Allah exists without a place and is not in every place.

There is absolutely nothing like Allah, this is the creed of the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, the companions
and all the Muslims who came after them and that will come until the Day of Judgement and this will always remain
their saying. The evidence for this is ayah 11 of Surat Ash-Shooraa (S42):

Which means: there is absolutely nothing like Allah, i.e. there is nothing similar to Allah.
Once some people from Yemen came to the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam and told him, we want to be more
knowledgeable about the religion and our beloved Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said to them:

ُ‫يءٌ غَي ُْره‬ َ ‫ن‬

ْ ‫ش‬ ْ َ ‫ه وَل‬
ْ ُ ‫م ي َك‬ ُ ّ ‫ن الل‬ َ
َ ‫كا‬
Which means: Allah existed and there was nothing other than Him.
Allah existed and there was nothing other than Him, i.e. there was no place, no time, no direction, no era, and if
somebody asks what is the sanad for this, then the answer is this is narrated by Al-Bukhariyy, Al-Bayhaqiyy and Ibn
Al-Jarood and it is saheeh.
We have not come with anything new in confirming that Allah exists without a place. This was the belief of the
Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam and the belief of his companions. As is evidenced by the saying of Imam ^Aliyy
radiyallaahu ^anhu:
.‫ن‬ َ ِ‫ما ع َل َي ْه‬
َ ‫كا‬ َ ‫ن ع ََلى‬
َ ‫ وَهُوَ ال‬،‫ن‬ َ ‫م‬
َ ‫كا‬ ُ ّ ‫ن الل‬
َ َ ‫ه وَل‬ َ ‫ك َا‬
This means: Allah existed eternally and there was no place, and He now is as He was. [i.e., without a place]. This was
related by Imam Abu Mansur al-Baghdadiyy in his book, Al-Farqu Baynal-Firaq.
Furthermore every Muslim knows and recites daily that Allah is not a part of the creation, nor is the creation a part of
Allah. Allah said, in the Qur`an in Surat Al-fatihah:

In this verse, Allah ta^ala confirms the existence of Himself, the Creator and also the existence of the creation and
that He is rabbul ^aalameen. This means that Allah was rabbul ^aalameen even before creating the creation, that is
He had this status even before creating the creation, as no change takes place in the Creator. Moreover, every Muslim
knows that Allah is the Creator and this universe is creation.
If somebody says that Allah ta^ala is with us in this room in terms of place, then it said to him these words of yours
are against the ijma^ (consensus) of entire ahlus-sunnah because Shaykh Fakhr-ud-deen Ar-Raaziy who lived over
800 years ago and who wrote a tafseer for the Qur`an in 30 volumes, said in volume 29:
َ
‫ن‬ِ ‫كا‬َ ‫م‬َ ْ ‫عَنا ِبال‬ َ ‫م‬
َ ‫س‬ َ ْ ‫ه ل َي‬ ُ َ ‫حان‬َ ْ ‫سب‬
ُ ‫ه‬ ُ ّ ‫عَلى أن‬ َ ‫ع‬ ُ ‫ما‬ َ ‫ج‬ْ ِ ‫قدَ ال‬ َ ‫ع‬
َ ْ ‫ا ِن‬
‫ز‬
ِ ّ ‫حي‬َ ْ ‫وال‬َ ‫ة‬
ِ ‫ه‬
َ ‫ج‬ ِ ْ ‫وال‬
َ
Which means: and the ijma^ has been established (on the saying) that Allah ta^ala is not with us in terms of place,
direction or occupancy. More than 15 scholars conveyed the ijma^ that Allah exists without a place.
The person who says, “Allah is everywhere” and from this sentence he understands that Allah by His Dhaat is in one
or every place then he blasphemes. However, if from this sentence he understands that Allah ta^ala knows about
everything or that everything is under the control of Allah, then he did not blaspheme, and many people who say this
sentence have this understanding, but it is still necessary to leave this statement. It is an obligation upon us to warn
people from saying this statement, because its origin is not from the companions, nor the taabi^een nor the atbaaut-
taabi^een. Rather, this saying started with the Mu^tazilah and then it became famous amongst some people of less
knowledge. Hafidh Ibn Hajr said in Al-Fathul Baariy: ba^dul mu^tazilati al-qaa`ileena bi`annallaah fiy kulli makaan,
wa huwa jahlun waadihun, which means: some of the Mu^tazilah claim that Allah is everywhere and this is blatant
ignorance. The Jahmiyyah used to also say this statement, their leader was Jaham Ibn Safwaan; the Muslims declared
him a blasphemer and killed him according to the rules of apostasy. Hence, he who says Allah is everywhere with the
meaning that Allah knows everything or that everything is under His control then we do not declare him a blasphemer
because Allah said in the Qur`an in Surat An-Nisaa` (S4) part of ayah 126:

which means: and everything is under the control of Allah.

If somebody says that Allah ta^ala in terms of place is bigger than everything and is inside the universe and outside it,
then this is blasphemy, because the meaning of this saying is that Allah wal ^iyaadhu billaah has two parts, one inside
the universe and the other outside of it!
Shaykh ^Abdul Ghaniy An-Nabulsiyy An-Naqshabandiyy has stated that he whose creed/belief is that Allah fills the
earth and the heavens, i.e. the universe or says that Allah is a body on top of the ^arsh, then he is a blasphemer even if
he thinks (about himself) that he is a Muslim.
Imam Muhammad ibn Badr-ud-deen ibn Balbaan Ad-Dimashqiy, wrote a book called, Mukhtasar Al-Ifadaat Fiy
Rub^il ^ibaadaat wal-adaab wa ziyaadaat about 400 years ago and he explicitly said, the one who believes or says
that Allah by His dhaat is in every place or in one place is a kafir.

Some Fatwas of scholars from India and Pakistan.

If somebody said, everything is God, then this is explicit kufr, many fake Sufis nowadays say such a thing whilst
thinking that this is a high status amongst the Sufis, but to believe as such, in reality is explicit kufr.
“If somebody says Allah is in a direction, then this is kufr, i.e. if somebody says, Allah is in the direction of above etc
then this is kufr”. (Al-Bahrur-Raa`iq vol 5, pg 203; Mujma^ Al-Anhar vol 2, pg 505; Fataawaa ^Aalamgheeriy, vol 2
pg 259; Fataawaa Taataar Khaniyyah vol 5, pg 467).
“If somebody said Allah is in the skies or heavens then this is kufr”. (Al-Bahrur-Raa`iq vol 5, pg 203; Tahtaawaa
^Alal Darj, vol 2, pg 478; Mujma^ Al-Anhar vol 2, pg 504; Fataawaa ^Aalamgheeriy, vol 2 pg 259; Fataawaa
Taataar Khaniyyah vol 5, pg 464).
“Such statements are found very often amongst the people, to the extent that children are taught, Allah is in the
heavens on top of the ^arsh, and then the children are asked, where is God? And they say, in the heavens. All such
statements are kufr and objecting to them is fard, obligatory”. Eemaan Ki Hifaazat.
“If somebody says, Allah is on the ^arsh, or if somebody says, Allah is in the heavens (aasmaan) or if somebody
says, there is no place that is empty of God, then all such statements are kufr”. Fataawaa ^Aalamgheeriy, vol 2 pg
259; Fataawaa Taataar Khaniyyah vol 5, pg 464).
“If somebody says, there is no direction or place in which the Dhaat of God is not found (koy goshah ya makaan
aysaa na-heehn ja-haahn zaatay khudaa maw-jood na-heehn), then this is a kufr statement”. (Mujma^ Al-Anhar vol
2, pg 505; Fataawaa ^Aalamgheeriy, vol 2 pg 259.

If somebody says that you are going too much into the reality of the Dhaat of Allah and this is not permissible. Then
the answer to this is we completely go according to the saying of ibn ^Abbas which was narrated by Al-Bayhaqiyy,
i.e. think about the creation of Allah, but do not think about the Dhaat of Allah; and we go into the depths of the
reality of the creation and we thus say that this is creation and cannot be God.
Some people say that Allah exists without a place and they mean by this that Allah is not just in one place, but He is
in every place and they claim that if one says that Allah is not here by His Dhaat then you are limiting Allah!
The answer to this blasphemous claim: Allah existed and there was nothing else in existence, no era, no time, no
light, no darkness, no earth, no sky, no left, no right, no in front, no behind, no above, no below and nor any direction
and Allah was not limited; and after creating the entire creation, and after creating time and place, Allah still exists
without these things and without a limit. That is prior to creating the universe Allah ta^ala was not limited and after
creating it He is still not limited; no change occurs in Allah ta^ala and He is beyond/outside our imagination, He is
the creator and everything other than Him is creation.
Al-Mutakallim Shaykh ibn Foorak Al-Ash^ariyy (D. 406 A.H.) in his book Al-Mushkil Al-Hadeeth; Imam Abu
Mansoor At-Tameemiyy Al-Baghdadiyy (429 A.H) in Tafseer al-asmaa` was-sifaat; Hafidh Al-Bayhaqiyy (458
A.H.) in Kitaabul I^tiqaad; Imam Al-Ghazaaliyy (505 A.H.) in Al-Arba^een Fee Usool-ud-deen; ibn Katheer in his
tafseer; Hafidh ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaaniyy (852 A.H.) in Al-Fathul Baariy; [?Ismaa^eel Haqqiy Al-Brusawi (1137
A.H.) in Roohul-Bayaan] and others mentioned that the Mu^tazilah were the first people to start the statement, ‘Allah
is everywhere’. This saying resembles/likens Allah (to the creation), because we are here, so our Creator cannot be
here. Allah existed when there was no place and after creating the place, He exits as He was, without being limited.
And if somebody who claims to follow Shaykh Ahmad Raza Khan Brailwiyy says: “it is mentioned in the Qur`an,
that wherever you turn your face there is the Dhaat of Allah, and thus Allah is in every place”. It is said to him,
Shaykh Ahmad Raza Khan Baraylwiyy in Kanzul Eemaan interpreted this ayah, 115 of Surat Al-Baqarah as:
“wherever you turn your face there is wajhullaah (God’s mercy inclined towards you)”. And Imam Mujaahid who
was the student of ibn ^Abbas said that the meaning of this ayah is qiblatullaah, as was narrated by At-Tabariyy and
others, i.e. if you are riding an animal and you want to read an optional prayer then the direction in which you are
going is your qiblah.
If somebody says, “if the meaning of the ayahs is as you and Shaykh Ahmad Raza Khan Brailwiyy said, then why did
Allah not mention them like that, to make things clearer and easier for the people?”
Respond to them: Allah said that by one specific thing, He guides some and He misguides others, for it is mentioned
in ayah 26 of Surat Al-Baqarah:
which means: and by it [referring to what Allah mentioned in the Qur`an] Allah guides some and He misguides
others.
And remember, Allah is not the one questioned, we are the ones questioned, for Allah mentioned in ayah 23 of Surat
Al-Ambiya` (S21):

which means: ‘Allah is not asked about what He does, but they will be asked’.

Imam Abu Ja^far At-Tahaawiyy said in his famous ^aqeedah which is the ^aqeedah of Imam Abu Haneefah:
‫ت‬
ِ ‫عا‬ ُ ْ ‫سائ ِرِ ال‬
َ َ ‫مب ْت َد‬ َ َ‫ت ك‬
ّ ‫س‬
ّ ‫ت ال‬ ِ ْ ‫حوِي ْهِ ال‬
ُ ‫جَها‬ ْ َ‫ل َ ت‬
Which means: Allah is not (contained) in any of the 6 directions like the rest of the creation.
Imam Abu Haneefah said in his book Fiqhul Absat:
‫ض فََقد ْ ك ََفَر‬
ِ ‫ماِء أ َوْ ِفى ال َْر‬
َ ‫س‬
ّ ‫ي ِفى ال‬ ُ ِ‫ل ل َ أ َع ْر‬
ْ ّ ‫ف َرب‬ َ ‫ن َقا‬ْ ‫م‬َ
Which means: whoever says, I don’t know if Allah is in the heavens or on earth, he is a kafir. [Because Allah is
neither in the heavens nor on earth, He exists without a place]. As Imam Abu Haneefah clarified in another statement
in the same book by saying if someone asks where is Allah, then say to him:
َ َ ‫كان قَب‬
ْ َ ‫ه ت ََعاَلى وَل‬
ْ ُ ‫م ي َك‬
‫ن‬ ُ ّ ‫ن الل‬
َ ‫كا‬ َ ْ ‫خل‬
َ َ‫ و‬،‫ق‬ َ ْ ‫خل ُقَ ال‬ْ َ‫ن ي‬
ْ ‫لأ‬ ْ َ َ ‫م‬ َ َ ‫ه ت ََعاَلى وَ ل‬
ُ ّ ‫ن الل‬
َ َ ‫كا‬
‫ن‬ َ
ٌ ْ ‫أي‬
‫يٌء‬ْ ‫ش‬َ ‫ل‬ ّ ُ ‫خال ِقُ ك‬َ َ‫ وَهُو‬،‫يٌء‬ ْ ‫ش‬ َ َ ‫خل ْقٌ وَ ل‬
َ َ ‫وَل‬
which means: Allah existed and there was no place prior to creating the creation, and Allah existed and there was no
such thing as ‘where’ (place etc), no creation or anything else, and Allah is the creator of everything. The above
answers the one who asks, ‘where is Allah’, i.e. it is not that we don’t know where Allah is, but rather that ‘where’
does not apply to Allah. Also Imam An-Nawawiyy & others stated: we raise our hands to the skies, because the sky is
the qiblah of the du^a` just as the Ka^bah is the qiblah of the prayer (salah).
If somebody says that Allah knows about this page, and Knowledge is an attribute of Allah and thus Allah is also
present here! Answer him: the Imam of the ^aqeedah of Ahlus-Sunnah, Imam Abu Mansoor Al-Maatureediyy after
mentioning the Mu^tazilah, said in his book at-tawheed pg 75:
َ
ِ ْ‫ن ال َْقو‬
‫ل‬ َ ‫م‬ ٌ ْ ‫خل‬
ِ ‫ف‬ ُ ‫ك‬ َ ِ ‫مك ِن َةِ وََذال‬ْ ‫ن ِفى ال‬ ٍ ‫كا‬ َ ‫م‬َ ‫ل‬ ّ ُ‫ي ك‬ْ ِ‫ه ف‬ ُ ّ ‫ل قَوْل ِهِ َالل‬ ُ ‫ص‬
ِ ‫حا‬
َ ‫صاَر‬
َ ‫َف‬
َ ْ ‫مك ِن َةِ ك ُل َّها قَب‬
‫ل ك َوْن َِها وَب َعْد َ ك َوْن َِها‬ َ ْ َ‫ب‬
ْ ‫م ِبال‬
ٌ ِ ‫عال‬ َ َ‫ل هُو‬
Which means: and he who says that Allah is in every place, then this saying is against the reality, that is Allah knows
about everything, when a place did not exist then Allah knew about that place, and after creating that place Allah
knows about that place.
Allah knows about everything but He is not by His Dhaat here inside the creation. This page is in front of you and
therefore you know about it, you are not sitting on the moon, but you have some knowledge about it; some people
who have died and are no longer here, you know about them, i.e. it is not always necessary for the creation that they
have to be in a place to know about that thing and if this is the situation of the creation, then what about Allah who is
laysa ka mithlihi shay` i.e. there is absolutely nothing like Him!? And if somebody says that for Allah to know about
a thing it is necessary for Him to be here, then this is blasphemy. Allah ta^ala knows about everything, what will
happen and what will not happen and if it will happen how it would happen. Allah knew about a place before it
existed and He did not dwell in that place with His Dhaat or attributes. And after creating that place, He knows about
it without being in it. Similarly if someone questions, if Allah is not here then how does He hear our supplications.
The answer to this is that Allah hears absolutely everything without an ear, without a direction, without a place.
Saariyah heard the voice of ^Umar ibnul Khattab when he was in another country and if this is the situation of the
creation, then what about the Creator Who is not like what we imagine and is absolutely not like the creation; then
how can somebody ever say that Allah is here and therefore He hears everything!? Rather saying such a thing is
blasphemy because this is likening Allah to the creation. Allah hears everything, without an ear, Allah sees everything
without an eye, without a direction; Allah knows about everything and He is absolutely not like His creation. If a
group of pigs was gathered together, then Allah knows about them, but this does not mean that Allah is inside those
pigs! And just like this Allah knows about every dirt and urine and He is not by His Dhaat inside them. Allah existed
and there was nothing else, no era, no place, no direction, no universe and Allah was not inside, nor outside and Allah
was not limited and after creating the entire universe, He is not inside it nor outside it and He is not limited. He is
outside/beyond our imagination and He is absolutely not like the creation, He is the Creator and He is free/exalted
from whatever the blasphemers say about Him.

If somebody says, but I have never heard the likes of what you say and thus claims that by the above we are declaring
many millions of people as blasphemers.
Imam ^Aliyy said, the people are known by the truth, the truth is not known by the people, know the truth and you
will know the people of truth. In other words if a billion people said the wrong thing, their large number does not
make it correct. It is estimated that the world population is nearly 6 billion and the majority of them are non-Muslims
(blasphemers) and their large number is not in itself an excuse for them. The Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam
was one, the companions were a few, and blasphemers of Makkah were many, but this was not a proof for them,
although they also claimed that ‘this is what their fathers and forefathers said, so how can it be wrong!?’
Imam Abu Mansoor At-Tameemiyy narrated in his book Al-Farqu Bayn al-Firaq, that Imam ^Aliyy
radiyallaahu ^anhu said: Kaanallaahu wa laa makaan wa huwal aana ^alaa maa ^alayhi kaan.
which means: “Allah existed eternally & there was no place, and He now is as He was, (without a place).”
Some people question about the authenticity of this narration. It is mentioned by a Hafidh of hadeeth in a book that he
authored about the issues of ^aqeedah to clarify the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah and a Hafidh would not mention a weak
or fabricated narration as a proof in this regard.
Furthermore, the same meaning is taken from the saheeh hadeeth of the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam: “Allah
existed and there was nothing else”. This excludes the place, time and all other created entities. Two intellectual
principals further demonstrate this fact:
1)Who created the place? Allah. Just as Allah said in the Qur`an that He created everything.
2) Following on from this: if it was asked, when there was no place did Allah exist? Of course He did. Hence, Allah
existed when there was no place and after creating the place Allah exists without a place.
It is therefore confirmed with certainty that Allah created the place AND Allah existed when there was no place
without a place. Hence, also after creating the place, Allah exists without a place. Allah existed when there was no
such thing as where, place, above, below etc and after creating these He still exists without a place. This is all what
the saying of Imam ^Aliyy states AND what the hadeeth proves. Moreover, take note that the attributes of Allah are
not based upon the saying of any scholar or companion. We mention the sayings of scholars as a way of further
supporting what is mentioned in the texts of the religion. For example we don't say Allah exists without a place just
because Imam ^Aliyy said so. It is because the ayahs, hadeeth and the sound proofs of the intellect tell us. In other
words for the attributes of Allah we don't rely on my or your saying, nor merely on the saying of any companion or
scholar himself. In the first instance one needs an ayah of the Qur`an or a mutawatir hadeeth and according to some
scholars at least a saheeh hadeeth about which there is no difference in opinion about the narrators.
As for the one who says, but Allah says in the Qur`an that He is closer to us than our jugular vein. He is told that
aqrab in the ayah: ‫د‬ ِ ْ ‫ري‬ َ ْ ‫ل ال‬
ِ ‫و‬ ِ ْ ‫حب‬
َ ‫ن‬
ْ ‫م‬ ِ ْ ‫ب إ ِل َي‬
ِ ‫ه‬ ْ َ‫ن أ‬
ُ ‫قَر‬ ُ ‫ح‬
ْ َ ‫ون‬
َ Surat Al-Qaf (S50) ayah 16, does not mean a
physical closeness. As aqrab can bear more than one meaning. Just as is explained by the hadeeth narrated by Imam
Muslim in his saheeh. The Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said: ‫ه‬ ِ ّ ‫ن َرب‬
ْ ‫م‬ َ ْ ‫ن ال‬
ِ ُ‫عب ْد‬ ُ َ ‫ما ي‬
ُ ‫كو‬ َ ‫ب‬ ْ َ‫أ‬
ُ ‫قَر‬
‫د‬
ٌ ‫ج‬
ِ ‫سا‬
َ ‫و‬
َ ‫ه‬
ُ ‫و‬
َ
This means: “The slave is aqrab (literally closer) to His Lord when he is making sujood (prostration)”. And it is NOT
permissible to say that the slave gets physically closer to Allah by prostrating on the ground. Hence, the words of the
Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam teach us that aqrab, does not mean a physical closeness. In the ayah it is used to
mean that Allah knows about us better than our ourselves. No Mujtahid ever said, aqrab, means physically closer.
Hafidh As-Suyootiy and others mentioned that aqrab in the above ayah means ‘by knowledge’.
Ignorance is not a general excuse: If ignorance had been a general excuse, then it would be better than knowledge,
for the ignorant person would say on the day of judgement, I didn’t know, and the knowledgeable one would
potentially be punished for his ignorance.
The scholars said, even if you see a person walking on water, then don’t follow him blindly. A person might do such
a thing and not really be a waliyy, so don’t focus on this walking but rather look to see if the person is walking
according to the rules of the religion; if what he says and does complies with what the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa
sallam came with then such a person is the one who should be followed. This issue is summarised by the sayings of
two of the greatest sufis and awliyaa:
Shaykh ^Abdul Qadir al-Jeelaniyy radiyallaahu ^anhu said, “if the follower knew a mistake of the Shaykh, then let
him bring it to his attention, if he does not go back then let the follower be with the shar^, the rules of the religion”.
Shaykh Ahmad Ar-Rifaa^iyy radiyallaahu ^anhu said, “submit to the highly righteous in their state for as long as
they do not contradict the shar^; if they contradict the rules of the religion (shar^), then be with the shar^”.
Note the relationship with our teacher, father, mother or friend, husband or wife will be of no benefit to us nor to
them in the hereafter if we follow them just because of our ties with them, and we leave following what the Prophet
sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam came with.
Some people wrongly say that if a person misunderstands a nass then we never call such a person a kafir. To refute
this it is important to first understand what the scholars mean by the term nass.
An-Nass can bear two meanings. In one respect this term is used to refer to a text which has only one meaning. As
Imam-ul-Haramayn Al-Juwayniyy said in his book al-waraqaat: that which its interpretation is its revelation and it is
derived from minassatil-^aroos which is the chair. So in this regard an example would be the noun Zayd in the
statement, I saw Zayd. In other words nass is used with reference to a text whose understanding is not contingent
upon an interpretation.
An-nass is derived from minassatil-^aroos, which means: the seat on which the bride sits, so as to be apparent to the
onlookers. So an-nass linguistically is elevation, since the meaning of the text is evident in the text itself. This carries
the meaning of that it is elevated above other texts. When Imam-ul-Haramayn said, ‘derived from minassatil-^aroos’,
he did not intend by his statement, the linguistic derivation rather he meant that they share the same root.
The second meaning with which an-nass is used, is that utilised by the faqeehs in general. Hence, an-nass to the
faqeehs is used with another meaning, which is that which stands as proof to a religious judgement, be it from the
Qur`an or sunnah. Whether or not it is actually an explicit or implicit text. Thus with the faqeeh an-nass can be in
reference to an explicit or an implicit text, this means it is nass in a certain context, i.e. the context in which the
scholars of fiqh are talking. So for example in reference to the issue of setting a slave free as a kaffaarah, then
according to the Shafi^iyys the slave has to be a believer. The faqeeh would say, “and the proof of that is hadeeth-ul-
jaariyah”, so this hadeeth is nass in that area of fiqh, but when you are talking in the area of tawheed, in ^aqeedah
then you cannot mention hadeeth-ul-jaariyah and say that it is nass. In this case, this is not nass, it doesn’t work.
Some people misunderstand hadeeth-ul-jaariyah and say it means: Allah is in the sky. Hence, a text, from the Qur`an
or hadeeth in respect of certain issues might be taken as nass, but not as a rule for absolutely everything in its own
right.
As to the issue of a mistaken ta`weel, then this is not an excuse in absolutely every case. Don’t you see that many of
those who claim to be Muslim, such as the wahhabies and the qadiyaanies, they went out of the religion by
misinterpreting the religious texts. Also before them those who believed in the saying of the eternity of the world out
of their misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Despite the fact that this was as a result of a misinterpretation, the
Muslims came to consensus that they are blasphemers, as was mentioned by Al-Muhaddith Al-faqeeh Badr-ud-deen
Az-Zarkashiyy in sharh jam^ul jawaami^, similar to this was also mentioned by Al-Ghazaliyy and explained by
Maghrabiyy Ar-Rasheediyy.
Judging someone as a blasphemer:
Al-Bukhariyy, Muslim, At-Tirmidhiyy and others narrated that the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said:
ْ
ً ‫ري‬
‫فا‬ ِ ‫خ‬
َ ‫ن‬
َ ‫عي‬
ِ ْ ‫سب‬
َ ‫في الّنار‬
ِ ‫ها‬
َ ِ ‫وي ب‬
ِ ‫ه‬
ْ َ ‫سا ي‬ َ ِ ‫ة ل َ ي ََرى ب‬
ً ‫ها ب َأ‬ َ ِ ‫م ِبال ْك َل‬
ِ ‫م‬ ُ ّ ‫ل ل َي َت َك َل‬
َ ‫ج‬
ُ ‫ن الّر‬
ّ ِ‫إ‬
which means: the slave may utter a word, which he deems harmless, but this utterance results in him falling the depth
of 70 years into Hellfire.
When does a person utter a word thinking it is harmless?? When he is ignorant or he thinks it is a joke and if it wasn’t
possible for us to know who is a blasphemer and call them as such then why did the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa
sallam say, ‫فاقْت ُُلوه‬
َ ‫ه‬ َ ّ ‫ن ب َد‬
ُ َ ‫ل ِدين‬ ْ ‫م‬
َ kill whoever leaves Islam!?, narrated by Al-Bukhariyy in his saheeh.
The Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam told the people about the two shahaadahs, that’s it, he did not give all of
them details and test to see how much they knew, or what their forefathers claimed etc, if they did not believe, he
considered them accountable, not just that, he fought and killed some of them without calling them again to Islam.
Thus it is possible for us to know who is a kafir and declare them as such. Note: it is not permissible to call a Muslim
a kafir, but it is an obligation to call a kafir, a kafir.
If somebody says that who are you to judge a person as a blasphemer and condemn him to hellfire when this is only
for Allah? The answer is: Allah and His messenger taught us that the blasphemers are going to be tortured in hellfire
forever, and they also taught us who the blasphemers are, what makes a person a blasphemer. Hence, we are not
giving the judgement upon a person from ourselves, but rather we are just narrating the judgement that Allah and His
messenger conveyed. The way of dealing with this issue is to educate the people, and it is not to call blasphemy,
belief.
We are Ahlus-Sunnah and we believe that whatever the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam came with is the correct
thing and the better thing, whether we find it is easy or difficult to follow, whether we understand it immediately or
not; whatever the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam came with is the correct thing and the better thing.