Sa'id al Ash'ari (ARAH)

Silence, you Mujassim.

An important clarification of Kufr dūna Kufr and what is intended by it by Shaykh al-Ghunaymān Reciter: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning the saying of Allah, the Most High: “And whosoever does not judge by what Allâh has revealed, such are the disbelievers”: “It is not the kufr that they are referring to.” Ṭāwūs said: Ibn ʿAbbās was asked about this āyah, and he said: “It is kufr, but it is not like kufr in Allah, His angels, His Books and His Messengers.” He also said: “Kufr that does not remove one from the millah.” Sufyān ibn Abī Jurayj narrated from ʿAṭāʾ: “Kufr dūna kufr (disbelief less than disbelief), ẓulm dūna ẓulm (injustice less than injustice), and fisq dūna fisq (disobedience less than disobedience).” Shaykh al-Ghunaymān said: What has been mentioned from Ibn ʿAbbās is not unrestricted in this way. Meaning, regarding the āyah in which Allah says: “such are the disbelievers.” It is impossible for Allah to apply kufr to a person and for us to say that it is not kufr. Rather, this concerns particular cases that have been mentioned, or particular cases in which a person judges by other than what Allah has revealed while affirming his īmān, acknowledging that he is mistaken in doing so and that he deserves punishment. This is the case concerning which it is said that it is kufr dūna kufr. As for replacing the Islamic Sharīʿah with man-made laws, or preferring man-made laws over the revealed legislation, and then saying concerning this that it is kufr dūna kufr, this is impossible. This is impossible because, in reality, this is the kufr about which Allah says: “such are the disbelievers.” The āyah previously mentioned from Sūrat al-Nisāʾ is evidence for this. When Allah mentioned those who claim that they have believed in what was sent down to Muḥammad ﷺ and what was sent down before him, He then mentioned that they wish to seek judgement from the ṭāghūt. The mere intention was mentioned as taking them outside of īmān. Then He mentioned their characteristics until He said: “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission..” Thus, He mentioned several conditions in the āyah alongside taḥkīm (seeking judgement): compliance, acceptance, and submission, to that. If any of these is absent, the person is not a believer. So how about the one who rules by man-made laws, and then it is said that this is kufr dūna kufr? It is impossible that Ibn ʿAbbās, or any other scholar who understood what Allah revealed to His Messenger, would say this. Rather, this concerns particular cases: when a person judges in one case, two cases, or something similar, by other than what Allah has revealed, and what motivates him to do so is either desire for worldly gain or a position that he wishes to retain. He fears being removed from his position, and he says: “This is my job, from which I earn my livelihood,” or something similar. This is the case concerning which it is said that it is kufr dūna kufr.