Iman al-Nazar fi Mashruiyyat al-Bughd wa al-Hajr
- Author died
- 1445 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Tawḥīd
Iman al-Nazar fi Mashruiyyat al-Bughd wa al-Hajr (Scrutinizing the Legitimacy of Hatred and Boycotting) is a treatise by the Saudi Hanbali scholar al-Karim bin Salih al-Humayd (d. 1445 AH / 2024 CE) on the Islamic legal and theological grounds for religious ostracism (al-hajr) and loving and hating for the sake of God .
Background and Purpose
The work's full title is Iman al-Nazar fi Mashruiyyat al-Bughd wa al-Hajr, wa Ihya' ma 'Afa minhu wa Indathar (Scrutinizing the Legitimacy of Hatred and Boycotting, and Reviving What Has Faded and Been Extinguished of It), with the explanatory subtitle Dirasah 'Ilmiyyah fi Mashruiyyat al-Bughd fi Allah wa al-Hajr fih (A Scholarly Study on the Legitimacy of Hatred for the Sake of Allah and Boycotting for His Sake) . Al-Humayd finished writing the text in Buraydah in the month of Muharram 1428 AH (January/February 2007 CE) .
Al-Humayd stated that his primary purpose in compiling the book was to address and remind contemporaries who criticize the practice of religious ostracism, arguing that boycotting and hating for the sake of God had become perceived as foreign or rejected due to widespread leniency . He noted that while disavowal (al-bara'ah) of non-Muslims is a well-established obligation beyond the main focus of the treatise, the book specifically focuses on clarifying the rules governing the hatred and ostracism of openly sinning Muslims and proponents of non-excommunicating innovations (al-bida' ghayr al-mukaffirah) .
Themes and Contents
The book addresses several legal and theological dimensions of social and religious boycott:
- Theological Foundations: The author links hatred for the sake of God directly to monotheism (tawhid) and sincere faith, arguing that love for God is invalid without the corresponding disavowal and rejection of sinful or deviant practices .
- The Precedent of Boycotting: The work reviews instances of prophetic ostracism, such as the Prophet Muhammad's temporary separation from his wives and withholding greetings from duplicitous individuals, as well as incidents where early figures distanced themselves from relatives who defied prophetic guidance .
- Legal Scope and Discretion: Citing classical jurists, the treatise distinguishes between forbidden personal grudges lasting more than three days and permanent or disciplinary ostracism (ta'zir) enacted for religious defiance, open corruption, or heresy .
- Critique of Contemporary Leniency: Al-Humayd criticizes modern tendencies that explain away classical hardline stances as ignorance or personal temperaments, asserting that strictness against open sin is a practiced legal precedent aimed at safeguarding the Muslim community .
The book also includes poetic material, incorporating verses by the Najdi scholar Sulayman ibn Sahman defending the legitimacy of boycotting transgressors, and concludes with an original didactic poem by al-Humayd summarizing the treatise's main arguments .
Sources and Methodology
The work relies on textual proofs from the Quran, citing passages such as verse 22 of Surah al-Mujadilah, verse 113 of Surah Hud ( وَلَا تَرْكَنُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ ), and verse 68 of Surah al-An'am . In addition to hadith collections, al-Humayd draws extensively on the legal and exegetical writings of classical authorities across various schools, including al-Qurtubi, Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Ibn Aqil, Ibn Muflih, and Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri .
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