Who Is Mukallaf (Legally Competent) and Ghair-Mukallaf (Non-Compos Mentis) in Islam?
New Age Islam Staff Writer
17 November
2020
A Mukallaf is a person who is alive, free,
sane (Aqil), adult (Baligh) Muslim and possessed of full
legal capacity (Ahliyyat) and thus
obligated to perform the general religious duties. (Ibn Najjar, Al-Kaukab
al-Munir 1/338)
The state
of being a legally responsible or accountable agent is called ‘Taklif’ and thus a Muslim of this status
is known as a Mukallaf.
Being
‘legally responsible’ means Muslims are required to perform the duties that
Islam imposed upon them such as praying (Salah/Namaz), fasting (Roza/Siyam), Zakah and fulfilling the
rights of Human beings (Huquq Al-Ibad)
in addition to the rights of Allah (Huquq
a- Allah) and avoiding the forbidden things such as injustice, cheating,
drinking and lying etc.
The Muslim
children who have not come of age and those who are insane are not legally
responsible. They are Ghair-Mukallaf/
Non-Mukallaf (non-compos mentis) i.e. if they do not perform the duties
obligated upon Mukallaf, they will not be accountable or responsible on the Day
of Judgment.
The condition
of Mukallaf’s ‘possessing legal
capacity’ is based on the Quranic verse;
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond its
capacity” (2:286,
2:233)
That a Mukallaf must be sane (Aqil) and adult (Baligh) is also supported by the Ahadith as follows;
“The pen
has been lifted from [writing the deeds of] three: the one who is asleep until
awakening, the young child until becoming adult, and the crazy person until
becoming sane” (Related by Abu Dawud)
In another version of this Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad it is reported that “the Pen has been lifted from writing the deeds of three: The one who is asleep until one wakes up, the child until he becomes pubescent and the crazy person until he becomes sane” (narrated by Ahmad).
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