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Is the failure to denounce disbelief in one's heart considered disbelief, and is feeling distressed by the ruling on polygyny, and jealousy of the Houris, considered disbelief?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A person does not become an infidel merely by remaining silent about disavowing disbelief, unless he approves of it and is pleased with it. However, he may incur sin if his silence is due to shyness or fear of people. Islam, which is established with certainty, is not removed by doubt. A Muslim does not become an infidel except by a statement, action, or belief that is considered major disbelief (kufr akbar), or upon which scholars have unanimously agreed to be major disbelief, along with the fulfillment of the conditions for declaring someone an infidel and the absence of impediments (such as being an adult, sane, acting of his own free will, and not excused by ignorance or misinterpretation). Whispers (waswas) are treated by completely disregarding them and increasing one's faith. As for disliking polygyny and the houris (maidens of Paradise), and feeling discomfort about them due to natural inclination (out of jealousy or hardship), while still being pleased with and submitting to the Islamic ruling, the person who experiences this does not become an infidel. This falls under the category of a natural dislike for certain Islamic rulings, similar to the Companions' dislike for jihad due to the hardship of fighting, not a dislike for Allah's command, as explained by Al-Baghawi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Al-Tahir ibn Ashour.

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

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