Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Second Fascicle

Sunnî creed. They said that they were ’âsîs (sinners), bâghîs
(rebels) and bid’at-holders. In English, they are called deviants.
People who deny (any one of the) dalîls with one definite [clear]
meaning become disbelievers. An example of this is not to believe
in the annihilation of the universe, or not to believe in the rising of
the dead. Those who say, ‘’Alî is a god’ or ‘the angel Gabriel made
a mistake while bringing the wahy’ become disbelievers, too. For,
these misstatements are not among the meanings deduced through
ijtihâd as a result of misinterpreting the ambiguous dalîls. They are
the consequences of following the nafs. Likewise, a person who
commits the slander called ‘qazf’ [1] against Hadrat ’Âisha or who
denies the fact that her father was a Sahabî becomes a disbeliever.
For, each of these cases involves the denial of a dalîl declared
clearly in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. Not so is the case with blaspheming
against Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar or denying their
caliphates; a person who does so will not become a disbeliever if
he can provide a te’wîl (interpretation, explanation). When a
definite and clearly stated harâm is in question, such as attacking
Muslims’ property and lives, a person who employs te’wîl and
asserts that it is halâl will become a disbeliever. He will not
become a disbeliever if the te’wîl he employs is on an ambiguous
dalîl from the Book and Sunnat.”
As is seen, if a person who claims to be a Muslim and observes
the acts of worship, i.e. a person who is said to be an ahl-i-qibla,
holds a belief disagreeable with that of the Ahl as-sunnat and at
the same time contrary to a definite dalîl with a clear meaning,
this belief of his is kufr (disbelief), even if it is deduced by way of
te’wîl. This person is called mulhid. If this belief of his runs
counter to the clear and well-known one of the various meanings
of an unclear and ambiguous dalîl and if he can provide a te’wîl
(explanation, interpretation), his (erroneous) belief is not kufr. It
is a bid’at. If he is unaware of te’wîl and holds that wrong belief
merely in imitation of some heretical scholars or as a result of
yielding to the temptations of his nafs or for obtaining worldly
advantages, that belief is kufr.
Regardless of whether a person is a Sunnite or a holder of
bid’at, if he is ignorant enough to use his faith as an instrument
for worldly advantages, or to sacrifice his faith for obtaining some
worldly means, he is called a yobaz (an impostor in the name of
[1] Please see the third kind of punishments applicable to various sins in
the tenth chapter of the sixth fascicle of Endless Bliss.
– 267 –