What is your opinion regarding the following books: "Al-I'lam bi Qawati' al-Islam" by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, "Risala fi Alfazh al-Kufr" by Taj al-Din Abi al-Ma'ali and al-Halabi, and "Alfazh al-Kufr" by Badr al-Rashid? Are they in accordance with the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama'ah, and is everything in them correct, or is there extremism, considering examples of blasphemous expressions such as "I am satiated with disbelief" as a response to reading the Qur'an? Is the criterion for declaring someone a disbeliever the utterance itself, or what is held in the heart of disparagement, mockery, and ridicule? Can apostasy be that simple? And how can one explain the declaration of disbelief for certain sarcastic expressions uttered by many people, and even some students of knowledge, when compared to major sins that people refrain from committing, taking into account that the stronger the motive for disobedience and the weaker the deterrent, the lesser the sin? And that Allah Almighty has placed a natural deterrent and a sense of revulsion towards sins commensurate with the greatness of their sin? Is disbelief this easy with these expressions, or is it what was held in their hearts that led them to disbelief? And is a person held accountable, in what is between him and his Lord, for words uttered jokingly without intending their true meaning?
We have not been able to review the aforementioned books. The statement that one can be sated with the Qur'an is a clear error, because if hearts were pure, they would never be sated with the word of Allah. Apostasy only occurs when the heart is open to disbelief, as indicated by the noble verse: "Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief..." And as Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim stated, psychological impediments such as coercion, forgetfulness, and error prevent accountability. As for mocking religion, it is disbelief, whether done in jest or seriously. However, declaring a specific individual to be a disbeliever requires the fulfillment of conditions and the absence of impediments. The sin of disobedience decreases in gravity the stronger its motive and the weaker its deterrent. But treating Allah, His Messenger, and the Qur'an lightly indicates a lack of concern, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Indeed, a servant may utter a word without realizing its implications, and by it he falls into the Fire farther than the distance between the East and the West."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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