neither
zakāt and neither Hajj and neither fasting, he said It will save them from
fire>> ) (Majmū ‘ul Fatāwā) 11/ 407-408 and for him of its likes in 35/165-166.
And he also said (and takfīr is from the punishments [wa’īd], even if his saying
is to deny the what the Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم said, but the person might
be new to Islām or he grew up in a far away place. And likes of this will not
become a Kāfir with denying what he denies until the Hujjah is established upon
him) (Majmū ‘ul Fatāwā) 3/ 231 and for him of its likes in 3/354.
And Ibn Taimiyah also said (thus as for the one who intentionally alters the
book, its words or meaning or knows what the Messenger brought, thus becomes
refractive, thus he is the one deserving of punishment, and likewise the one who
doesn’t try enough in seeking the truth and following it while following his
desires, busy with the world leaving that) (Al Jawāb us Sa’hīh Liman Baddala Dīn
ul Masī’h) 1/310.
By Imam ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
Submitted by a Mujahid