Insolence and Contempt towards One’s Teacher

Question

A man said of his teacher, “The teacher is a kafir, not a Muslim; his recitation of the Qur’an and his performance of prayer have no credit.” Besides abusing him, he also beat him. This [teacher] has been the teacher of his family for seven generations. The man himself is one who abandons prayer. What is the ruling on such a person in the Sacred Law, and what discretionary punishment (ta‘zir) does the Sacred Law prescribe for him? That is all.

Answer

The teacher has a very great right; respecting him is obligatory, and insolence towards him is forbidden. One who calls a Muslim a kafir without a Shar‘i cause does not keep his iman intact. To abandon the obligatory prayer knowingly without excuse, with no intention of making it up and no fear of punishment, is extremely dangerous: in hadith and fiqh this is expressed by the…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.