Tahdhir al-Muslimin min al-sabb wa al-istihza bi al-din
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- Tahdhir al-Muslimin min al-sabb wa al-istihza bi al-din
Tahdhir al-Muslimin min al-sabb wa al-istihza bi al-din (Warning Muslims Against Reviling and Mocking Religion) is an Islamic treatise authored by Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Misri that examines the Islamic legal and theological rulings on blasphemy, specifically reviling (sabb) and ridiculing (istihza) God, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and the religion of Islam.
Purpose and Composition
The author composed the treatise in response to the spread of verbal abuse and mockery directed toward God, His Messenger, and the faith among segments of Muslim society, including individuals who observe prayer and recite the testimony of faith. He argued that such acts incur divine retribution and cause the humiliation and subjugation of the Muslim community by its enemies in accordance with divine cosmic laws (sunan), prompting the need to clarify the severity of the offense and warn against it.
Structure and Content
The treatise is organized into an introduction followed by ten principal thematic points:
- The weight of the spoken word: An introductory overview detailing the gravity of speech in Islam.
- Quranic exegesis: An interpretation of two verses from Surah al-Tawbah concerning mockery.
- Scholarly consensus (ijma): The unified stance of Muslim scholars regarding the ruling on reviling and mocking God, His Messenger ﷺ, and His religion.
- Jurisprudential statements: Relevant rulings and quotations drawn from classical books of fiqh.
- Innate disposition (fitrah): The natural human conscience's inherent rejection of blasphemy and mockery of the divine.
- Rational arguments: Logical proofs demonstrating how reviling and mocking religion nullifies a person's adherence to Islam.
- The condition of inward belief (istihlal): An analysis of whether deeming the act permissible in one's heart is a required condition for establishing disbelief upon the offender.
- Underlying causes: The motives and circumstances that drive individuals to commit acts of cursing and ridicule.
- Practical examples: Manifestations of reviling, mocking, and cursing that expel a person from the fold of Islam.
- Repentance (tawbah): The question of whether repentance is accepted before death for one who has reviled God or mocked the religion.
Concepts and Method
Citing lexicographical authority from Mukhtar al-Sihah, the author defines sabb as insulting, severing, and slandering, and defines istihza as derision and mockery. He notes that blasphemy is not confined to specific phrasing or formulas, but encompasses any expression conveying those meanings, with sabb being graver in sin and insolence than istihza.
Addressing the common defense that an insulter intended to criticize personal character rather than the Islamic faith, the author maintains that while customary usage (al-haqiqah al-urfiyyah) might theoretically allow for nuance, the prevailing social custom in Egypt unambiguously equates the term al-din with the religion itself rather than moral character. He cites prevalent colloquial phrases—such as cursing someone's religion or mocking religious dress—to demonstrate that such statements constitute apostasy, noting the scholarly consensus permitting the citation of blasphemous phrases strictly for instruction and denouncing wrongdoing. Rationally, the work argues that professing love and veneration for God while simultaneously insulting what He revealed (the Quran and Sunnah) represents an irreconcilable contradiction.
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