Does Believing in Place or Direction for Allah Make One a Disbeliever?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani 

Question:

Assalamu Alaikum. If one uttered words that are contradictory to the requirements of belief, such as attributing to Allah a place or direction, he exits Islam, and lack of knowledge in the religion would not be an excuse…

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate

Walaikum assalam,

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah. The things you mention do not make a person a disbeliever (kafir), even though they’re incorrect and sinful beliefs.

Why?
Some things are outright disbelief—such as denying belief in Allah or denying belief in something necessarily known of the religion.

Other things are “disbelief” because they entail beliefs contrary to sound belief.

Attributing place or direction to Allah Most HIgh entails disbelief, but one who believes it is (a) sinful but (b) not a disbeliever. [Bajuri, Tuhfa al-Murid; Nabulsi, Sharh Ida’a al-Dujunna; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Repent, Learn, and Correct

They should repent, learn sound beliefs, and renew their commitment to turn to Allah with excellence.

Second-guessing leads to despair, which is from the tricks of the Devil.

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center