What are the proofs from the Qur’an and Sunnah for not declaring a specific individual to be a disbeliever, taking into consideration the inference from the verse: "And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allah" regarding Allah Almighty's designation of a polytheist before the establishment of proof against him?

The non-attainment of proof (Hujjah) by a polytheist does not prevent the application of the term "shirk" (polytheism) and its rulings to him. There is no problem in declaring a specific original disbeliever (kafir asli) as an apostate. However, ruling a Muslim as an apostate, one who has established the ruling of Islam for himself, does not automatically occur merely by his falling into disbelief, due to the possibility of impediments such as ignorance, coercion, or misinterpretation (ta'wil). Scholars differentiate between describing an action as disbelief and branding its perpetrator with it. Therefore, not everyone who commits an act of disbelief has disbelief applied to him. The evidence for this is the story of the man whom the Prophet ﷺ forbade cursing, even though he was a wine drinker, which clarifies that absolute excommunication does not necessitate the excommunication of a specific individual until the Prophetic proof (al-Hujjah al-Risaliyyah) is established against him, through which it becomes clear that he is an opposer of the Messengers.