AUTHENTIC GROUNDING OF THE RULES OF DECLARING ANOTHER MUSLIM AS A NON-BELIVER: A JURISTIC ANALYTICAL STUDY

The excessiveness of declaration of disbelief or “takfir” has proven to be an unprecedented issue facing all Muslims in recent times. This comes as a result of the impacts Takfir has on the necessary interests of people, which Islam primarily came to preserve, such as the protection of religion, life, intellect, lineage and wealth. Islamic teachings and laws have all assured the freedom of religion, hence, whoever embraces Islam freely is worthy to be called a “Muslim”, and entitled to enjoy with other Muslims the same rights and bear the same responsibilities endowed upon him/her based on his/her religious status. Consequently, no one has the authority to deprive them of such designation, because a Muslim should be constantly held at a high esteem by his fellow Muslims. And if a Muslim enters Islam with certainty, then he/she would never be considered to have left Islam without certainty. In the present time, Muslims have been afflicted by some groups who excessively accuse another Muslims of disbelief (Kufr), and overlook the restrictions, rules and principles Islam imposed with regards to Takfir. Takfir, however, came to existence with the early years of Islam. It started in a very small scale, but gradually became an identifiable phenomenon with the emergence of Kharijites (Khawarij). It developed over time and posed a threat to all communities and the entire humanity. Opinions have differed over the issue of Takfir between those who adopted excessiveness and those who completely neglected it. Some views tend to deny the concept of Kufr completely, and some are taking Takfir lightly, and tend to compromise the legal rules and restrictions that have been agreed upon by jurists. By using the library research, descriptive analytical method, this study aims to clarify the concept of Takfir, and to examine its rules and limitations as stated by the trusted jurists. The results of the research showed the hazards of Takfir phenomenon and its impact on peoples’ lives, properties and honour. Issuing the judgment of Kufr is an Islamic decree, thus, the accurate methodology of extracting the Islamic legal rules is to be followed. It is inadequate to adhere to the literal meanings of the religious texts, or misquoting a text while taking it out of its contexts. The findings of the study also revealed that accusing someone of disbelief is a jurisdiction to be issued by the judge in accordance with the Islamic legal system, or by the Islamic qualified jurist (Mufti).It is not left for the unqualified people, or the half-educated, to engage in such a serious matter, and randomly issue a judgment of takfir.