The Accusation: “The Shaykh Does Not Declare a Disbeliever the One Who Abandons the Genus of Action”

Many have delved into the issue of “the one who abandons the genus of action (jins al-ʿamal).” One of them spent a long time laying down principles for it, then suddenly appeared with a book in which he declares the abandoner of prayer a disbeliever, without apologising or warning people against listening to his earlier lessons.

Among the things for which the Shaykh’s enemies reviled him is his statement: “There is absolutely no text in the Sharīʿah with us that states, and clearly indicates, that whoever believes in what Allah has revealed but does not act upon anything of what Allah has revealed is a disbeliever.” End quote.

I say: this serves as one example out of hundreds of truncated texts on account of which the Shaykh was accused. Here the Shaykh is referring to the issue of ruling by other than what Allah has revealed, as shown by his words at the end of the discussion: “Now I end the talk with a very simple example. I say: a Sharīʿah judge rules…”

Among what shows the falsehood of this accusation is that the Shaykh objected to Ibn al-Qayyim’s statement: “As for ruling by other than what Allah has revealed and abandoning prayer, it is certainly practical disbelief (kufr ʿamalī).” Al-Albānī said: “I say: this generalisation is questionable, since it may sometimes be disbelief of belief (kufr iʿtiqādī) — that is, when it is accompanied by what indicates the corruption of his belief, such as his mocking prayer and those who pray, or his preferring to be killed rather than pray when the ruler calls him to it, as will come. So remember this, for it is important.”

Reflect — may Allah have mercy on you — on how desires lead their people to wrong others. We ask Allah for well-being.

Further explanation of this issue will come under the accusation that “action is a condition for the completeness of faith.”