The Kufr of one who Rules according to 

other than what Allah has Revealed

 

 

Question (addressed to Shaykh Munaajid): 

"Is ruling with rules other than Sharee'ah 'kufr akbar' or 'kufr asghar'? [i.e. the Great Disbelief (which takes one out of the Religion - Apostate), or the lesser Disbelief (a great sin which one must repent for, and immediately refrain from, but which does not take one completely out of the Religion.)]" 
 

Answer: 

Praise be to Allah.  

Allah (Ta'aala) has commanded us to refer matters to His Judgement and to establish Sharee'ah, and He has forbidden us to rule with anything else, as is clear from a number of ayat in the Qur'an, such as the ayat in Surat al Maa'idah No.5 which discusses ruling according to what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed, and mentions the following topics: 

The command to rule according to what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed: 
 

{And so judge between them by what Allah has revealed...} 

(ayah 49) 

Warning against ruling by other than what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed: 
 

{...and follow not their vain desires...}

(ayah 49) 

Warning against compromising on any detail of Sharee'ah, no matter how small: 
 

{...but beware of them lest they turn you far away from some 

of that which Allaah has sent down to you...} 

(ayah 49) 

Forbidding seeking the ruling of jahiliyyah (i.e. the days of ignorance before Islam), as is expressed in the rhetorical question, 
 

{Do they then seek the judgement of (the Days of) Ignorance?} 

(ayah 50) 

The statement that nobody is better than Allah (Ta'aala) to Judge: 
 

{...and who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm Faith?} 

(ayah 50) 

The statement that whoever does not judge according to what Allah (Ta'aala) revealed is a kaafir, a dhaalim (oppressor or wrongdoer) and a faasiq (sinner), as Allah (Ta'aala) says: 
 

{...And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the kaafiroon.} 

(ayah 44) 

 

{...And whosoever does not judge by that which Allah has revealed, such are 

the dhaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers)} 

(ayah 45)

 

{...And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed (then) such (people) 

are the faasiqoon (rebellious or disobedient).}

(ayah 47) 

The statement that it is obligatory for the Muslims to judge according to what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed, even if those who seek their judgement are not Muslim, as Allah (Ta'aala) says: 
 

{...And if you judge, judge with justice between them...} 

(ayah 42) 

Judging or ruling according to other than what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed is contrary to Faith and Tawheed, which are Allah's rights. It may be counted as Kufr Akbar (the Greater Kufr) or Kufr Asghar (the Lesser Kufr) according to the circumstances. Kufr Akbar will make a person no longer a Muslim in cases such as the following: 

If he issues laws and regulations other than those revealed by Allah (Ta'aala), because the right to issue laws belongs to Allah alone, Who has no partner, and whoever 'competes' with Him in a matter which is His alone is a mushrik (i.e. polytheist, disbelieving shirk maker etc.), because Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala) says: 
 

{Or have they partners with Allah (false gods), who have instituted 

for them a religion which Allah has not allowed?} 

(al Shooraa 42:21) 

If the one who rules by other than that which Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed denies the right of Allah and His Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) to Rule, as is mentioned in Ibn 'Abbas's comment on the ayah: {...And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the kaafiroon.} (al Maa'idah 5:44) Ibn 'Abbas (radiallaahu 'anhu) said: 
 

'Whoever rejects what Allah has revealed is a kaafir.' 

If he prefers the rule of falsehood to the rule of Allah (Ta'aala), whether this is in absolute terms or just in a few matters. Allah (Ta'aala) says: 
 

{Do they then seek the judgement of (the Days of) Ignorance? And who is 

better in Judgement than Allah for a people who have firm Faith?}

(al Maa'idah 5:50) 

If he regards the Rule of Allah (Ta'aala) and the rule of falsehood as equal. Allah (Ta'aala) says: 
 

{...Then do not set up rivals unto Allah (in worship) while you know 

(that He Alone has the right to be worshipped).} 

(al Baqarah 2:22) 

 

If he thinks that it is permissible to rule by something that contradicts the Rule of Allah (Ta'aala) and His Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), or he believes that it is not obligatory to rule according to what Allah has revealed, or that the matter is optional. This is kufr which is contradictory to Faith. Allah (Ta'aala) revealed: 
 

{O Messenger! Let not those who hurry to fall into disbelief grieve you, of 

such who say: 'We believe' with their mouths but their hearts have no Faith.

And of the Jews are men who listen much and eagerly to lies - listen to 

others who have not come to you. They change the words from their 

places; they say, 'If you are given this, take it, but if you are

not given this, then beware!'...}

(al Maa'idah 5:41) 

He (the Jew) says: 'Go to Muhammad, and if he tells you that the ruling is lashes, accept it, but if he commands stoning, ignore what he says.' 

Then Allah (Ta'aala) revealed, 
 

{... And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, 

such are the kaafiroon (disbelievers)} 

(al Maa'idah 5:44) 

If he does not rule according to what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed out of stubbornness and arrogance, he is a kaafir and has left Islam, even if he does not deny the Rule of Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala). Stubbornness and arrogance may mean negligence and turning away, as Allah (Ta'aala) says: 
 

{Have you 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 Taaghoot (false judges, etc.) while they have 

been ordered to reject them. But Shaytaan wishes to lead them astray. And when it is 

said to them: ‘Come to what Allah has sent down and to the Messenger,’ see 

the hypocrites turn away from you (Muhammad) with aversion.} 

(al Nisaa' 4:60-61) 

Among the things that may be counted as ruling by other than that which Allah (Ta'aala) revealed and Kufr Akbar is what Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Ibraheem said about man-made laws and ruling by them: 

'This is the worst, the most obvious and comprehensive opposition to Sharee'ah and rejection of Allah's Laws. This is competing with Allah (Ta'aala) and His Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), contradicting His Laws in their preparation, support, structure, ruling and references.' 

The following is a summary of the things that may imply that ruling by other than that which Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed is a form of Shirk Akbar (Major Shirk):  

    1) Ruling by other than that which Allah has revealed.  

    2) Denying the right of Allah and His Messenger to rule.  

    3) Preferring the rule of falsehood to the rule of Allah, whether this is complete or only in a few  
        matters.  

    4) Regarding the rule of Allah and the rule of falsehood as equal.  

    5) Thinking that it is permissible to rule by something that contradicts what Allah has revealed,  
         or  believing that ruling by what Allah has revealed is not obligatory or is optional.  

    6) Refusing to rule by what Allah has revealed. 

By examining this topic from different angles, it becomes clear that what is counted as Kufr Akbar is the following: 

    1) Abolishing Sharee'ah as the Law governing a country, as Mustafa Kemal ('Ataturk') did in  
        Turkey, as he abolished the book 'Majallah al Ahkaam al 'Adliyyah' which was based on the  
        Hanafi madh-hab, and replaced it with man-made laws.   

    2) Abolishing Sharee'ah courts.   

    3) Imposing man-made laws, such as Italian, French, German law, etc., to judge between the people,  
        or mixing these laws and Sharee'ah, as Genghis Khan did in his book 'al Yaasiq', which combined  
        laws from different sources; the 'Ulamaa (Scholars) ruled that he was a kaafir.   

    4) Confining the role of Sharee'ah courts to so-called 'civil' matters, such as marriage, divorce and  
        inheritance.   

    5) Setting up non-Sharee'ah courts.   

    6) Discussing Sharee'ah in parliament and voting on it; this indicates that implementing Sharee'ah  
        is conditional upon a majority vote.   

    7) Making Sharee'ah a secondary or main source, along with other sources of law. Even when they  
        say that Sharee'ah is the primary source of legislation, this is still Kufr Akbar, because it means  
        that they are allowing the adoption of laws from other sources too.   

    8) Stating in the clauses of legislation that reference may be made to international law, or stating in  
        treaties that in the case of dispute, the matter may be referred to such-and-such non-Islamic court.   

    9) Criticizing Sharee'ah 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.

As regards the question of when ruling by other than what Allah (Ta'aala) revealed is Kufr Asghar, which does not exclude a person from the Ummah of Islam: 

The answer is that this may be the case when a ruler or judge passes judgement according to other than what Allah (Ta'aala) revealed out of disobedience or on a whim, or as a 'favour' to someone, or because he was bribed, and so on, although he believes that it is obligatory to judge according to what Allah (Ta'aala) has revealed, and that what he has done is a sinful and haraam deed. 

As regards the one who is governed by a non-Islamic law, if he refers to it out of choice, then he is a kaafir whose Kufr Akbar means that he has left Islam. 

But if he has no choice but to refer to this law, and does so reluctantly, then he is not a kaafir, because if he had been able to resort to Sharee'ah, he would have done so, and he believes that this non-Islamic law is false. 

And Allah knows best.  

May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad.


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