Translation Jawad Qureshi, 2010

This work is not to be copied, distributed, or quoted without prior permission.

Justice Muhammad Taqi al-Usmanis response

to questions posed in The Amman Message
http://ammanmessage.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&It
emid=42
To his Eminence Prince Sayyid Ghazi ibn Muhammad, advisor to his majesty,
the monarch of the Royal Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Allah preserve and
watch over him): May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.
After conveying the best greetings and utmost respect for the efforts that you put
forth in bringing together Muslims and uniting their ranks: I received your noble
letter requesting my response to three questions. In answer to your noble
request, I present to your highness the following responses.
The First Question. [Who is a Muslim?]
Before I give a somewhat detailed answer to this question, it is necessary to
speak about an unfortunate phenomenon that we witness in our Islamic nation,
namely that many people today have found themselves going to extremes on the
issue [of who is a Muslim], either leading to excess or leading to negligence. This
is because some of them race towards declaring non-Muslim (takfr) those who
do not maintain their theological positions or do not follow their way in derivative
issues that are not part of the foundations of religion but are in fact in the realm of
ijtihd wherein scholarly differences occurred from the beginning of Islam. It is
though Islam is a narrow courtyard; whenever a person leaves it as much as an
ants length, they have left Islam.
On the other hand, there are people that accept the claim of everyone that claims
to be Muslim and do not allow takfr of them in any situation, even if they deny
principles of the religion that distinguish Islam from other religions. It is though
Islam is not a clearly defined thing but is a loose cloth that encompasses every
invalid destructive opinion, as long as the person claims that they are Muslim.
Both of these views are invalid and have lead to division and disunity between
Muslims. The truth is that Islam and faith (mn) are clearly defined things that
must be affirmed in order to make a judgment on anyones Islam. This affirmed
reality encompasses many of the secondary differences that Islam itself
permitted. So it is not permissible to do takfr of anyone solely on the basis of
secondary differences. Similarly, this reality is not negated by some secondary
errors that a person commits in their practice or belief, as long as they believe in
the principles upon which Islam and disbelief (kufr) rest. If we want to unite the
ranks of the believers, it is necessary to distance ourselves from both forms of
extremism. In the same way that it is obligatory upon us to distance ourselves
from those that pronounce takfr of the Muslims for secondary differences, it is
obligatory upon us also to distance ourselves from those that wish to bring into

Translation Jawad Qureshi, 2010

This work is not to be copied, distributed, or quoted without prior permission.

Islam every invalid opinion that goes against the principles recognized by the
Islamic umma over the centuries.
Based on this, it is necessary for us to define this affirmed reality that we call
Islam in order for us to hold firm to it with moderation, which will distance us from
both forms of extremism. The definition of Islam in the light of the Qurn and
Sunna that the Islamic umma has agreed upon is: affirming as true that which is
known with certainty that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) came
with.
Everyone that comes under this definition is a Muslim and it is not allowed to do
takfr of them. Given this, those that claim [to belong to the religion of] Islam fall
into three categories.
The first category are those that claim to be Muslim but deny a matter that is
necessarily known of the religion. They believe, for example, that prophethood
continues after the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), or believe in
the prophethood of one of the false prophets that claimed prophethood after the
Noble Prophet, Seal of the Prophets (Allah bless him and give him peace), such
as the Qadiynis; or they believe that the Noble Qurn that is before us is
corruptGod forbid!and not the true Qurn, as some of the extremists and
Ghult amongst the Shia say; or they believe that Divinity or some of its
particular attributes exists in a human, as it is said of the Alawites and those like
them. Such people are not Muslim and it is obligatory to do takfir of them.
The second category are those schools of thought that believe in all that is
necessarily known of the religion (malm min al-dn bi al-arra) but that differ
on secondary fiqh matters or in those matters of doctrine that are open to ijtihd.
Despite these secondary differences between them, each one of these schools is
true in accordance with their ijtihd and none of them is invalid (bil) let alone
outside the fold of Islam. Included in this category are all of the legal schools of
thought that are known for the differences between the Companions and the
Followers, such as the Hanafi, Shafii, Maliki, and Hanbali schools, and
everything that has been narrated in a sound manner from other than these
mujtahids, regardless of whether they are people of hadith, jurists (ray), or
scripturalists (ahl al-hir), such as al-Shabi, al-asan al-Bari, Sad ibn alMusayyib, Sad ibn al-Jubayr, Muhammad al-Bqir, Jafar al-adiq, al-Awz,
Layth ibn Sad, and Dwd al-hir. Included also in this category are the
Asharis and the Mturids, Allah have mercy on all of them. The condition for
entering into this category is that they do not do takfr or deem heretical (fsiq)
the other schools of thought and that they do not defame or show bad
comportment towards any of the imams.
The truth is that the discussions that occurred between these schools were
scholarly debates based on ijtihd that lead to the development of [Islamic]
thought and paved the path for finding solutions to issues of daily life. It is from

Translation Jawad Qureshi, 2010

This work is not to be copied, distributed, or quoted without prior permission.

this perspective that it is said that scholarly differences are a mercy to the umma.
The correct position for each one of these schools is to consider their own school
to be correct with the possibility of being incorrect, while maintaining that the
school of someone else is incorrect with the possibility of being correct. This is
what the people of these schools have said plainly in their books. For example,
Allmah al-askaf says in the introduction to Al-Durr al-mukhtr (1:48): If we
are asked concerning our position (madhhab) and the position (madhhab) of one
who disagrees with us, we say, out of obligation, that our position is correct with
the possibility of being incorrect while the position of the one who disagrees with
us is incorrect with the possibility of being correct.
This position is built upon the saying of the Noble Prophet (Allah bless him and
give him peace): If a judge gives a decree, exerts an effort (ijtahada), and was
correct then, he is rewarded twice. However, if he gives a decree, exerts an
effort, but was wrong, then he receives one reward. (Bukhr, Kitb al-itim,
#735)
The third category of madhhab. Included in this category are those schools
(madhhib) that do not have anything in their beliefs that leads them to kufr
because they do not deny something that is necessarily known of the religion;
however they differ amongst themselves, not in the realm of secondary-ijtihd
based matters, but in important doctrinal issues. Each one of these schools
believes that it is on the truth and that the one who disagrees with them is in error
but that his error does not lead them to the rank of disbelief. This is like the
difference between Ahl al-sunna and the lay Shia who do not believe in the
corruption of the text of the Qurn nor deny any thing else that is necessarily
known of the religion. Likewise, the differences between Ahl al-sunna and the
Zaydis and between them and the Ibs fall under this category, as long as they
do not deny anything necessarily known of the religion.
With this, it is clear that all of these madhhib are not on the same footing in
embodying true Islam. However, deeming a person kfir and having left Islam is
applied only to the first category that denies matters that are necessarily known
of the religion.
The second question. [Who has the right, and under what circumstances,
to declare someone else a non-Muslim?]
We have mentioned in answering the first question that whosoever does not
deny any matter that is necessarily known of the religion is a Muslim and that it is
not permissible to do takfr of them. Thus, it is not permissible to do takfr of the
traditional Islamic madhhib from the second and third category. We have also
mentioned those that are included in these two categories of the well-known
madhhib today.

Translation Jawad Qureshi, 2010

This work is not to be copied, distributed, or quoted without prior permission.

As for the Sufis, they have differing schools (madris). Of them are those that
limit themselves to self-rectification by following the sharia in accordance with
one of the recognized legal schools and do not have a doctrine that differs with
the apparent meaning of the sharia, nor practices that contradict the sharias
rulings; however they focus on purifying their character and cultivating it by
means that are permissible in the sharia. Sufis of this sort are included in the
second category.
There are also those groups that call themselves Sufis who hold beliefs that
negate some aspect of that which is necessarily known of the religion, such as
negating the outward sharia rulings and creating inward rulings that have no
basis in the Qurn and sunna. They are included in the first category.
Of them are those that do not negate the outward sharia, nor anything that is
known necessarily of the religion, however they are unique in creating
innovations in practice or beliefs that go against the majority of the umma. These
are included in the third category. However, it is not permissible to do takfr of
them.
As for the Salafis, there are those amongst them that follow the madhhab of
Hadith scholars and do not slander the mujtahid imams, nor those that follow
their schools. They are included in the second category. Amongst them also are
those that believe in the invalidity of the fiqh madhhabs and slander everyone
that disagrees with them, even in matters that are secondary. They are included
in the third category. Be that as it may, it is not allowed to do takfr of them in
either instance.
The third question. [Who has the right to issue fatwas in the name of
Islam?]
Islam does not recognize the system (nim) of priesthood as Christianity and
other religions do. Judgment belongs to Allah entirely and His Prophet (Allah
bless him and give him peace). As for the ulama, they do not legislate rulings
but rather explain that which is affirmed in the Noble Qurn and the Pure
Prophetic Sunna. Despite negating the order of priesthood, it is necessary to
explain rulings of the sharia based upon skills and knowledge (muahalt) that
qualify the expositor to give a correct understanding of the texts of the Qurn
and Sunna. So the mufti in Islam is not a legislator of rulings but a commentator
and an expositor of what Allah has legislated in His book or in the Sunna of His
Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and of that which has been
established in the sharia over the centuries. As expressed by Allama Ibn alQayyim al-Jawziyya (Allah have mercy on him): He [the mufti] is a signatory in
place of Allah. It is not allowed for just anyone and his brother to give fatwa; it is
a tremendous responsibility that cannot be fulfilled except by one that has
immersed themselves in Islamic disciplines of learning, such as tafsr, adth,
fiqh, theology, etc. all of this at the feet of the foremost teachers that have

Translation Jawad Qureshi, 2010

This work is not to be copied, distributed, or quoted without prior permission.

inherited this knowledge generation after generation. Similarly, it is obligatory for

whosoever steps forward to give fatwa that they have full knowledge of the
conditions of the people of his time and their customs.
The tradition that this umma has employed throughout the centuries is that
simply studying the sharia disciplines is insufficient in preparing one for the
matter of giving fatwa; [rather] they must practice under the auspices of a mufti
that is trusted by the ulama of their time. Giving fatwa requires inner-religiousvision and a command of law that is not acquired by simply reading books. It is
obligatory to develop this skill through practice. This is similar to a physician who
is not allowed to tend to the sick after simply reading books of medicine. It is a
condition for them to train practically under a proficient doctor that has vast
experience in this regard. This is something that has been emphasized by the
ulama that have written on the principles of fatwa.
It is unfortunate that many people have forgotten this point today. Anyone whose
name becomes popular, like a political leader or the leader of some movement,
has no shame in issuing a fatwa, regardless of whether or not they have the
requisite qualifications in Islamic learning. The public is deluded by their
popularity and regards their fatwas as sharia rulings regardless of whether it
goes against what the umma has established throughout the centuries. It is
necessary for us to reject the like of these unusual fatwas, which only serve to
increase disunity and dispute amongst Muslims, tear at the unity of Muslims,
break their strength, and strengthen the plot of their enemies.
This is what I have understood in the light of the Qurn, the Pure Prophetic
sunna, and the agreement of the people of sound knowledge in this Islamic
umma. Allah the Exalted knows best, and it is He that we ask to cover our errors,
take charge of our guidance, protect us from every form of misguidance in our
thoughts and works, and guide us to that which He loves. I ask Allah the Exalted
to grant you continued success and support, and that through you He benefits
creation and country.
May the peace, blessings, and mercy of Allah be upon you.
[Signed]
Mufti Muhammad Taqi al-Uthmani