Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Refutes the Murjiah on the Excuse of Ignorance in the Outward Ruling

1,370 views·Dec 17, 2025

🎥 This video is taken from the great book Kashf al-Shubuhat by Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. 📚 CONTEXT: Here, the Imam poses a question to refute the extreme Murjiah of his time—those who excused grave-worshippers in the outward ruling, falsely claiming that they are ignorant Muslims or even that they were rewarded for their ijtihad.... Rewarded for shirk!? 🔥 The Murjiah from among the Ashʿariyyah, Maturidiyyah, and Sufiyyah were the staunchest opponents of the Sunnah and Tawhid in his era. - They strove relentlessly to extinguish the light of Tawhid by corrupting the very foundations of Iman, misleading the common people, and ultimately dragging them in Jahannam alongside themselves for eternity! ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❗EXPLANATION OF THE ISSUE❗ ⚠️ The Murjiah fail to distinguish between the outward ruling and the inward ruling. When they observe a person committing clear, manifest acts of shirk or kufr, they excuse him outwardly by claiming that inward kufr must first be established, such as denial (juhood). Denial (juhood) is defined as a person being informed and then persisting upon the act. - This is why the Murjiah, who believe that kufr is limited to denial (juhood), falsely condition the outward ruling upon a person “knowing first” or having “the proof established” upon him, because one can't deny what he doesn't know. As a result, they restrict outward kufr to denial alone, rather than to the action or statement itself. ⚠️ Conditioning inward denial for the outward ruling is a gross opposition to the aqeedah of Ahl al-Sunnah! - Ahl al-Sunnah affirm that statements and actions are from iman, and that the outward ruling is based upon clear, manifest statements and actions—not upon matters of the heart. ✍️ STATEMENT: Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852H) in Fath al-Bari (12/272) transmitting consensus: وكلهم أجمعوا على أن أحكام الدنيا على الظاهر، والله يتولى السرائر “THEY ALL UNANIMOUSLY AGREED that worldly rulings are based upon what is outwardly apparent, while Allah alone takes charge of what lies within." End Quote ✅ Ahl al-Sunnah clearly differentiate between the outward and inward rulings. Outwardly, a person is judged based on what is apparent from his statements and actions. If he commits acts of shirk or kufr openly, he is ruled outwardly as a mushrik based on that clear evidence. ✍️ STATEMENT: Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728H) said in As-Sārim al-Maslūl (2/339): فمن قال أو فعل ما هو كفر, كفر بذلك، وإن لم يقصد أن يكون كافرًا، إذ لا بقصد الكفر أحدّ إلًّا ما شاء الله. “Whoever says or does that which is kufr, then he becomes a kafir by that itself, even if he did not intend to become a disbeliever, for no one intends kufr except whom Allah wills.” End Quote (❗) Coercion, mistakes, ignorance, misunderstanding, and similar matters all relate to the inward reality of the heart: what a person truly intended and what he meant. These considerations have no role in the outward ruling whatsoever. They are only examined before the application of hudud by an Islamic judge, or by Allah on the Day of Judgment. ✍️ STATEMENT: Shaykh Salih Aal al-Sheikh: وأما الجهل الذي يكون لأجل عدم وجود من يُنَبِّه، فإنه يُعذَر به حُكمًا في الآخرة حتى يأتي من يُقيم عليه الحُجَّة، ولا يُعذَر به في أحكام الدنيا. "As for ignorance that occurs due to the absence of someone who can make the person aware, then he is excused for it in the ruling of the HEREAFTER until the proof is established against him. However, HE IS NOT excused by it in the rulings of this worldly life. In every case, he is under this great and severe threat." End Quote 📚 SOURCE: Explanation of Kashf al-Shubuhāt, pg. 143 ✅ Thus, Ahl al-Sunnah say that a person who calls upon other than Allah is a mushrik outwardly, yet they withhold from declaring his final destination in the Hereafter. His affair is left to Allah. ❌ The Murjiah, however, reject this distinction. They falsely claim that statements and actions are insufficient for the outw