Fatwas of Ulama of Ahle-Sunnah
Hadhrat Umar Ibne Abdul Aziz
One of his representatives from Kufa wrote him:
“Please advise me about a person, who abused Umar bin Al-Khattab. Should I kill him?”
He replied him:
“It is not allowed to kill any person due to abusing any muslim, except in case of abusing Rasool Allah (s). Thus, if anyone abuses Nabi (s), then his blood is Mubah”.
- Al-Shifa Ba-Tarif Haqooq Mustafaa, vol. 2, page 325, published in Baraili.
- Slalah al-Risalah Mulla Ali Qari, page 18, published in Jordan
- Al-Tabaqaatul Kubraa, vol. 5, page 369, published in Bairut.
Fatwa of Imam Malik
Imam Malik said:
“Anyone who abused Rasool Allah (s) should be killed. And anyone who abused Sahaba, he should be taught “Adab”(respect)”.
- Al-Shifa by Qadhi 'Iyadh, vol. 2, page 376, published by Matba Sadiqqi, Baraili, India.
- Al-Sarim al-Maslool, page 569, with reference to Defence of Abu Huraira, page 26, published in Peshawar, Pakistan
Mulla Barkhurdar Multani, the mentor of Sharh Nabras writes:
“The famous madhab of Imam Malik is this that there is Ijtehaad in it. Thus, the person must be taught Adab”
Nabras Ala-Sharh Al-Aqaeed, page 550, footnote No. 4, published in Meraith, India.
Also found in:
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“Sawaiq Muhariqah”, page 259, published by Maktaba al-Qahira (Cairo), Egypt
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Naseem al-Riyadh, Sharh al-Shifa by Qadi 'Iyadh, vol. 4, page 525, published by Maktaba Salfia, Madina Munawwara
Imam Nawawi Al-Shafi
Imam Mohiyyuddin Al-Nawwawi Al-Shafi writes:
“There is a consensus of All Aima and Fuqha of Ahle-Sunnah that abusing Sahaba Karam is Haram, but the punishment for this is not killing”
Al-Nawwawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, vol. 2, page 310, published in Delhi
Mulla Ali Qari
Mualla Ali Qari is one of the most respected Alim of Hanafi Fiqh. His shows his opinion in these words:
"It is neither proved by Sahaba nor Tabaeen to kill a person or declare him kafir who insults Abu Bakr and Umar. And the 3 Imams i.e. Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Muhammad and Imam Abu Yousuf are unanimous that a person who insults Sheikhain (Abu Bakr and Umar) is neither Kafir nor Wajib-ul-Qatl. According to Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Abu Yousuf, even the witness of such a person is acceptable.
Silalatul Risalah, page 19, published in Jordan
In order to more clarify this fact, Mullah Ali Qari writes in “Sharah Fiqh Akbar”:
"Then again from the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa that Ahle Qibla, even if he is Ahle Bidah (innovator) doesn’t become Kafir due to his sins, it proves that no one becomes Kafir merely by abusing Abu Bakr and Umar. To abuse Abu Bakr and Umar is NOT Kufr, as Abush Shakur as Salimi has correctly proved in his book, at Tamhid. And it is becuase the basis of this claim (claim that reviling the Shaykhan is kufr) is not proven, nor its meaning is confirmed.
It is so because certainly abusing a Muslim is fisq (sin) as is proved by a confirmed hadith, and therefore the Shaykhan(Abu Bakr and Umar) will be equal to the other (Muslims) in this rule; and also if we suppose that some one murdered the Shaykhan, and even the two sons in law (Ali and Usman), all of them together, even then according to Ahlussunnah wa al-Jamah, he will not go out of Islam (i.e will not become kafir)
Sharah Fiqah Akbar, page 86, printed in Matba Qayyumi, Kanpur India
Imam Hafidh Ibne Taymiyyah al-Damishqi
Imam Ibne Taymiyyah (Sheikul-ul-Islam of Salafies) wrote in his book Al-Sarimul Maslool, page 579 (first pulished by Taba Sa’ada Egypt), while giving arguments against Kufr of person who insulted Sahaba:
“And merely abusing some one other than the Prophets does not necessarily make the abuser Kafir; because some of those who were in the time of the Prophet (i.e companions) used to abuse one another and none of them was declared kafir because of this (practice); and (also) because it is not Wajib to have faith particularly in any of the companions; therefore abusing any of them does not detract from the faith in Allah and His books and His messengers and the Last day.”
Allamah Ibne Hajar al-Makki al-Hathaimi
The famous Muhaddith from Egypt Allama Shahabuddin Ahmad bin Hajar al-Haithami writes:
“And I haven’t found any opinion of any learned Alim that abusing a companion makes it obligatory to kill a person …………… And Ibne Mundhir says that I don’t know even a single person who considers it to kill the one who abuses anyone except Rasool Allah (saww).”
Sawiq-e-Muhariqqah, page 255, Taba Maktaba al-Qahira, Egypt
Allamah Allauddin al-Haskafi al-Hanafi
The famous Imam of Fiqah Hanafi Allamah Muhammad Allauddin al-Haskafi writes in his book "Darul Mukhtar, chapter of Immamat,page 72, published in Delhi, India:
"And all the people, who pray while facing to Qibla, they are not Kafirs. Even the Kharijeen are also not Kafir, although they thought our lives and properties “Halal” for them.
And those people, who think it is allowed to curse companions (due to their wrong-doings)and (those who) deny the attributes of Allah (swt) and deny that Allah can be seen, these people are not Kaffir, while this belief is held by them due to their “Taweel” and “Doubt”.
One of the reason of their not being Kaffir is this that their witness is commonly accepted (among Muslims).
Allamah Abdul Hai Lakhnawi
A very famous Hanafi Fiqhi Alim from Indian Sub-Continent Allah Abdul Hai Lakhnawi states while giving an answer to a qestion:
“According to Fatawas, the most correct statement is this that Shias are not Kaffir. And abusing Abu Bakr and Umar doesn’t constitute Kufr. And it is the fatwa of Imam Abu Hanifa.”
He further writes with reference to the book “Al-tamheed fi Biyan al-Tauheed” by Abu Shakoor Salimi:
“And this statement of shias that Ali (as) is better than Sheikhain is only a “Bidah”(innovation) but doesn’t constitute Kufr. And some of shias say that it is obligatory to send “Lanah”(cursing) upon opponents of Ali (as) like Hadhrat 'Aisha and Ameer Muawiyyah, it is also a “Bidah”, because they came to conclusion due to their “Taweel”. The summary of all this is this that it is totally against the “Madhab” of researchers to label shias as Kufir while they curse Sahaba.”
Majmoaa al-Fatawa, vol. 1, page 3-4, Matba Yousufi Farangi Mahli, Lakhnow, India
Maulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi
Maulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi is considered as one of the most respectable Ulama of Deoband. He was asked a question if a person, who says “Mardood” and “Malaoon” to Sahaba, will go out of the pale of Ahle-Sunnah wa Al-Jammah due to this “Greater Sin” (Gunah-e-Kabira)?
His replied:
"He will not go out of pale of Ahle Sunnah wa Al-Jammah due to this “Greater Sin”.
Talkhees of Fatawa Rasheedia, vol. 2, page 140-141, published in Delhi, India
Maulana Muhammad Rafique Athri
He is a Mudaris of Darul-Hadith Muhammadia, Jalalpur Pairowala, district Multan, Pakistan. He wrotes:
"The most correct opinion is this that ONLY that person can be killed who abuses Rasool Allah (saww). A person asked Abu Bakr for his permission to kill another person who criticized Abu Bakr. But Abu Bakr said: "No one has the right to kill anyone unjustly after Rasool Allah (saww) only due to his criticism on him.
Sunan Nisai, vol. 2, page 17
Also:
Al-Saiful Maslool, translated version, page 520, footnote 2, published in Multan Pakistan
Ahle Hadith Alim (Salafi) Hafidh Muhammad Ibrahim Sialkoti
The famous Ahle-Hadith Alim Hafidh Muhammad Ibrahim writes with Reference to “Sarim al-Maslool”:
The punishment of abusing Rasool Allah (saww) is killing. But we cannot kill anyone on base of merely abusing any Amir-al-Momineen.
Ahya al-Maiyyat Ma’a Tanweer al-Absar, page 46, published in Lahore Pakistan
Justice Malik Ghulam Ali of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan
"I say that the one who started cursing and abusing, and the one who started in answer to this, both of them started a very bad thing. And whoever does it today, he does a very bad thing. But neither this crime is equal to “Revolt”, nor killing is it’s punishment. Some of the Ulama of Salaf were convinced that punishment of abusing Rasool Allah (saww) is killing, but except Rasool Allah (saww) talking bad about others or abusing them never punished by killing in Islam.
“Khilafat-o-Malookiat par 'Aitarazaat ka Tajzia” (A preview on objection on book “Caliphate and kingship” by Maulana Modoodi), page 272, published in Lahore.