"Contentment with Kufr is Kufr"

[Ajh]

Salaamu Alaykum,
InshAllah everybody is having a good and blessed Ramadhan.
I came across this statement, and I read that it is a well know principle of aqida (although I didn't know it before):
"الرضاء بالكفر كفر" - "contentment with kufr is kufr"

a) What does this mean? b) Can anybody me give a few examples?

c) Is this an example:
a person laughing at this kufr joke: once i heard a woman saying: "God is a male; if he was a female he wouldn't get so angry (na-uthu-billah)" Sorry to write that, but I just wanted to ask: if a person laughed at that joke, is he in the category of "contentment with kufr"?

Jazaak Allah

[Murabit]

wa3alikumusalam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

according to the opinion of the maliki scholars, like imam alqurtubi and qadhi abubakr ibn al arabi, contenment with kufr is kufr.. this is based on this ayah of the Quran :

"And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Quran) that when you hear the Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them. Surely, Allah will collect the hypocrites and disbelievers all together in Hell, (Quran 4:140)

based on this ayah, Imam alqurtubi explains that if a person sits with a kaffir folk that are expressing their open kufr, and in his/her heart he/she doesnot harbor dislike for what is taking place, or from his/her limbs he/she doesnot try to stop them, then he/she has fallen into kufr himself/herself.

Matters that directly contradict ones' eman, like mockery and insulting of Allah and His prophets and the deen, of for example when the absolute power/benefit/harm is expressed in other than Allah and in independence of Him, like the worship of an idol or person etc., or when Allah's commandments are outwardly rejected from jahd, or expression of open hatred for what Allah has revealed making His halal as haram and vice versa, then for all of these if one doesnt in his/her heart feel any dislike towards this or distances himself/herself when confronted with these situations, then he/she has fallen into contenment of kufr. May Allah protect us all from these.

[Ajh]

Alhamdulillah,
now I understand, Jazaak Allah Brother. Allah was extra kind to have a Maliki brother answer my question

[Murabit]

may Allah bless you dear brother

[Ajh]

Salaamu Alaykum,
I've just re-read your answer Murabit, and I have just one more question because I'm confused at something you wrote.

I thought that there is a difference between:
"contentment with kufr" which is kufr but
"contentment with disobedience" which is just disobedience

you wrote about:

Matters that directly contradict ones' eman, like mockery and insulting of Allah and His prophets and the deen, or for example when the absolute power/benefit/harm is expressed in other than Allah and in independence of Him, like the worship of an idol or person etc

and you explained that whoever doesn't harbour any dislike towards these "matters" then one becomes a kafir, because they "directly contradict one's iman". Up until there I understand you.

but then you wrote:

or when Allah's commandments are outwardly rejected from jahd, or expression of open hatred for what Allah has revealed making His halal as haram and vice versa

You see my confusion is in this part... My family (like many Muslim familes today watch a lot of television (May Allah Guide Us All). The sitcoms and shows they watch have kafirs in them who do not follow Allah's commandments of dress, sex, alcohol, drugs, non-mahram mixing etc.
When my family watch these shows, I see them laughing at the jokes etc. and generally enjoying the shows. Deep in their hearts however they believe, and do not deny the shar'i prohibitions that have reached them of the deen. So if I were to hypothetically ask them during a sitcom, do you believe what they're doing is right, they'll say no, in our deep heart we believe such actions are wrong, but we enjoy watching it.

So going back to my original split between kufr/disobedience: My two questions:

(1)(a)Is a Muslim who laughs at a haram sin Islamically considered 'content' with this haram sin i.e. Is laughing considered contenment in an Islamic sense? (b) You Islamically definded 'ridha' (contentment) as harbouring no dislike for something; what is the ruling then for a Muslim who is 'content' watching haram sins on t.v., kufr or disobedience? (c) Do the vast generality of Muslims fit into this category (i.e. contentment watching/hearing/seeing haram), because in reality, is it technically even possible to believe something is haram and harbour no dislike for it (i.e. be content with it)?
(2)(a) Is it kufr to laugh (but dislike the joke and feeling uncomfortable with it in the heart) at somebody who mocks Allah SWT or the Prophets Alayhim al Salaam [if for 1(a) you defined 'laughing at' and 'contentment with' as Islamically synonymous, then the answer to this question is obviously yes, so this question links with 1(a)]?
(b) - similar to 1(b): Is it kufr or disobedience to laugh at somebody openly sinning (like an actor), but believing deep inside the sin is wrong?

Please, please precisely answer my two questions in red [parts (a) (b) (c) seperately], making five in total, reading them carefully, taking your time and numbering your answers please.
Jazaak Allah ten times khair for Ramadhan inshAllah.
Salaamu Alaykum

[Ajh]

Salaamu Alaykum,
I left a thread before, in which I asked what does the statement - "Contentment with kufr is kufr" mean.
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49273

I got an answer from a brother, that if in the company of those who express open kufr, one doesn't at least harbour any dislike for what is taking place, then one has himself fallen into kufr.

I added a new part to the question but couldn't get an answer (as I don't have the function of privately messaging the user Murabit who originally answered to reanswer - if a senior member could do this for me that would be great).
Anyway, my new question was, that I understand that for "Matters that directly contradict ones' iman" one has to harbour some dislike.

But what about matters that don't directly contradict ones' iman, like when one is in the company of those that are openely sinning (drinking or the like), or watching t.v. actors sinning; If one is content with (i.e. harbours no dislike for) these sinful expressions, are they kafir too, or just sinful (for being content with sin)?


Jazaakum Allah Khayr.

[Murabit]

Salaamu Alaykum,
I've just re-read your answer Murabit, and I have just one more question because I'm confused at something you wrote.

I thought that there is a difference between:
"contentment with kufr" which is kufr but
"contentment with disobedience" which is just disobedience

you wrote about:

and you explained that whoever doesn't harbour any dislike towards these "matters" then one becomes a kafir, because they "directly contradict one's iman". Up until there I understand you.

but then you wrote:


You see my confusion is in this part... My family (like many Muslim familes today watch a lot of television (May Allah Guide Us All). The sitcoms and shows they watch have kafirs in them who do not follow Allah's commandments of dress, sex, alcohol, drugs, non-mahram mixing etc.
When my family watch these shows, I see them laughing at the jokes etc. and generally enjoying the shows. Deep in their hearts however they believe, and do not deny the shar'i prohibitions that have reached them of the deen. So if I were to hypothetically ask them during a sitcom, do you believe what they're doing is right, they'll say no, in our deep heart we believe such actions are wrong, but we enjoy watching it.

wa3alikumusalam dear brother, no inshallah there is no kufr in this and I will explain it bi idnillah in the explanation of the next quotes.. seeing something or regarding something as haram in and itself is a wish of non inclination to something.. so mere amusement but seeing or feeling it as wrong, is sufficient for one's islam to be still present inshallah, however weak it might be..

So going back to my original split between kufr/disobedience: My two questions:

1)(a)Is a Muslim who laughs at a haram sin Islamically considered 'content' with this haram sin i.e. Is laughing considered contenment in an Islamic sense?

there are matters of the usools/foundations/fundamentals that directly contradict the eman, meaning actions where the association of creed-doctrine behind that deed is clearly and explicitly apparent, like for example someone expressing lordship ( or independent power of causing harm and benefit) in let us say an idol, and out of this expression supplicating that false deity, and someone for example curses/revolts/shows open enemity to an Islamic injuction out of passionate knowing perference or love for someone or something else besides Allah, then the one who sees these situations and in his/her heart they dont feel a sense of distancing from those, then his/her islam is lost.

Also mere laughing or smiling is not neccessarily an expression of contentment of the heart, as these actions come out from more than one type of origin from the heart. A person might be cursed at for example, but he smiles, not because he likes what he hears, but because he is tastes the patience of swallowing his anger for being insulted, likewise there are many other situations etc.

then there are matters where the doctrine is not clearly or explicitly apparent in that sinfulness, matters of the branches which indirectly contradict the eman. For example a person drinking wine, he/she might be doing this either perhaps ignorance, or self's weakness, so when a person who sees a drinker, and he/she in himself/herself doesnot feel from the heart a sense of distancing or abhorence to what is seen or acted, then that non distancing to this indirect contradiction of eman is just a mere sinfulness, the does not amount to kufr. But let us say if the person is drinking wine, and in doing that he/she is openly and explicity expressing that such an action is to show hatred to God, and oppose/reject His religion, and the seer who watches such a person doesnt feel abhorence, then here is where his/her islam is lost, as doctrine/aqeedah's role in the action is clearly expressed.

(b) You Islamically definded 'ridha' (contentment) as harbouring no dislike for something; what is the ruling then for a Muslim who is 'content' watching haram sins on t.v., kufr or disobedience?

if there is something open and clear kufr, and in his/her heart he/she doesnt hold a validity or recognition or inclination for that kufr, then by just mere watching no kufr has incurred.. but if he/she watches something sinfulness like lewdness or drinking or usage of obscene language, and there is no doctrine/creedal matters involved, then tolerance for that is just mere sinfulness and not kufr.

(c) Do the vast generality of Muslims fit into this category (i.e. contentment watching/hearing/seeing haram), because in reality, is it technically even possible to believe something is haram and harbour no dislike for it (i.e. be content with it)?

No they dont, as a muslim is given 70 excuses, because the majority of the ummah of rasulelah aliyesalat wasalam has been blessed to have the core of their eman maintained, also when someone believes something is haram, then that in and itself is an expression of abhorence-negativity, even how minute and weak it might appear to be, and that is sufficient to keep someone still a muslim.

(2)(a) Is it kufr to laugh (but dislike the joke and feeling uncomfortable with it in the heart) at somebody who mocks Allah SWT or the Prophets Alayhim al Salaam

No inshallah it is not..but it is disgusting to be around such an environment

if for 1(a) you defined 'laughing at' and 'contentment with' as Islamically synonymous, then the answer to this question is obviously yes, so this question links with 1(a)]?

Laughing at and contentment with are not synonyoms, as laughing springs from more than one type of heartly situations/origins. a person may laugh because he might be in a difficult social situation, and may wish to place himself/herself out of that situation without causing any confrontation, but in his/her heart he/she dislikes what is going on, so his/her laugh is not out of accepting or agreeing to what is being heard...
but if a laugh is out of heartly agreeing and confirming to what is being heard, then that is contentment..

(b) - similar to 1(b): Is it kufr or disobedience to laugh at somebody openly sinning (like an actor), but believing deep inside the sin is wrong?

There is no kufr in that..

Inshallah our respected knowledgable brothers/sisters and scholars on this forum can correct me where I have erred, or add their own part from what Allah has blessed them with His bounty..

and may Allah bless you always dear brother, and make you of His elect ones in this blessed month.

wasalamualikum,

[Shuayb Ahmed]

Asalamu 'alaykum,

I pray everyone is keeping well. I thought for a moment about the curious statement "contentment with kufr is kufr", an obviously tautological assertion which is common in classic Arab rhetoric (balaghah), or Semitic rhetoric in general, which often favors indirect expressions and disguising (kindayah) the truth in ellipses (contrast this with Indo-European rhetoric in which directness is favored, and where elliptical expressions of truth are marginalized). I won't bother citing scholars and pedantic commentaries to interpret what I believe to be a very simple assertion: contentment with the covering up of the Truth covers up the Truth all the more. The idea is that we should abstain from an attitude of indifference with respect to kufr, that a blase attitude, which is really a form of disinterest in that which matters most, is itself a form of kufr (remember that kufr, like iman, is a gradated affair). I find that familiarity with the nature of Arab rhetoric is helpful in making sense of not just the Qur'anic narrative and the hadith literature, but also the manner of thinking of the earliest generations, before the introduction of Greek logic.


Wa 'Llahu a'lam

[Ajh]

Brother Murabit,
Jazaak Allah Khayr, you answered my question in such detail, mashAllah and Alhamdulillah. I believe everybody has different ways of learning; my way is to ask lots of questions, to help build a picture in my head, if it is only half-clear.
I'd love to be more knowledgeble, so I pray that Allah teaches me more through helpful brothers such as yourself, and taking more weekend classes.
My local sheikh in North Africa (where I come from) used to always tells us that "bab il-'ilm huwa tuqwa" - the door of knowledge is piety and fear of Allah, and would tell us (...So Fear Allah, for it is Allah that teaches you, And Allah is well acquainted with all things)(Quran 2:282).

If I may bother you just once more brother, I have one tiny point of confusion (with this topic) and one question left:

Q.1
(a) Did you answer, meaning the sinner being watched/heard is a kafir? because that's what I meant, i.e. a Muslim sees a kafir sinning (drinking etc.) and feels content watching it.
(b) What if a Muslim can reasonably imply why the sinner they see/hear is sinning, but without an explicit expression (for example because the actor stated in the beginning of a film they hate religuous commandments, because the Muslim knows the actor to be anti-Islam, because the actor/person is sinning whilst wearing a crucifix around their neck or have crossed themselves, because the person has expressed their open atheism before in the past), and still feels content watching the sinner, knowing the sinner is a kafir?
(C) Or does implying have no place in Islamic rulings, such that if and only if, the sin is accompanied on the spot, with a clear expression from the sinner that the reason for committing the sin is a reason which directly contradicts our iman; if and only if these conditions are present, the person commits kufr if content with the sin?
(d) Perhaps here I'm getting into too much detail, but, what if the sinner expressed the (directly iman-contradicting) reason for their sinning seconds before the sin (drinking wine etc.), and the Muslim was content watching it - or does the expression have to accompany the sin exactly at the same time, for the content viewer to be kafir?

You see I studied very simple aqida in my home country (the aqida section of matn ibn Ashir), but never anything about iman and kufr, something I don't understand very much about. I don't know the different types, levels or rulings of kufr etc. But inshAllah I will start after I finish Matn ibn-Ashir. I wonder if there is a Aqida book (to study with a sheikh in a weekend class or something) which just deals with these issues, seeming as I already studied the "articles of faith".
Anyway, I hope that I'm not keeping you from more important things during Ramadhan, so take your time with my question (part a,b,c,d), May Allah bless you for your patience kind one.
I pray Allah forgives and guides you,
Jazaak Allah Khayr
Salaamu Alaykum

[Murabit]

wa3alikumusalam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh dear brother,

wa iyyakum khayr al jaz'aa. and may Allah always bless you as well. Mashallah the Islamic tradition found in North and West Africa has still maintained its purity and radiance, with the correct doctrine, the concentration upon ikhlas/sincerity to Allah rather than innovating into deviant beliefs, lack of sectarianism, adopting simplicity in life, balancing between beauty and glory/awe when it comes to Eman, and following the Madinian Model in dealings and jurisprudence, the city of the Prophet alihyesalat wasalam. Also the maghreb, along with Syria, is the home of the high ranking Awliya, and because of them Allah swt blesses many.

Mashallah the scholars of the Maghreb are a people of a very good heart, scholars are of two types those who become knowledgeable through reading texts or attending with teachers, and others who become knowledgeable through self mujahada and purification, where the more they attain taqwa or ranking the more Allah gives them knowledge from His bounty, or 'ilm la duni, just like the one in the situation of Sayidina Khidr alihesalam, and with the clarity of their eman, they can see things and attain comprehension.

with regards to the answers of your questions dear brother, let me quote one statement by the Maliki scholar Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad Aleysh, a response to a question he was asked, as narrated in the work "Fath' al-Aliyy al-Malik fil Fatwaa 3la Madhahbi Malik", that, " tafdheel, or prefering a kaffir upon a muslim, in the context of the deen, ( where for example the religion or belief of the kaffir is seen better than that of a Muslim ), is apostasy, and in the otherwise there is no apostasy."

so in the light of this fatwaa :

Q.1
(a) Did you answer, meaning the sinner being watched/heard is a kafir? because that's what I meant, i.e. a Muslim sees a kafir sinning (drinking etc.) and feels content watching it.

if he/she watched min bab atafdheel, or from a heartly state where to him that way of the kaffir is the better or proper way than what Allah has ordained, where in his mind at the same time as he was watching, he explicitly felt/held rejecting Allah's deen and perfering in its place the way of the kaffir, then yes that is where apostasy occurs.

But if he sees, knowing that is a shameful thing, and is sinfulness, and that the action of the kaffir is not a perfered way to that of Islam, and he is just watching out of amusement or entertainment, without having any association or inclination feelings in his heart to what is being watched , or without sensing a perference to that thing in his mind, at the behest of rejecting Allah's deen at the same time, then no apostasy has incurred.

(b) What if a Muslim can reasonably imply why the sinner they see/hear is sinning, but without an explicit expression (for example because the actor stated in the beginning of a film they hate religuous commandments, because the Muslim knows the actor to be anti-Islam, because the actor/person is sinning whilst wearing a crucifix around their neck or have crossed themselves, because the person has expressed their open atheism before in the past), and still feels content watching the sinner, knowing the sinner is a kafir?

just mere watching is not kufr, unless this content is sensed out of two feelings present in the mind at the same time, one of this is to see the way of islam being inferior literally, and the other present feeling is to hold from a conviction that this kaffir's action is superior to that of islam's commandment in this context. The collective presence of these two thoughts in the mind , together make up the contentment that renders one to apostasy. So while having islam on sight, and then seeing the kaffir way better literaly than Islam in comparision, then that is where kufr has fallen on this watcher.

if either one of these two feelings are absent in the thought, then this state of contentment does not reach apostasy.

for example, if the person holds islam superior, but feels ok in watching the action and in his heart doesnt place this action above or holds them better than that of Islam's commandments, then this watching doesnot reach the contentment rendering apostasy. Likewise if he watches the action. feels ok but doesnot have islam in mind or mentioned in his thought in that context, has been either forgetful or mindless about the deen at that time, so no kufr has taken place. or forexample he doesnot have islam on sight at that moment, but feels elated about the kaffir, he did not fall into apostasy.

(C) Or does implying have no place in Islamic rulings, such that if and only if, the sin is accompanied on the spot, with a clear expression from the sinner that the reason for committing the sin is a reason which directly contradicts our iman; if and only if these conditions are present, the person commits kufr if content with the sin?
(d) Perhaps here I'm getting into too much detail, but, what if the sinner expressed the (directly iman-contradicting) reason for their sinning seconds before the sin (drinking wine etc.), and the Muslim was content watching it - or does the expression have to accompany the sin exactly at the same time, for the content viewer to be kafir?

apostatic content = having Islam at sight in the mind + holding superiority for kufr way

so if one of these is absent from the mind or thought, then there is no apostasy.

wallahu a3lam
may Allah grant you and everyone else on this forum, and the entire muslims a great ramadhan of whatever days and nights that have remained, and may Allah elevate the ranks of all of us, forgive our sins, and admit us all to His presence.