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Summary of the concepts of Ahl al-Sunnah

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Principles of excommunication (takfir)

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The issue of excommunicating a specific individual or not is a grave matter.

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This is from two perspectives:

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First,

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Excommunicating an individual who does not deserve it

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based merely on doubts that do not rise to the level of certainty in their excommunication.

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Second,

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Not excommunicating someone despite the presence of conditions and absence of impediments

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that would definitively warrant their excommunication and treating them with the rulings of Islam.

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Excommunicating a specific individual has principles that must be initiated from and observed.

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The most important of them are:

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Firstly,

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The ruling on a specific individual must be based on knowledge and justice.

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This means that the ruling of excommunication or non-excommunication

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must stem from religious knowledge of the rulings of excommunication, its parameters, and its conditions,

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and factual knowledge of the state of the specific individual being judged.

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One must verify all of this,

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and the ruling must not be based on assumptions, delusions, or probabilities.

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The ruling must be made with justice and piety,

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guarding against personal desires and self-interest.

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Allah the Almighty says:

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“(O man), follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! the hearing and the sight and the heart - of each of these it will be asked.” (17:36)

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“(O man), follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! the hearing and the sight and the heart - of each of these it will be asked.” (17:36)

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And Allah the Almighty says:

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“O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do.” (5:8)

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And let not the hatred of a people incite you to not be just.

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“O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do.” (5:8)

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And fear Allah.

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Indeed, Allah is well-acquainted with what you do.

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Secondly,

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The reference for defining faith and disbelief, and what they necessitate,

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must be the clarification of Allah the Exalted in His Book,

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and the clarification of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in his Sunnah,

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and as understood by the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

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This principle is a branch of the preceding one,

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as it is not permissible to delve into matters of faith and disbelief

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except with firm knowledge of their meanings and boundaries,

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as understood by the righteous salaf.

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Otherwise, one falls into the affliction of the heresies of innovators in defining both faith and disbelief,

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such as the Khawarij and the Murji'ah.

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Thirdly,

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Whoever's Islam is established with certainty

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cannot be removed from it except with certainty.

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This falls under the great jurisprudential principle:

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Certainty is not removed by doubt.

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So, what is certainly established as apostasy (riddah)

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is ruled upon as such.

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And what is doubted to be apostasy

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is not ruled upon as such.

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Fourthly,

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Rulings in this world are based on the outward appearance,

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and Allah is the one who knows the innermost secrets.

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So, one does not investigate the inner states of people,

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as Allah has not tasked us with that.

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Whoever's outward appearance is Islam,

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they are ruled upon as Muslim.

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And whoever's outward appearance contradicts faith,

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they are ruled upon accordingly.

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The determining factor in this is the last state of the accountable person.

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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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used to deal with people according to their outward appearance,

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accepting the outward Islam of the hypocrites,

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even though they were disbelievers inwardly.

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Unless this hypocrite manifested their disbelief,

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by word or deed,

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then at that point,

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they would be ruled upon based on this outward manifestation.

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Fifthly,

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An absolute ruling of excommunication on a statement or action

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does not necessitate ruling on a specific individual with it.

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Rather, one says:

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This statement or action is disbelief.

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It does not necessarily mean that everyone who engages in it

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is an individual disbeliever,

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until the conditions for excommunication are met

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and the impediments are absent.

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This is an important ruling in excommunication.

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And excommunication, declaring someone an innovator (tabdi'), and declaring someone a transgressor (tafsīq)

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Sixthly,

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One does not rule on a specific individual based on the implications of their statement or action,

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nor is one bound by the necessary consequences of their statement or action,

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unless these implications and consequences are presented to them,

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and they accept and commit to them.

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However, if they deny them when presented,

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then they are not ruled to be disbelievers.

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Summary of the concepts of Ahl al-Sunnah