Do we have the right to ban Ḥanafī books for this extreme takfīr?

It seemed to me that I should highlight this after the Ṭālibān and a group of its supporters justified the ban on “Kitāb at-Tawḥīd” by Sheikh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdul Wahhāb - may Allāh have mercy on him - by saying that it contains extreme takfīr (i.e. excommunication), so that the proverb applies to them: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!

And they are not the only ones targeted by this refutation, but also those who promote the adherence to later schools of jurisprudence as the savior from extreme takfīr, and I am still perplexed by their argument despite my knowledge of the extreme takfīr in the books of the later schools of jurisprudence, which is rejected by the contemporary Salafism that they attack.

I also aim to respond to the those who occupied their time defending the ʾAshʿaris and collecting the errors of the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah, to the extent that they compared Ibn Khuzaymah (one of the great imams of those who affirm Allāh’s attributes) to the ʾAshʿari deniers of Allāh’s attributes, so I think that they will not be pleased with this takfīr that will include most of the Ummah, and how it is promoted as a valid opinion, and how its holders are not pleased until they accuse others of extreme takfīr!

1. It is stated in “Majmaʿ al-Anhār” from among the reputable Hanafī books:

   And he becomes a kāfir for saying ‘a bowl of porridge is better than knowledge,’ and for saying ‘ignorance is better than knowledge,’ and for saying ‘the ignorant is better than the scholar,’ and for saying ‘an ignorant ascetic is better than a corrupt scholar.’

   Reflect on the takfīr with the saying of ‘an ignorant ascetic is better than a corrupt scholar.’ While the phrase can be mistaken, issuing takfīr based on it is bizarre!

2. It was stated in “Al-Baḥr Ar-Rāʾiq”:

   And he becomes a kāfir by saying that faith increases and decreases and by saying, ‘I do not know whether the disbeliever is in Paradise or in Hell.’

   The statement that faith increases and decreases is the statement of the majority of the Imams of Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah, and only the Murjiʾah disagreed, and among them the majority of the Hanafīs. The statement “I do not know whether the disbeliever is in Paradise or in Hell” despite its invalidity is said by many in our time, under the pretext that the call to Islam may have been distorted or that he converted to Islam at the end of his life, and other weak arguments. The strange thing is that the people who say these phrases are among the most enthusiastic people for this school of jurisprudence, and they recommend it to people under the pretext of following the school of jurisprudence of the people of one’s country. The early Hanafīs are innocent of this statement, but the fatwās (i.e. rulings) issued in those countries are based on the opinion of the later scholars who wrote these books.

3. It was mentioned in “Al-Baḥr Ar-Rāʾiq” while enumerating the statements of kufr:

   And by his saying that Christianity is better than Judaism because he described something evil as good according to the Sharīʿah and reason, and by his saying to a Magian, ‘O ustāḏ,’ out of respect.

   Takfīr for saying that Christianity is better than Judaism is extremely bizarre, but then Takfīr for respecting the Magian!

4. It was mentioned in “Majmaʿ Al-Anhār”:

   And if he gives charity to a poor person from ḥarām money hoping for reward, he is considered a kāfir, and if the poor person knows about that and prays for him and the giver says “Āmīn,” they are both considered kuffār.

   Giving charity from ḥarām is considered kufr according to them! I think that it is similar to what many people say [today] about ḥarām things, saying “Alḥamdulillah” and “May Allāh grant me success”, as we see from many of the immoral people whose actions are immoral.

5. It was mentioned in “Majmaʿ Al-Anhār” while enumerating the statements of kufr:

   He committed a minor sin and someone said to him, ‘Repent,’ and he said, ‘What have I done that I should repent?’ He is considered a kāfir.

This is in addition to what I published earlier about a group of them declaring to be a kāfir whoever says: “I am a believer, Allāh willing” [when asked “Are you a believer?”], which is the doctrine of the Sunnis and the Ash'aris.

Some of them also declared to be a kāfir whoever says: “I saw Allāh in a dream”, as in “Al-Baḥr Ar-Rāʾiq” [5/130, Dār Al-Kitāb Al-Islāmi’s edition].

Ibn Al-Qayyim was surprised by them as they declare to be a kāfir whoever prays without Ṭahārah (i.e. purification) – even if he does that out of embarrassment and not in mockery – while they do not declare to be a kāfir whoever abandons prayer!

This is in addition to their declaring to be a kāfir whoever says “musayjid” [the diminutive form of “masjid”], “muṣayḥif” [dim. of “muṣḥaf”] and “fuqayh” [dim. of “faqīh”], while the most that has been narrated from the Salaf in this regard is that it is disliked (i.e. makrūh.)

In “Al-Fatāwā al-ʿĀlamgīriyyah” [2/259] by Muhammad Aurang: “And likewise if he says Allāh is in the heavens, meaning a place, he is a kāfir. And if he means by it a narration of what came in the scripture and narrations, he is not a kāfir. And if he did not have an intention, he is a kāfir according to most scholars. And likewise if he says: Allāh looks at us from heaven or from the throne or sees us from these two places. Unless he says in Arabic, يطلع, then it is not kufr.” Here he excommunicates the entire Ummah, leaving no one out except his small clique of Jahmites.