Takfir

Takfir is the practice of declaring another Muslim an unbeliever. In Islamic thought, it concerns who may make such a judgment and what consequences follow.

Iman: Iman is faith or belief in God and the foundational teachings of Islam. Takfir judges whether a person remains within the bounds of faith.
Takfir mutlaq: Takfir mutlaq is a general judgment that a belief, statement, or act constitutes disbelief. It identifies an act as unbelief without necessarily declaring a specific person an unbeliever.
Murji'ah: The Murji'ah were early Muslims who deferred judgment about grave sinners' ultimate religious status to God. Their restraint contrasts with approaches that infer unbelief from grave sin.
Excommunication: Excommunication is formal exclusion from membership or communion in a religious community. Takfir resembles excommunication as a boundary-setting act, though Islamic traditions lack one central authority.
Kufr: Kufr is disbelief or rejection of faith in Islamic theology. The declaration at the heart of takfir is that someone has committed kufr.
Takfir al-mu'ayyan: Takfir al-mu'ayyan is the application of a judgment of unbelief to a particular individual. It is the personal judgment that requires considering whether the general ruling applies.
Kharijites: The Kharijites were an early Islamic movement associated with declaring grave sinners unbelievers and opposing rulers they deemed illegitimate. Their history is often invoked as a warning against expansive takfir.
Islamic law: Islamic law is the body of legal interpretation and practice derived from Islamic sources and scholarly methods. Judgments of unbelief can affect legal questions, though rulings differ across traditions.
Apostasy in Islam: Apostasy in Islam is the abandonment or rejection of Islam by someone previously regarded as Muslim. Takfir may characterize a Muslim's words or acts as apostasy.
Hujja: A hujja is a proof or decisive argument in Islamic reasoning and theology. Scholars debate whether proof must be established before a person can be judged an unbeliever.

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