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Man-Made laws not rejected in absolute manner

Question

Assalaamu alaykum. I go to a college in London, and if I were to have an altercation or fight, then if two non-Muslim teachers judge and issue a ruling, for example, if they kick me out of the college, would that be counted as going to the Taghoot (anything which is worshiped, obeyed, submitted to, or followed instead of Allaah whilst consenting to it) for judgment? It is very important that this question gets answered as I do not know whether I would become a disbeliever if I were to get involved in a fight or argument and then a teacher issues a ruling on me (for example, suspends me). So would I become a disbeliever thus?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

What you mentioned has nothing to do with referring for judgement to other than what Allah has revealed, which entails seeking the judgment of the Taaghoot.

What is found in educational institutions and so on are mostly administrative matters and not matters of legislation. There is nothing wrong in abiding by administrative rules, even if this is in the system of the state (government).

Shaykh Muhammad Ash-Shanqeeti said in Adhwaa’ Al-Bayaan:

It should be noted that we must differentiate between man-made systems the implementation of which implies disbelief (Kufr) in the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and systems which do not imply that. This may be explained by describing systems as being of two types; administrative and legislative. With regard to administrative systems which are aimed at organizing matters and making them run smoothly in a manner that does not go against the Shariah; there is nothing wrong with this, and no one among the Companions objected to it … But in the case of legislative systems which go against the laws of the Creator of the heavens and the earth, then referring to them for judgement constitutes disbelief (Kufr) in the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

In the case of legislative systems, it is not forbidden to refer to them for judgement in an absolute manner. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him discussed an issue in Ash-Sharh Al-Mumti’, in which he said:

Is it permissible to refer for judgement to those who judge by man-made laws if we are right, or should we leave our rights to be lost? The answer is: Ibn Al-Qayyim mentioned at the beginning of the book At-Turuq Al-Hukmiyyah that some jurists said, 'We do not refer to them for judgement.' He [Ibn al-Qayyim] said, 'This cannot reform the conditions of the people, especially given that there are many who rule with other than what Allah has revealed. So you may refer to them for judgement, but if you were judged with other than what Allah has revealed, then you do not accept it, but to leave the rights of the people to be lost, then no. Because there may be properties and many heirs, so it is not permissible to lose them just because this person judges by [man-made] laws.'

Finally, we noticed that you have asked us so many previous questions about the subject of Kufr, and this may lead the Muslim to have Waswaas (obsessive whispers) about this subject, which may result in unpleasant consequences, so you should be heedful of this in order to be safe in your religion.

Allah knows best.

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