Chapter Fourteen

Peace in a Plural Society of dawah, it is not proper to declare that a particular person has engaged in kufr or the act of ‘denial’. In the same way, it is not legitimate for ordinary people to announce, in a clearly determined and specific manner, that a particular person or group of persons has become kafir. The act of kufr is, in reality, related to one’s intentions, and only God knows the reality of people’s intentions. That is why it is only for God, or, for the prophets, on the basis of the knowledge given to them by God, to declare in a clearly determined and specific manner that a particular person has become a kafir. Accordingly, there is just one such reference in the whole of the Quran where certain people in the ancient past were clearly referred to as kafirs: Qul ya ayyuhal kafiroon Say, ‘You who deny the Truth […]’ (109:1) This clear definition is not used in the Quran for any other group. That is to say, that the Quran does mention the act of kufr, but it does not accord the status of being kafir to an individual or group. The Term Dar ul-Harb The term dar ul-harb or ‘Abode of War’ is certainly used in the fiqh or legal tradition that was developed in the Abbasid period, but it is not mentioned in the Quran and Hadith. This clearly shows that the term was coined by jurists based on their reasoning (ijtihad), and that it is not from the original Islamic sources. And that which is a product of human reasoning and reflection can be either right or wrong. In my opinion, the term dar ul-harb is an error of ijithad. Many different developments took place at the time of the Prophet, but he never declared any territory as dar ul-harb. If one engages in ijtihad based on the Quran and Hadith and coins a relevant