The Types of Blasphemy and Blasphemers
Allah, ta^ala, said in the Qur’an:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ مَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ
Innal-ladhina kafaru wa saddu ^an sabilillahi thumma matu wa hum kuffarun falay-yaghfirallahu lahum. Ayah 34 of Surah Muhammad means: {Those who blaspheme and prevent others from embracing Islam, then die as blasphemers, will not be forgiven by Allah.}
Blasphemy is the opposite of belief, just as darkness is the opposite of light. It is of three types: likening God to the creation (tashbih), contradicting (takdhib), and denying (ta^til).
Tashbih: Likening Allah to His creation. An example is to say or believe that Allah has legs.
Takdhib: Contradicting the honorable Qu’ran or what was undoubtedly related from the Prophet and known by every Muslim scholar, like negating the resurrection of the bodies and souls, or negating the obligation of prayer, fasting, or Zakah.
Ta^til: Negating or denying the existence of Allah. This type is the most blasphemous. Likewise is denying any of Allah’s Thirteen Attributes.
Blasphemers are of two types. One is the original blasphemer. The other one is the apostate (murtadd).
The ‘original blasphemer’ is the one who was born to two blasphemous parents and reached pubescence on a blasphemous belief.
The apostate (murtadd) is the person who was Muslim, then committed one of the types of blasphemy (riddah).
Allah, ta^ala, said in the Qur’an:
وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّمَا كُنَّا نَخُوضُ وَنَلْعَبُ قُلْ أَبِاللّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ وَرَسُولِهِ كُنتُمْ تَسْتَهْزِؤُونَ لاَ تَعْتَذِرُواْ قَدْ كَفَرْتُم
Qul abillahi wa ayatihi wa rasulihi kuntum tastahzi’un. La ta^tadhiru qad kafartum ba^da imanikum.
Ayahs 65-66 of Suratut-Tawbah mean: {O Muhammad, say: Do you mock Allah, His verses, and His Messenger? Do not offer excuses. Now you are judged as blasphemers, after you were judged as Muslims.}
Apostasy (Riddah) is leaving Islam. It is among the most abhorrent type of blasphemy. Hence, it is obligatory on every Muslim to preserve his Islam and protect it from apostasy (riddah), which invalidates his Islam. May Allah protect us from it.
The categories of blasphemy: The scholars classified blasphemy into three categories: blasphemy of belief, blasphemy of action, and blasphemy of saying.
Each category of these categories is divided into many subdivisions:
Examples of the blasphemy of belief include:
- Denying the existence of Allah.
- Believing that Allah does not have the Power to do something.
- Believing Allah is ignorant.
- Believing that Allah is a body, light, or a soul.
- Believing that drinking alcohol or stealing is permissible.
- Believing that Allah did not obligate the five prayers, fasting the month of Ramadan, paying Zakah, or making Hajj.
Examples of the blasphemy of action include:
- To throw the Qur’an or other Islamic papers purposely in the trash.
- To prostrate to an idol, or the sun, or to any other creation with the intention of worshipping it.
Examples of the blasphemy of saying include:
- Cursing Allah, His prophets, angels, Islam, or the Qur’an.
- Mocking the prayer or fasting.
The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said:
إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ لاَ يَرَى بِهَا بَأْساً يَهْوِي بِهَا فِي النَّارِ سَبْعِينَ خَرِيفًا
Innal-^abda layatakallamu bil-kalimati la yara biha ba’say yahwi biha finnari sab^ina kharifa.
Which means: “A slave may utter a word that he deems harmless that may result in his falling the depth of seventy years into Hellfire.” (Related by at-Tirmidhiyy.)
Falling the distance of seventy years means falling to the deepest bottom of Hellfire, which is reserved for the blasphemers. This hadith is a proof that it is not a condition for falling into blasphemy that one knows the judgment, or feels happy with, or believes in the uttered words.
The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said:
أَكْثَرُ خَطَايَا ابْنِ ءَادَمَ مِنْ لِسَانِهِ
Aktharu khataya bni Adama mil-lisanih.
Which means: “Most of one’s sins are from one’s tongue.” (Related by at-Tabaraniyy.)
The Rule: Any belief, action, or saying which belittles Allah, His Books, His Messengers, His Angels, His Rites, the well-known practices of His Religion, His Rules, His Promise, or His Threat is blasphemy. So, one must use caution with one’s utmost effort to avoid blasphemy at all times.
Benefit: The scholars said: Denying what is commonly known among the Muslims to be a part of the Religion is blasphemy. For something to be commonly known to be part of the Religion means that it is a matter that is known by all Muslims, both the laypeople and the scholars alike. In other words, it is not something known only by scholars. This is like the obligation of the five prayers, fasting Ramadan, the permissibility of buying and selling, and the unlawfulness of drinking alcohol and stealing.
