Ilhad (deviation from religion, and related terms)

الإلحاد

Ilhad means deviating from the straight path, and in the technical sense it is turning from the sound law toward some form of unbelief, or attacking the religion while claiming to be a Muslim. ¹² The jurists distinguish it from apostasy, hypocrisy, heresy in the sense of hidden unbelief, and dahriyya (denial of the Creator). The ilhad is the widest category of unbelief. ²³ Ilhad in the sacred precinct is injustice there, and the sayings on its meaning differ. ³ A Muslim who commits ilhad takes the rulings of the apostate, while a dhimmi who attacks the religion breaks his covenant. ⁴

Definition

Ilhad in the lexical sense is deviation and turning away from a thing; the grave niche (lahd) takes its name from it. In usage it has several senses. The first is ilhad in religion: attacking it or leaving it. The second is violating the sanctity of the Sacred Mosque by sin there or by preventing its maintenance. ¹ Ibn Abidin said that ilhad in religion is turning from the sound law toward some form of unbelief, such as the Batiniyya who claim that the Qur'an has an outer and an inner sense, and that it includes attacking the religion while claiming to be a Muslim, or twisting the necessities of the religion to suit one's desires. ¹

Related terms

Apostasy (ridda): unbelief by a sane, adult, free Muslim whose Islam was established, by an explicit word of unbelief or by an act that implies it. ²
Hypocrisy (nifaq): professing faith with the tongue and concealing unbelief in the heart. ²
Heresy (zandaqa): concealed unbelief together with acknowledgement of Muhammad's prophethood, judged from the speech and acts of the zindiq. ²
Dahriyya: the view that time is eternal, the denial of resurrection, and the denial that events are caused by the Creator. ²
The ilhad is the widest category: it does not require acknowledgement of prophethood or of the Creator, concealment, or prior Islam. ³

Ilhad in the Sacred Precinct

Ilhad in the Sacred Precinct is deviation through injustice there, as the Qur'an says of its sanctity. The sayings on its meaning differ: Ibn Mas'ud took it as polytheism; others as violating its sanctity by injustice, doing wrong, preventing its maintenance, or hoarding. Ibn Hayyan held that these are examples and not a closed list. ³

The burial niche

Digging a lahd (niche) in the grave is a sunna for the Hanafis and Hanbalis, following the saying "the lahd is for us and the shaqq is for others". It is recommended for the Malikis and Shafi'is; the shaqq is used where the ground is soft. ³⁴

Ilhad in religion and its effects

The one who commits ilhad may be a polytheist by origin, whose case falls under polytheism; a dhimmi who attacks the religion openly, whose covenant is then broken; or a Muslim, who takes the rulings of apostasy or heresy. ⁴
A Muslim who turns to ilhad is asked to repent by those who hold that view. If he repents he regains his acts of worship and his contracts; if he does not, he is treated as an executed apostate. ⁴

Sources

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3316

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3317

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3318

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3319

Blind imitation (taqlid)

Wajdi reports, without naming them, that scholars of Islam held the faith of a mere imitator unacceptable, because imitation can be of falsehood as well as truth. He reads Islam as calling each responsible person to use reason in inference and deduction, as protection against the rigidity that the ill-intentioned exploit. The statement is attributed to the author's report.