EXCOMMUNICATION FROM ISLAM
God’s Domain
THE Prophet said, “When a person calls his brother a disbeliever (kafir), it applies to one of the two. If the addressee is not a disbeliever, then the person who has made the claim will become a disbeliever in God’s eyes.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)
Commenting on a similar saying of the Prophet in Sahih Muslim, Imam al-Nawawi has stated: “It is the position of people of the truth (ahl alhaqq) that no person from among the people of the qiblah (direction of the Kabah, the sacred house of God) shall ever be declared as kafir for any sin.” (Sharh al-Nawawi) That is, a person who prays facing the Kabah as qiblah will not be declared as kafir, or will not be excommunicated from Islam, on any pretext.
The truth is that to declare any person as kafir or disbeliever is entirely God’s domain, it is not upon any human being to do so. Belief in or denial of religion can be truly ascertained through a person’s intention, and only God has true knowledge of one’s intentions. This is why only God, and not any human being, can pass a verdict on a person being a believer or disbeliever. The sole responsibility of an individual is that if he sees another person at fault, he should earnestly persuade and advise him about the right course and pray to God for his guidance. To declare a person kafir, or disbeliever, is to stray in God’s domain, for which nobody has any right.
Belief in or denial of religion can be truly ascertained through a person’s intention, and only God has true knowledge of one’s intentions. This is why only God, and not any human being, can pass a verdict on a person being a believer or disbeliever.
A person who labels others kafir and excommunicates them from religion is actually proclaiming about himself that he does not possess a fearful and submissive heart. One who truly believes in God cannot afford to issue statements about another person’s disbelief, as he would be refrained by the apprehension that if the person whom he has declared as kafir is not really so, then he would himself be seen as such by God. No one who has genuine fear of God can ever afford to take such risks.