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Convergence and Divergence between Albani and Wahhabism on the Reality of Unbelief and the Unbeliever
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Hassan Arabi1   , Sajjad Chehre Gosha , Mojtaba Moradi Makki |
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Abstract: (11 Views) |
| The issue of faith and unbelief has long been one of the most contested subjects in Muslim thought. Muslim scholars have offered differing views regarding the definition and criteria of unbelief (kufr) and the unbeliever (kāfir). In this context, there is no single unified position among Wahhabi scholars on the issue of unbelief and the unbeliever. Most Wahhabi scholars, functioning as promoters of takfīr, have adopted an incorrect definition and set of criteria for unbelief, thereby declaring many Muslims to be unbelievers. By contrast, some figures such as Nasir al-Din al-Albani, a Wahhabi hadith scholar, have proposed a different understanding of the definition and criteria of unbelief. Accordingly, using a descriptive-analytical method, this study examines the points of divergence and convergence between Wahhabism and Albani’s views on the issue of unbelief and the unbeliever. The findings indicate that although the two perspectives converge in two areas—namely, the definition of unbelief and the unbeliever, and the basic classification of unbelief—there are significant divergences in four key areas: practical adherence to the definition and categories of unbelief, the conditions of takfīr, the expansion of impediments to takfīr, and the criteria for determining unbelief and the unbeliever. These divergences, especially in the aforementioned four areas, have important consequences. On this basis, one may identify a scholarly gap between Wahhabism and Albani regarding the issue of unbelief and the unbeliever, and regard Albani as representing a distinct intellectual current from Wahhabism in this regard. |
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| Keywords: Unbelief (Kufr), Wahhabism, Albani, Major Unbelief (Kufr Akbar), Minor Unbelief (Kufr Asghar), Inward Belief, Outward Acts. |
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Full-Text [PDF 342 kb]
(5 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/07/1 | Accepted: 2026/07/1 | Published: 2026/07/1
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