Some people seem to have misunderstood what I have written on the subject of ruling by other than what Allah has revealed.
Because I have said, correctly, that the act itself of ruling by other than the Shari’ah is not kufr akbar, and because I have said that the relevant ayah in this matter is not to be taken literally; some people have thought that I am denying that ruling by other than what Allah revealed can ever be apostasy. I never said this, nor implied it, but for the sake of clarity, I will explain. The judgment of apostasy has several conditions, and most of these conditions are extremely rare, and I do not see these conditions being met in any case I have seen; certainly not in Egypt.
The scholars have outlined nine categories of ruling by other than what Allah revealed, the first six are kufr akbar, the last three are not.
1. Al-Istihlal: This is when the ruler declares that it is permissible for him to rule by other than what Allah has revealed. He states that the haraam is halaal. That doesn’t mean that he simply commits or allows haraam; it means that he actually states that haraam is not haraam, that a sin is not a sin.
2. Al-Juhud. This means that the ruler expressly declares that he does not believe in the Shari’ah; even if he internally does believe in it he outwardly declares that he does not believe in the Rule of Allah; and this is like Fir’aun
3. At-Takdheeb. This is when the ruler disbelieves in the Shari’ah both inwardly and outwardly, and his outward disbelief is explicitly stated.
4. At-Tafdheel. This is when the ruler ascribes superiority to a ruling system other than the Shari’ah. Again, this is not merely the act of administering another system, it is his explicitly stated belief that another system is superior to the Law of Allah.
5. Al-Musaawaat. This is when the ruler believes that another law is equal to the Shari’ah in authority, in value, in wisdom, in justice and virtue. This again is something which he has to actually verbally declare.
6. At-Tabdeel. This is when the ruler institutes a system other than Shari’ah and claims that it is Shari’ah. He rules by other than what Allah revealed, but declares that it is Allah’s Law; and this is like the Mongols
7. Al-Istibdaal. This is when the ruler exchanges the legal system and implements rulings other than the Shari’ah. It is the mere act itself, and it is not accompanied by any of the characteristics from the previous six categories, it is kufr asghar and a major sin.
8. At-Taqneen. This is when the ruler leaves the Shari’ah and creates his own law. It is the mere act itself, and it is kufr asghar and a major sin.
9. At-Tashreeh ‘Aam. This simply means that the ruler enacts a law other than the Shari’ah and obliges all people to obey it. Again, if this is not done with any of the first six conditions, it is kufr asghar and a major sin.
What we have in our countries, as you can see, falls under the last three categories.
We are talking about the mere act of ruling by other than what Allah revealed, without any explicit statement from the ruler or the government that nullifies belief.
Indeed, wherever the Shari’ah is upheld in the country’s constitution as the main source of legislation, the government is inoculated from the charge of apostasy.
We can say, and should, that they are oppressors and that they are guilty of major sins, but we cannot accuse them beyond this. That is consistent with what I have written on this subject, and this is the unanimous position of the Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, and ALlah knows best..