Professing Kufr to Save One’s Life

Question

Zayd says: if a Muslim is trapped among disbelievers and idolaters and there is no means of saving his life except to say falsely that he is not a Muslim, then, once he reaches a place of safety, he repents of that lie; by such a temporary utterance with the tongue alone a person does not become a sinner, though it is better to say so only when in fear for one’s life. Bakr says: in every circumstance, even if one’s life should be lost, to say so is an outright sin — indeed kufr.

Answer

Zayd’s view is correct. Its basis is the case of ‘Ammar ibn Yasir ﵁, concerning which the verse [ar]إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ[/ar] (“except one who is compelled while his heart is at rest in faith”) was revealed. In Radd al-Muhtar and other books of fiqh this is stated explicitly.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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