Question: Can we say he is a khaarijee (a rebel); whoever rejects the meaning given by Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) to the Verse in Soorah Mâidah where Allaah the Mighty said:
"And whosoever does not judge by what Allâh has revealed, such are the Kâfirûn" [Qur'ân 5: 33].
(That is, 'Kufr Doona Kufr' [disbelief of a lesser degree]).
But the person says: The Verse in absolute in meaning; it is not permissible to limit it to a particular meaning. Whoever judges with other than Allaah's Laws is absolutely a Kaafir!
Answer: There is no doubt this is the methodology of the Khawaarij. Whoever opposes the major scholars of tafseer, on whose lead was Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), also opposses the major scholars of hadith and Sunnah, also the major scholars of Aqeedah and the Salafee Manhaj in the likes of these dangerous matters and these great principles; there is no doubt that whoever opposes them has chosen a path other than the path of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa'ah, a path other than the path of those who were deep in knowledge (among the gone scholars).
People who have such thought must repent to Allaah the Mighty. Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) was the (certified) Interpreter of the Qur'ân and Scholar of this Ummah. The major Companions submitted to him (in terms of his interpretation of the Qur'ân), they submitted to his leadership, high status and his understanding of the Religion of Allaah. The Messenger of Allaah – salaLlaahu alayhi wa sallam – indeed supplicated for him that he should be enriched with the proper understanding of the Deen. It was on his methodology other scholars of Islam treaded. It was the Khawaarij that opposed him in the interpretation of this Verse and others.
It is however not strange to see the people of innovations opposing the Companions, even the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah. Yes I mentioned that the Messenger of Allaah – salaLlaahu alayhi wa sallam – described the Khawaarij as أَحْدَاثُ الْأَسْنَانِ سُفَهَاءُ الْأَحْلَامِ 'Youths just teething and who are intellectually weak.' [Al-Bukhaari, 3611; Muslim, 1066]. Understood? It is those teething and intellectually weak youths that interpret the Verse the manners said (in the question). The Messenger of Allaah – salaLlaahu alayhi wa sallam – had said, 'The destruction of my Ummah will be the hands of some intellectually weak youths' [Al-Bukhaari, 7058].
Today they say: Youths! Youths! Resurgence! They destroyed the Ummah, they made it enter a perpetual failure in matters of Aqeedah, rulings, (respect for) blood. They destroyed the Ummah both in terms of the Deen and Dunya. I am aware that some of them (scholars of hadith) used to interpret the hadith (of teething youths) to refer to some rulers of Banoo Umayyah but I see them applying to the khaawaarij too, that they are أَحْدَاثُ الْأَسْنَانِ سُفَهَاءُ الْأَحْلَامِ 'Youths just teething and who are intellectually weak.' Even if the hadith refers to the youths of the Quraysh, it does not leave out others.
The hadith – as I said – meets calling the Khawaarij 'Youths just teething and who are intellectually weak.' Their intellect is weak. One of the ways to illustrate that is that they do not accept the interpretation of the Companions of Verses of the Qur'ân nor do they accept their jurisprudence nor the jurisprudence of the scholars of the Ummah, scholars of Sunnah. They rather took another path. We say: They rather took the path of those Khawaarij described by the Messenger of Allaah – salaLlaahu alayhi wa sallam – as أَحْدَاثُ الْأَسْنَانِ سُفَهَاءُ الْأَحْلَامِ 'Youths just teething and who are intellectually weak.' The words, 'al-ghuwaylim' and 'al-qhulayyim' (as contained in the text of the hadith) are absolutely used to refer to anybody weak in intellect and Deen. The descriptions meet those people in all clarity.
We ask Allaah to save the Ummah from their evil. They say scholars are spies, agents…etc! They turn people away from the scholars and connect them with the youths who are weak in intellect, and with people of innovations among the Khawaarij and Rawaafid.
Source: Shar'hu Usooli Sunnah, p.78.
