Excuse of Ignorance

Is One Who Studies a Non-Salafī ʿAqīdah Excused Based on Such-and-Such Scholar Holding that ʿAqīdah?

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Sh. Ibn al-ʿUthaymīn رَحِمَهُ اللهُ said, “This particular person is not excused where the truth has reached him, because it is obligatory upon him to follow the truth wherever it is, and to search for it until it becomes clear to him.

The truth – and all praise is due to Allāh – is pure and clear to the one whose intention is sound, and his methodology is good, for indeed Allāh the Almighty and Majestic says in His Book, {And indeed We have made the Qurʾān easy to remember, so is there anyone who will pay heed} [al-Qamar (54): 22]. However, some people, as the brother querist has mentioned, have those whom they hold in high esteem and follow without deviating from their opinions, despite it crossing their minds that their opinions may be weak or false, however due to fanaticism and desire they are carried away in agreeing with them, even though the guidance may have become clear to them.”

Source: Majmūʿ Fatāwá wa Rasāʾil Faḍīlat al-Shaykh Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn, 2: 129, no. 223.

What Are the Conditions of Takfir? And What is the Ruling on One Who Does an Excommunicable Act Jokingly?

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Sh. Ibn al-ʿUthaymīn رَحِمَهُ اللهُ said, “Excommunication of a Muslim as a ruling has two prerequisites:

[1] Establishing the proof of that thing being excommunicable.

[2] Application of the ruling on one who does that, such that he is knowledgeable of it and intended it. If he was ignorant, he is not excommunicated. This is based on His, Exalted be He’s statement:

وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ ٱلرَّسُولَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِۦ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصْلِهِۦ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَسَآءَتْ مَصِيرًا ۝١

{And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers, We shall leave him on his chosen path and burn him in Hell – what an evil destination} [al-Nisāʾ (4): 115].

And His statement:

وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُضِلَّ قَوْمًۢا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَىٰهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يُبَيِّنَ لَهُم مَّا يَتَّقُونَ

{And Allāh would not let a people stray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they should avoid. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing of all things} [al-Tawbah (9): 115].

And His statement:

وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًۭا

{And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger} [al-Isrāʾ (17): 15].

However, if he is negligent by abandoning learning and seeking clarification then he is not excused. For example: it reaches him that this action of his is disbelief, but then he does not verify it, nor research it, in that case he is not excused.

If he did not intend to do the excommunicable act, then he is not excommunicated for that. For example: if he is forced to do [an act of] disbelief while his heart is sure with faith, or his mind was overcome and he did not know what he was saying due to extreme joy or its like, like the owner of the camel which wandered off, so he lay down under a tree awaiting death, then he finds it standing before him so he takes hold of its nose-string and says ‘O Allāh, You are my slave, and I am Your Lord’ – he makes a mistake due to extreme joy.

However, whoever does an excommunicable act jokingly, he disbelieves because he intended that as the scholars have determined.”

Source: Majmūʿ Fatāwá wa Rasāʾil Faḍīlat al-Shaykh Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn, 2: 125 – 126, no. 220.