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Is there a disagreement among scholars regarding the issue of declaring a specific individual to be a disbeliever (takfir al-mu'ayyan) and the excuse of ignorance concerning major polytheism (shirk akbar), and does affection and brotherhood remain among those who differ on this matter?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Numerous fatwas have been issued concerning the issue of excusing ignorance in major shirk. It is important for preachers and shaykhs to pay attention to the da'wah environment, as perhaps openly declaring a specific individual to be a disbeliever could lead to people aversion. In some cases, such as declaring someone who urinates on the Quran or intentionally insults Allah or His Messenger to be a disbeliever, the declaration of disbelief does not depend on consulting scholars; rather, the one who declares him a disbeliever will be rewarded. Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned that attributing hypocrisy or disbelief to a Muslim, out of interpretation and anger for the sake of Allah, does not entail sin; rather, the one who does so will be rewarded. It is obligatory upon Muslims to unite and avoid division.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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