All praise is due to Allāh. May Allāh raise the rank of Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and protect his nation from that which he feared for them.
The Three Types of Blasphemy
Know, O Muslim brother, that there are creeds, doings, and sayings that invalidate the two testifications of faith and cause one to fall into blasphemy. Blasphemy is of three types: the blasphemous creed, the blasphemous act, and the blasphemous expression.
This is by the consensus of the Four Schools, as stated by Al-Nawawiyy and Ibnul-Muqrī of the Shāfiʿiyyah, Ibn ʿĀbidīn of the Ḥanafiyyah, Al-Buḥūtiyy of the Ḥanābilah, Shaykh Muḥammad ʿIllaysh of the Mālikiyyah, and others.
The Blasphemous Creed
The place of the blasphemous creed is the heart. Examples are denying an attribute among the attributes of Allāh that are necessary for Him by consensus, such as His Existence, His being Powerful, His Hearing, and His Seeing. Likewise it is blasphemy to believe that He is an illumination or a soul.
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghaniyy al-Nābulusiyy said:
“Whoever believes that Allāh filled the heavens and earth, or that He is a body sitting above the ʿArsh, then he is a blasphemer even if he claimed to be a Muslim.”
The Blasphemous Act
An example of the blasphemous act is throwing a book of the Qurʾān in the trash. Ibn ʿĀbidīn said: “Even if he did not intend to belittle the Qurʾān, because his doing itself is an indication of belittlement.” Likewise it is blasphemy to throw religious papers in the trash or any paper that has a name among the names of Allāh while knowing that name is on it.
Whoever hangs the signs of blasphemy on himself, if it is with the intention of seeking blessings, glorification, or out of legitimating it, is an apostate.
The Blasphemous Expression
The blasphemous saying includes insulting Allāh the Exalted, such as saying “O daughter of your Lord” or “O son of Allāh.” Blasphemy takes place in this case even if the person did not believe that Allāh has a daughter or a son.
If a Muslim calls another Muslim “O blasphemer,” “O Christian,” “O Jew,” or “O you without Religion” with the intention that this person is not upon the Religion of Islām, he blasphemes. This is because he has named Islām blasphemy. This is apostasy that takes the one who said it out of Islām.
If a person says to his wife “You are more beloved to me than Allāh,” he blasphemes. If a person says to another “May Allāh be unjust to you as you have been unjust to me,” he blasphemes, because he attributed injustice to Allāh the Exalted. However if he understood from it “May He avenge me,” he is not charged with blasphemy, though he is forbidden from saying it.
Whoever says “Damn your Lord” blasphemes. Likewise whoever says “Damn your Dīn” to a Muslim blasphemes. Likewise blasphemes whoever says “So-and-so moved my Lord,” because this attributes movement and place to Allāh. Likewise blasphemes whoever attributes an organ to Allāh. Likewise blasphemes whoever says “My Lord went crazy.”
Belittling what has Qurʾān written in it, belittling the Prophets, the signs of Islām, or belittling a law revealed by Allāh is definite blasphemy. Likewise deeming blasphemy good from others is blasphemy, because accepting blasphemy is blasphemy.
Whoever deems these sayings and expressions good blasphemes. The bad manners that people show towards the Messenger ﷺ by making fun of any of his situations or deeds are blasphemy.
Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ al-Mālikiyy said: “There is no difference among the Muslims that the one who insults Allāh is a blasphemer.”
What is Exempted from the Blasphemous Expressions
The following are exempted from the charge of blasphemy:
The slip of the tongue, meaning to say something of that type without will, when it ran on one’s tongue and he did not intend to say it at all.
The absence of mind, meaning the lack of a conscious mind.
Compulsion: the one who utters blasphemy with his tongue under the threat of death, while his heart is tranquil with faith, does not blaspheme. Allāh the Exalted said:
مَن كَفَرَ بِٱللهِ مِن بَعدِ إِيمـٰنِهِ إِلّا مَن أُكرِهَ وَقَلبُهُ مُطمَئِنٌ بِٱلإِيمـٰنِ وَلَـٰكِن مَّن شَرَحَ بِٱلكُفرِ صَدرًا فَعَلَيهِم غَضَبٌ مِّنَ ٱللهِ
Except for the one who was compelled while his heart was firm with belief. However, whoever blasphemes in Allāh after belief, and his heart was delighted with blasphemy, he deserves the punishment of Allāh. [Sūrat al-Naḥl, 106]
Conveying another’s blasphemy: the one who conveys the blasphemy of another without accepting it does not blaspheme. Allāh the Exalted said:
وَقَالَتِ ٱليَهُودُ عُزَيزٌ ٱبنُ ٱللهِ وَقَالَتِ ٱلنَّصَـٰرَى ٱلمسِيحُ ٱبنُ ٱللهِ
The Jews said “Ezra is the son of Allāh” and the Christians said “the Masīḥ is the son of Allāh.” [Sūrat al-Tawbah, 30]
This verse was cited by Allāh in the Qurʾān without Allāh or His Messenger ﷺ being charged with blasphemy for conveying it. The citation that protects the narrator from blasphemy is either at the beginning of the statement he cites or after his mentioning the blasphemous word, while intending beforehand to say the citation.
A misunderstanding of the Religious Law while trying to arrive at the truth: the one with a misunderstanding does not blaspheme unless his misunderstanding was in reference to the definitive matters, in which he is not excused. An example of a misunderstanding that does not reach blasphemy is the group who withheld the Zakāh after the death of the Prophet ﷺ, claiming it was only obligatory during his lifetime. The Companions did not charge them with blasphemy for that. As for misunderstanding in the face of definitive evidence, such as claiming the world is eternal, it does not save one from the charge of blasphemy.
A Return to the Classification
Know that not everyone who has a misunderstanding is saved from blasphemy by his misunderstanding. Generalizing that principle is a disbanding of and exiting from the Religion. Many of those who busied themselves with philosophy went out of the Religion for their belief that the world is eternal, despite calling it ijtihād. The Muslims have agreed on their blasphemy.
From here it is known that blasphemy is not limited to outward acts or expressions alone. The creed in the heart is the foundation, and the act and expression follow from it. Whoever holds a corrupted creed, whether he expresses it openly or conceals it, has fallen out of Islām.
The Judgment of the Apostate
The apostate is the one who was a Muslim and then departed from Islām by one of the three types of blasphemy. He is called upon to return to Islām. If he returns he is accepted. If he insists, the scholars of fiqh have detailed his judgment in their books.
The marriage of the apostate is invalidated by his apostasy. His right to inheritance is cut off. His deeds of worship from before his apostasy are nullified.
Allāh the Exalted said:
وَمَن يَرتَدِد مِنكُم عَن دِينِهِ فَيَمُت وَهُوَ كَافِرٌ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ حَبِطَت أَعمَالُهُم فِي الدُّنيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ أَصحَابُ النَّارِ هُم فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
Whoever among you turns back from his religion and dies while being a blasphemer, those are the ones whose deeds have been nullified in this life and the Hereafter, and they are the companions of the Fire, remaining in it forever. [Sūrat al-Baqarah, 217]
This article is part of IKF’s Ilm al-Aqīdah series, drawn from the works of the scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah.
SERIES: ʿILM AL-AQĪDAH
- The Greatest Right of Allāh Over His Slaves
- The Attributes of Allāh
- Clearing Allāh of Place, Direction, and Resemblance to Creation
- Prophethood and the Miracles of the Messengers
- The Angels
- The Revealed Books and the Qurʾān
- Destiny and the Will of Allāh
- The Grave and the Barzakh
- The Day of Judgment and the Final Abode
- Tawassul, Innovation, and Ijtihād
- The Divisions of Blasphemy