Violent Takfirism Greatly Violates Islam: Refutation Of Talibani Magazine Nawa-e-Afghan Jihad’s Article Titled “Kufr And Apostasy United Against Islamic Mujahedeen” Part 2

By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam

As is widely approved fact that Takfir of any Muslim unless he himself openly declares his unbelief is forbidden in Islam. The Taliban ideologue Mr. Kaashif Ali al-Kheri, however, in the July 2014 issue of “Nawa-e-Afghan Jihad” magazine, vehemently applied the labels ‘Kufr’ and ‘apostasy’ to all those Pakistani Muslims who supported and described the Zarb-e-Azb operation as a Jihad against Talibani terrorism. Moreover, he rendered force-fitted legitimacy to kill all these ‘Kuffar’ and ‘apostates’ of Pakistan. Thus, he shamelessly violated not only the divine commands of the Qur’an and Hadith in each of their different miraculous meanings; metaphorical, literal, specific and general etc, but also of all the four major schools of thoughts in Islamic Jurisprudence.

The Talibani ideologue, Mr. Kaashif Ali al-Kheri posed a severe threat to do more future attacks on mainstream/Sufi-minded Muslims of Pakistan whom the Talibani ideologue thinks are a “group of polytheists”. It should be noted here that the so-called Jihad of Terrorist organizations like ISIL, Tahreek-e-Taliban, Al-Qaeda etc are to kill these Sufi-minded Muslims, demolish the Islamic cultural heritage; shrines, graves and holy places. They do it under the false pretext of Takfirism leading to severe violence and merciless genocide.

According to Mr. Kaashif, it is allowed to kill nearly all Pakistani Muslims, because they are ‘Kuffar’ and ‘apostates’. His rushing to call Sufi-minded Muslims Kaafir and thus giving Justification to kill them greatly violates Islam. It is repeatedly said that let alone Muslims or Sufi-minded Muslims, killing even non-Muslims is equally forbidden in Islam.

One may ask why terrorist organizations like Taliban are engaged in targeted killings of non-Wahhabi or Sufi-Minded Muslims in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mali, Syria and Turkey etc. The response can be better understood in the following statements.

Ibn Abdul Wahhab is the root of Taliban Terrorism 

Maulana Shaykhu-l-Islam Ahmad Zayni Dahlan, Chief Mufti of Mecca (d.1886) (RA) writes in his essay “Fitna ul Wahhabiyyah” (The menace of Wahhabism):

“What Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab's father, brother, and Shaykhs speculated about him came true. Ibn Abdul Wahhab created deviant and misleading ways and beliefs and managed to allure some ignorant people to follow him. His deviant and misleading ways and beliefs disagreed with the sayings of the scholars of Islam. His deviant beliefs led him to label the believers as blasphemers! He falsely declared visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and performing the Tawassul by him as polytheism. Additionally, he falsely claimed visiting the graves of other prophets and righteous Muslims (Auliya’) and performing Tawassul by them was shirk (polytheism) as well. He added to this by saying, "To call upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) when performing Tawassul by the Prophet is shirk." He passed the same judgment of shirk on the ones who call upon other prophets and righteous Muslims (Auliya’) in performing Tawassul by them.

"In an effort to give credibility to his innovations Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab embellished his sayings by quotations which he selected from Islamic sources, i.e., quotations which are used as proofs for many issues but not the issues which Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab attempting to support. He brought false statements and tried to beautify them for the laymen until they followed him. He wrote treatises for them until they believed that most of the People of Tawhid (believers in oneness of God) were blasphemers.”

Such were the ideologies that divided Muslims to a large extent. Hence the extremism, radicalization and every possible coercive ways began sweeping across the world. It happened so, because Ibn Abdul Wahhab declared all non-Wahhabi Muslims to be polytheists and called upon his followers to wage ‘Jihad’ against non-Muslims and as well as all non-Wahabi Muslims.

Following in the footsteps of Ibn Abdul Wahhab, the Talibani ideologue, Mr. Kaashif Ali accused Sufi-minded and non-Wahhabi Muslims of being ‘Kuffar’ and thus gave force-fitted justification to kill them.  Sufi-Minded scholars, like Imam Ahmed Raza known as Ala Hazrat (RA), refuted false ideologues like Ibn Abdul Wahhab and Ismael Delhavi who described majority mainstream Muslims as ‘Mushrik’. Hence, the majority Muslims are still Muslims. Thus, calling them ‘Kuffar’ was and is still a violation of Islam. As for killing them, it is more violation of Islam.

The moment we look into the primary sources of Islam; the Qur'an and Ahadith, we find scores of holy verses and sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him), which strictly forbid killing Muslims. 

The holy Qur’an forbids killing a believer

Allah Almighty says:

“And those who hurt the believing men and the believing women without their doing anything (wrong), surely, they bear (themselves) the burden of a false allegation and an open sin” (33:58)

“Whoever kills a person [unjustly], except as a punishment for murder or [as a prescribed punishment for spreading] disorder in the land, it is as if he killed all of humanity” (The holy Qur’an5:32)

The word ‘Nafs’ used in this verse is equally applied to Muslims and non-Muslims. Thus, unjust killing of any human being, no matter what religion he follows, is forbidden. Therefore, killing any non-Wahhabi Muslim is a sin as grave as killing the whole of humanity.

The Qur’an also says:

“And do not kill the soul whose (killing) Allah has forbidden, except when it is rightfully due (according to law in self-defence against disruption and whilst combating terrorism). It is these (injunctions) He has enjoined upon you so that you may apply reason”. (6:151)

Allah Almighty forbids a community to ridicule another community:

“O believers! Let no community ridicule another community. It is likely that they may be better than those (who ridicule)” (49:11)

Killing Muslims is forbidden (Haram) in Ahadith

Let us ponder over the following Ahadith:

"Abusing a Muslim is Fusuq (evil doing) and killing him is Kufr (disbelief)." (Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 9, Book 88, Number 197)

How much importance Islam has given to the life of a believer can be easily perceived that the sanctity of his blood is greater than that of Ka’ba. Where are the Talibani militants wandering without this Hadith?

Abu Huraira (RA) narrates that Allah's Messenger (God’s blessing and peace be upon him) said:

“None amongst you should point a weapon towards his brother, for he does not know that devil (Satan) might cause the weapon (to slip) from his hand and (he may injure anyone) and thus he may fall into Hell-Fire” (Sahih Muslim; the Book of Virtue, Good Manners and Joining of the Ties of Relationship (Kitab Al-Birr was-Salat-I-wa'l-Adab)  Imam Hakim (R) narrated this Hadith in 'Al Mustadrak, Behqi in As Sunan Al Kubra.

The Prophet Muhammad (God’s blessing and peace be upon him) also said: “He who pointed a weapon towards his brother the angels invoke curse upon him even if he is his real brother so long as he does not abandon it (the pointing of weapon towards one's brother Muslim).  (Sahih Muslim, Imam Tirmidhi narrates the same Hadith in As Sunan, Imam Hakim in Al Mustadrak, Imam Bayhaqi in As Sunan Al Kubra)

Pointing a weapon like a knife, dagger, sword, or gun at a Muslim, even in play, is forbidden in Islam. It is strictly prohibited for a Muslim to frighten another Muslim unnecessarily. This is what we learn from the Hadith that the angels curse him who points a weapon at another Muslim.

Imam Behaqi in Sunan al-Kubra, Sunan Ibn Majah, Imam Ar-Rabee in his Musnad have narrates the following Hadith that forbid to help in killing a Muslim by even a half word:

“Whoever helps in killing a Muslim by even half a word will be brought on the Day of Judgment with the words ‘hopeless from the mercy of Allah’ written between his eyes.”

It is narrated that the Prophet (God’s blessing and peace be upon him) said: “A true Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands, all other Muslims are safe; And a true believer is one from whom people’s lives and wealth are secured; And a true Mujahid is one, who subdues his inner self and forces it into God’s obedience; And a true Muhajir is one, who leaves everything that God has disapproved. By Him, Who controls my life in His hand, no such person shall enter Paradise, whose neighbour was not safe from his transgressions”. (This Hadith has been narrated with minor variations in Bukhari Shareef, Muslim Shareef, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Abu Daud, Ahmad Ibn Hambal, Darmi, Ibn Hibban, Bayhaqi, Nasai Sunan al-Kubra, Ibn Abi Shaybah, Abd al-Razzaq, Abu Ya’la and Humaydi)

Hadrat Abu Hurairah RA narrated that the Prophet (God’s blessing and Peace be on Him) said: "He who takes up arms against us is not of us, and he who acts dishonestly towards us is not of us." (Muslim Shareef Vol.I, p.58)

All the afore-mentioned divine verses and Ahadith strictly forbid killing Muslims. Thus, we should repeatedly say that Talibani terrorists have no Islamic basis to kill Muslim brothers. They have no religious justification to associate themselves with Islam, the Qur’an, Hadith, Sharia, Jihad or whatever Islamic terms, as their atrocities—mutilation, beheading, killing innocent lives etc—are giving ill-reputation to Islam and Muslims.

(To be continued)

A regular columnist and English-Arabic translator for New Age Islam, Ghulam Ghaus is an Alim and Fazil (Classical Islamic scholar) with a Sufi background. He has completed the classical Islamic sciences from a Delhi-based Sufi Islamic seminary Jamia Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Zakir Nagar, New Delhi with specialization in Tafseer, Hadith and Arabic. He completed his Alimiat and Fazilat respectively from Jamia Warsia Arabic College, Lucknow and Jamia Manzar- e- Islam, Bareilly, U.P. He has graduated in Arabic (Hons) and is pursuing his M.A in Arabic from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.