Preservation of Religion & Life

Question:

May Allah reward you with good for what you are putting forth.

The question is:

Is preservation of life preceded over the preservation of religion?

Some have used what occurred to ‘Ammār bin Yāsir, may Allah be pleased with him, when he was being punished and ordered to speak ill concerning Islam and curse at the Prophet ﷺ as a proof for this.

And similarly the statement of Allah concerning him:

(إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُۥ مُطْمَئِنٌّۢ بِٱلْإِيمَٰنِ)

“except him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Faith.”
[An-Nahl:106]

Answer:

Ash-Shātibi, may Allah have mercy upon him, relayed the consensus of the Ummah rather that of all the Ummam (pl. Ummah) that the legislative rulings were put to preserve the 5 necessities, and they are:

▪ Religion
▪ Life
▪ Offspring
▪ Intellect
▪ Wealth

And he relayed the consensus of preservation of the religion over that of life.

As life could be put forth for the sake of religion, due to the statement of Allah, the Most High:

(وَقَٰتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّىٰ لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ ٱلدِّينُ كُلُّهُۥ لِلَّهِ)

“And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism) and the religion (i.e worship) will all be for Allah Alone.”
[Al-Anfāl:39]

And the statement of the Most High:

(وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ)

“And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).”
[Adh-Dhāriyāt:56]

But it’s possible that something could occur to which there’s a concession to preserve ones life, like being forced to utter a statement of disbelief.

(إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُۥ مُطْمَئِنٌّۢ بِٱلْإِيمَٰنِ)

“except him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Faith.”
[An-Nahl:106]

Being forced has a specific ruling, by textual evidence of this verse. Whereby a slave at being forced, while there isn’t any feeling (of pleasure of what he is being forced to say), then he is someone who is in a state of being forced, its ruling is that of someone who has not uttered it.

For this reason the person who uttered a statement of disbelief is not considered to have, expended religion, upon its absolute, in preservation of his life.

This being said the concession in this is not unrestricted.

➖The people of knowledge have stated that if one was patient upon torment and content with death, to not utter a statement of disbelief, then that would be something praiseworthy.

And it could be that it becomes upon one to be patient and firm, and uttering the statement of disbelief becomes impermissible, even at the presence of due force.

This is when the harms of uttering the statement of disbelief are greater than the harms of ones death.

Like a scholar who is followed, yielding to force, results in trials for the people and confusion in their religion, making truth falsehood and falsehood truth.

As what took place with Imām Ahmed in the fitnah of the creation of the Qur’ān, whereby he did not find this concession for himself, and he did not excuse those that conceded, and he did not see them to have a concession.

And speech on this topic would be lengthy.

Answered by:
Shaykh Abu Hatim Yusuf Al-‘Inaabi Al-Jazaa’iree – may Allah preserve him.

Source:
t.me/abouhatem/219
t.me/abouhatem/220

Answered on:
10th, Rabē’l Ākhir, 1438H

Translated by:
Abu ‘Abdirrahman ‘Abdullaah bin Ahmed Ash-Shingaani.