Ruling by other than what Allāh has revealed...

Shaykh al-Islām ibn Taymiyyah (may Allāh have mercy on him), said: “If a person regards as permissible that which there is a scholarly consensus that it is forbidden, or regards as forbidden that which there is a scholarly consensus that it is permitted, or he alters a law on...

...which there is consensus, then he is a kāfir and apostate, according to the consensus of the fuqahā’. [Reference: Majmū al-Fatāwa (3/267)].

Ibn Kathīr (may Allāh have mercy on him), said: “The one who forsakes the law that was revealed to Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Allāh, the Seal of the Prophets (blessings and peace of Allā be upon him) and refers for judgement to any other law that has been abrogated (for e.g. Tawrat and...

... Injīl), has committed an act of kufr, so how about the one who refers for judgement to al-Yasiq (the law of the Tartars which mixed Shari'ah rulings with invented rulings) and gives it precedence? The one who does that is a kāfir according to the consensus of the Muslims”.

[Reference: al-Bidāya wal-Nihāyah, (13/139)].

Muhammad al-Amīn al-Shanqīti (may Allah have mercy on him), said: “From verses such as that in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning) “... and He makes none to share in His Decision and His Rule” [al-Kahf 18:26], it may be understood that the followers of those who...

... promulgate laws other than those which Allāh has ordained are associating others with Allāh (shirk)”.

And he said: “... One of the clearest proofs concerning that is the fact that in Surah al-Nisāʾ, Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, mentioned those who want to refer for judgement to something other than the laws prescribed by Him and wonders at their claim to be...

... believers, because their claim to be believers even though they want to refer for judgement to false judges shows that they have reached a level of lying which is astounding. That is why Allāh says (interpretation of the meaning): “Have you not seen those (hypocrites) who...

... claim that they believe in that which has been sent down to you, and that which was sent down before you, and they wish to go for judgement (in their disputes) to the tāghūt (false judges) while they have been ordered to reject them. But Shayṭān (Satan) wishes to lead...

... them far astray” [al-Nisa’ 4:60]. From the divinely revealed texts that we have quoted, it becomes very clear to everyone that with regard to those who follow man-made laws promulgated by the Shayṭān on the lips of his supporters which are contrary to that which Allāh has...

... prescribed on the lips of His Messengers (blessings and peace of Allāh be upon them), there is no doubt that they are kūffar and mushrikīn, except for the one whom Allāh has blinded to the light of Revelation and left to go astray. And he said: “As for the legal system...

... that is contrary to the laws prescribed by the Creator of heaven and earth, ruling according to it constitutes disbelief in the Creator of the heavens and earth, such as the claim that giving precedence to the male over the female in inheritance is not fair and it is...

... necessary to make them equal in inheritance, and the claim that plural marriage is unjust, or that divorce is unfair to the woman, and that stoning, cutting off the hand and so on are barbaric acts that should not be done to people, and so on. Making this kind of system...

... rule the lives of people in society and their wealth, honour, lineage, reason and religion, is disbelief in the Creator of the heavens and earth and a transgression against the divine system prescribed by the One Who created all things and Who knows best what is in their...

... best interests; may He be glorified and exalted far above having any lawgiver besides Him. “Or have they partners with Allāh (false gods) who have instituted for them a religion which Allāh has not ordained?” [Ash-Shūrā 42:21].
“Say, (O Muhammad, to these polytheists)...

... ‘Have you seen what Allāh has sent down to you of provision of which you have made [some] lawful and [some] unlawful?’ Say, "Has Allāh permitted you [to do so], or do you invent [something] about Allāh?". [Yūnus 10:59]. “Say: ‘Verily, those who invent a lie against Allāh...

... will never be successful’”. [Yūnus 10:69]. "And with these Heavenly texts that we have mentioned, it becomes quite clear that the ones who follow the fabricated laws, which the Shayṭān has legislated upon the tongues of his ʾawliyāʾ and which oppose that which Allāh...

... jala-wa'ala has legislated upon the tongues of His Messengers, peace be upon them, that no one doubts their kufr and their shirk except him who Allāh has removed his sight and has blinded them to the light of the revelation as they are!".

[Reference: Aḍwāʾ al-Bayān, (4/82-85)].

What is well established and known of the view of Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymīn (may Allah have mercy on him), is that he clearly stated that promulgating laws that are contrary to what Allāh has revealed constitutes major kufr. He mentioned that in several places in his books, such as...

... his sharh of Kitāb al-Tawhīd, his sharh Usūl al-Thalāthah, Sharh al-sīyāsah al-sharʻīyah, and his fatwas which have been published in al-ʿAqīdah and Liqā’āt al-Bāb al-Maftūh. All his comments on these subjects are consistent and point to the same conclusion, which is that...

... legislating and promulgating laws that are contrary to the sharīʿah of Allāh constitutes major kufr. We do not know of any opinion of the Shaykh in which he suggested that this promulgation of laws is minor kufr. If the Shaykh had any other opinion, it would have been...

... widely known, and the Shaykh would have clearly recanted his first opinion, and striven to prevent it being published. Whoever thinks that any of the scholars would recant something that it became clear to him was wrong, then would continue to publicise the mistaken...

... opinion until he died, without denouncing it or instructing that it be erased, has thought badly of him and has impugned his religious commitment and honesty, because it is not permissible to publicise a false opinion or to keep quiet about it, especially if it has to do...

... with an important matter such as this.

Among the things that he (may Allāh have mercy on him), said concerning this matter is what appears in Sharh Usūl al-Thalāthah, where he said: “Whoever does not rule in accordance with that which Allāh has revealed because he thinks little of it or looks down on it or believes...

... that something else is better than it and more beneficial to people or is equal to it, is a kāfir whose kufr puts him beyond the pale of Islām. That includes those who promulgate laws for people that are contrary to Islamic laws, to be a system that the people follow. They...

... only promulgate those laws that are contrary to Islamic laws because they believe that they are better and more beneficial for people, because it is known on the basis of reason and sound human nature that no one turns away from one path to a different path unless he...

... believes that what he has turned to is better and what he has turned away from is lacking”. [Reference: Majmū‘ al-Fatawa wa Rasā’il fadilat al-shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-`Uthaymīn, (6/161)].

Situations today to where this act of kufr akbar can occur:

If somebody from government was to impose man-made law (such as that of Democracy) for it to be judged between the people, then the ʿulamāʾ have stated that such a person is a kāfir murtad.

If the sharīʿah is constitutionalised as a secondary law; or even main source for the law (if there are still other laws in the constitution). Therefore, even if a government was to state that the sharīʿah is their primary source of legislation, this still constitutes kūfr...

... akbar, provided that they are still allowing for other sources or legislation to be adopted within their constitution.

If the implementation of the sharīʿah is discussed and debated within parliament (where it is voted on if it should become the law or not), such a vote shows that the implementation of the sharīʿah is conditional upon a majority vote. And the rule of Allāh cannot be subjected...

... to such quarrel, for there should be no other option!

If it is stated within the clauses of legislation of a government that reference may be made to international law; or if it states that in the case of dispute, the matter may be referred to such-and-such non-Islamic court, then this constitutes kufr akbar.

If somebody was to criticise the sharīʿah in public or in private, such as saying that it is rigid, incomplete or backward (or suggesting that it is incompatible with our times, or expressing admiration for non-Islamic laws), then such a person has committed kufr akbar.

If somebody (or a joint-decision within government), was made to abolish sharīʿah courts, or if a decision is made for the role of the sharīʿah courts to be confined merely to so-called, “civil” matters, such as marriage, divorce and inheritance, then that constitutes kufr akbar.

One may however ask, but then why did Shaykh ul-Islām ibn Taymiyyah (may Allāh be pleased with him), say: “Therefore from the statements of the Salaf were: "A person can have within him both īmān and kufr", and likewise within their saying: "That one can have within him both...

... īmān and kufr", and likewise within their saying: "That one can have within him both īmān and kufr, it is not the kufr which expels one from the religion (i.e. kufr asghar, the minor disbelief)." Just as Ibn 'Abbās and his companions (students) stated in regards to the...

... saying of Allāh, "And whoever does not judge by what Allāh Has Revealed, then it is those who are disbelievers." [al-Mā'idah 5:44]. They said it means: "They disbelieved with a type of kufr which does not expel one from the religion", and Ahmad and other imāms of the...

... Sunnah followed him in that”. [Reference: Majmū‘ al-Fatawa (7/312)].

These evidences show that ruling by other than what Allāh has revealed can also constitute kufr asghar (minor disbelief that does not take one out of the fold of Islām).

These statements are not referring to the general meaning of the one that has implemented another legislation in contradiction to the sharīʿah (for others to judge by).

This is referring to the ruler that is an oppressor, for e.g. the ruler that would oppress the Muslimīn by stealing from them; by beating them; etc. It also refers to the situation of the ruler not judging by the sharīʿah due to ʿhawa (desires). These are sins, and do not...

... constitute kufr akbar. Of course, these acts are not what Allāh has revealed, but it is oppression (dhulm), and thus kufr duna kufr (the disbelief below disbelief, i.e. one that does not make you a kāfir murtad). But istibdal cannot be kufr duna kufr. The mufassirīn of...

... the Salaf did not state that changing the law of Allāh to be kufr duna kufr, but the Salaf understood this only to be understood in the context of the above-mentioned sins.

اَللّٰهُ أَعْلَم