I read on a website that Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) burnt some of the Kharitjites during his caliphate. But this made me confused due to the hadith we know where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbad torturing others with fire since this is a sort of associating others with Allah. So how did Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) do this?

And upon you is the peace of Allah, together with his mercy and blessings.
This report was narrated by al-Bukhary (6922) on the authority of `Ikrimah who said: Heretics were brought before Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and he burnt them. When Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed about this, he said, “If I were in his place, I would not have burnt them for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbad this saying, “Do not torment with the torment of Allah” and I would have killed them, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever changes his religion, kill him.”” When a deviant group called al-Saba’iyyah, who were the followers of the Jewish `Abdullah ibn Saba’, went astray and believed that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was a god – we seek refuge with Allah from this – he (Ali) set them on fire and said, “When I saw such an enormous evil, I set them on fire and called.” Besides, this issue is a particular case that has no general application, as al-Shatiby said.
In general, there are many interpretations concerning this report, whether he burnt them after he had killed them, or he was just about to burn them but he did not. Whatever the case was, this was an opinion viewed by a companion that has nothing to do with associating gods with Allah. Burning a person is not permissible in the Shari`ah; but this does not amount to associating others with Allah. Associating others with Allah means to worship another god with Allah or to believe in other gods with Almighty Allah. Yes, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbad burning others and said “None should torment with fire except Allah.” [Reported by al-Bukhary (3016)]
Yet, this does not mean that whoever burns others with fire is considered as associating others with Allah. It rather means that this punishment is a punishment in the Hereafter, not in this world. This is what we should believe. The issue has no relation to associating others with Allah. As mentioned above, this interpretation may prove untrue. Perhaps he intended to burn them but he did not or he intended to burn them after killing them. Even if he actually burnt them, this would be a kind of ijtihad from a companion that disagrees with the text. The ultimate reference is always to the text. Nonetheless, we have to believe that they acted according to their ijtihad and that they are illuminating guides.

What is the ruling of applying man-made laws? Can we charge the ruler who rules with man-made laws with disbelief?

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving. This issue is problematic and there has been much ado about it. In the past century fatwas were given in this regard. The issue should be dealt with in detail.
First, it is undoubtedly prohibited and an enormous sin to rule with man-made laws, and there are Shari`ah texts contrary to implementing these laws. In the Quran we read, “And judge between them by what Allah has sent down. Nor are you to follow their whims.” [5:49] “Is it, then, the judgment of ignorance that they seek? Yet, who renders a fairer judgment than Allah to a people who have certainty?” [5:50]
As for the charge of disbelief, this is something that cannot be definitely decided unless, along with ruling with these laws, there is explicit derision, degradation or belittling of the status of the Shari`ah. One says, for example, that the Shari`ah is not suitable to be applied, or similar words. But if one believes that the Shari`ah is true and everything else is not true, enacting such laws is not enough reason for the charge of disbelief, as it may be due to his inability, ignorance or imitation of others. Therefore, Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said about the Quranic verse that reads, “And whoever does not rule by what Allah has sent down – then such as these are the non-muslims,” [5:44] that this is a lesser disbelief, and about the verse that reads, ” And whoever does not rule by what Allah has sent down – then such as these are the ungodly,” [5:47] that this is a lesser ungodliness, which means that it does not cast the person out of the fold of the religion. This is the position we adopt based on many scholarly statements including statements from Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy with him).
`Adyy ibn Hatem said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reading from Bara’ah, “They have taken their rabbis and their monks as lords apart from Allah” [9:31] and he said, “They did not worship them, but if they made things lawful for them, they would deem it lawful, and if they made things unlawful for them, they would deem it unlawful.” [Reported by al-Termidhy (3095) and others] This is the indirect meaning of worshiping them. They changed the prescribed injunctions given in the name of the lawgiver insomuch that they declared as unlawful what the lawgiver made lawful and as lawful what the lawgiver made unlawful, attributing this to the Shari`ah, such as saying, for example, that the Prayer, Fasting or Zakah are not obligatory in the Shari`ah, or that committing enormous sins is permissible. But committing these enormous sins and letting others commit them is not a reason for disbelief, in itself.
This position is contrary to the position of some muftis and sheikhs in the past century who considered merely doing this as enough reason for the charge of disbelief. We verified this point in a separate study titled (al-Takfeer bi al-Hukm bi Ghayr ma Anzala Allah) in the Contemporary Fiqh Research Magazine. Besides, the charge of disbelief will lead to wars and will stir devastating mischief. It is rather better to educate people and draw their attention to the importance of the Shari`ah and the great benefits the Shari`ah provides. Many of the Muslim countries were colonized and thus they inherited the laws of the colonizers and unconsciously continued in this way, lacking the courage to change these laws.
Hence, we do not deem this as enough reason for the charge of disbelief unless it is accompanied by disparaging or deriding the Shari`ah, or by a deviant conviction. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad.

I have a question that may seem queer but it haunts me often. Islam is the religion of the Lord of all the worlds. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger for all the worlds. But has Islam reached all the people of the earth in a perfect and proper way? Islam has not reached many of the people of in the world in a proper way. They do not know it or they know it in a distorted way that may drive them away from even reading or searching about it; besides, there is no honest translation about Islam in any language. How will Allah hold them accountable for something they knew nothing about? Also, do the people of the Scripture know that they are wrong and that Islam is the religion of Allah?
I see many of them believing that they are right. Some persons say to me that they have to search for the truth. But I wonder, if any of us hears about a new religion propagated by someone, would we go and examine it? Or would we avoid conducting any research because we believe that we are right? Similarly, they believe that they are right; so why should they conduct such a research? Is this a trial that Almighty Allah put the people of the Scripture to and relieved it from those who have been born as Muslims in Muslim families without any hardship?

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessing be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and his companions. It seems that the question can be reduced to: Has Islam reached all the people? The answer is that Islam has not reached all the people, but it may reach all of them in time because in one hadith we read, “The Hour of doom will not come until there is no house – be it a tent or a building – but this religion will enter it with might or with humility.” [Reported by Ahmad (16957) al-Bayhaqy in his Sunan (9:181), al-Tabarany in al-Kabeer (1280)] Hence, the religion will spread. Media channels and globalization that has turned the earth into one village have provided tools to allow Islam to enter every house. Muslims have to make committed efforts to convey Islam to others.
As for whether this has taken place or not, it may have not taken place yet. Those who are punishable by fire are those whom the religion has reached but they did not believe in it. Almighty Allah said, “Say: ‘This Quran has been revealed to me [as a means] with which to forewarn you and whomever it reaches.’ ” [6:19]; that is, to forewarn you and all those whom it reaches, even if they have not seen me or talked to me. Thus, whoever the Quran has reached has been forewarned by it. Hence, we have to convey it to all the people. When the Quran reaches them, the proof against them becomes established. On the other hand, the proof is not established against those whom the Quran has not reached. Their case is rather like the case of the people who lived in the interval between the prophets, such as those who lived before the prophetic mission. Almighty Allah said, “Never do We torment [any nation] until We send forth a messenger [with heavenly guidance],” [17:15] and also said, “Whenever any throng [of non-muslims] is cast into it [the fire], its keepers say to them: Did there not come to you a forewarner? They will say: Oh yes! There did, indeed, come to us a forewarner.” [67:8-9] Almighty Allah has sent the messengers so that people would have no proof against Allah. The proof becomes established, complete and overwhelming – “Say: Yet to Allah belongs the all-conclusive proof,” [6:149] – when the message reaches a person and he does not believe in it out of bigotry, turning away from it, hating it, or disbelieving and denying it. Almighty Allah said, “Thus, even though, within their souls, they were certain of them (the signs), they disavowed them, wrongfully and haughtily.” [27:14] They do not want to see the truth, “They enfold [unbelief within] their breast.” [11:5]
Many of the non-Muslims these days may be in this situation. Perhaps some of them have seen the truth and the facts have become clear for him, but they stick to their habits and love the power they have, or their hatred towards Muslims drives them to be fanatic and turns them blind, and thus they turn away from reflecting on the Book of Allah. Such turning away from reflection, in spite of it being possible, and turning away from the message, in spite of the ability to know it, make the person punishable, “Indeed, the [true] religion with Allah is Islam” [3:19] “And so, anyone who seeks a religion other than Islam, never shall it be accepted from him.” [3:85] In this world we live together and, “none should be forced to embrace any religion ……..” [2:256] This is our position and this show we call people in other countries to Islam. This does not mean that the truth is many. The truth is one. It is this religion which is the last religion and the one that has dominance over all other religions. This, in short, is the answer of this question.

What is the ruling of a Muslim working in the department of secret investigations for non-Muslims who track Muslims? Such a person claims to have the goal of helping Islam. I hope to provide him with the evidence for this ruling based on the opinions of the early and contemporary scholars. What should we do with this person to guide him to the straight path?

This job cannot be permitted. In fact, if a person works in these investigations, he will naturally cause harm to his brothers, because he works for a salary and thus he has to cause harm to his brothers or he will be considered as being disloyal by the others. In both cases he faces dangers, either in this world or in the Hereafter. Thus, we advice everybody not to take these types of jobs. We call upon every Muslim to be honest and never to be dishonest with those who trust him, be he a Muslim or a non-Muslim. Nevertheless, none should expose himself to such work that causes harm, either to himself or to others. Therefore, he should keep himself away from such things, as one poet said:
To be safe from Salma and her neighbor, never pass by a valley that is next to her valley
Accordingly, to be safe and in order to have good relations with both Muslims and non-Muslims, one should keep himself away from such work, and he should not take a job that causes harm to people or to himself. This job involves great danger. We can never give a fatwa for the permissibility of this job as its prohibition is apparent. However, we will not deem him as a non-Muslim if he does this job. We rather say that he thus commits an enormous, evil misdeed. Allah knows best.

For what reason has the West surpassed Muslims in all fields, while we have the gracious Quran with its innumerable treasures? Is it us who fall short of understanding the Quran? Why do we suffice ourselves with only eloquent words? We can analyze, use evidence and make refutations. But can we pace with the West and its progress in different fields?

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Almighty Allah has set laws for this universe. He says, “Whoever desires this [life of] haste, We shall hasten for him therein whatever We so will for whomever We intend.” [17:18] and says, “Whoever desires the tillage of the Hereafter, We shall increase for him his [reward for this] tillage. But whoever desires the tillage of this world, We shall give him of thereof.” [42:20] Western countries have observed these universal laws – the laws of hard and constant work, and rational means. They used these laws of advancement which are based on cultivating the land, as Almighty Allah said, “They cultivated the land and built it up [far] more proficiently than these [non-muslims] have built it up.” [30:9]
Cultivating the earth is achieved through building on it, through inspecting it, searching for minerals and water, and through digging out its treasures. Whoever makes use of these laws will find results. The issue is not that we have the Quran and we do not understand it. It is our falling short of acting upon the injunctions of the Quran. The Quran commands us to work, “Say: Work.” [9:105] It commands us to give up laziness and to be ready with power, “So prepare for them all that you can marshal of power…” [8:60] We fall short of complying with and applying Quranic injunctions.
Thus, the issue is clear; he who did not plant seeds cannot wait for a harvest. We cannot wait for the result without taking the introductory steps. These are the laws of Almighty Allah and expecting different results than these laws dictate is impossible. There are the injunctions of the Creator and the laws of creation. It is true that the West has been negligent and unmindful with regard to the laws of conduct; namely, with regard to answering the call of Almighty Allah with regards to their transactions and their relation with their Lord, but they have followed the laws of creation.
A guided Caliphate is based on two aspects: the aspect of the universal laws of advancement, which is based on cultivating the earth, and the ethical aspect, which is based on, “And their messengers came to them with clear proofs” [30:9] as indicated in the verse that reads, “They cultivated the land and built it up [far] more proficiently than these [non-Muslims] had done. And their messengers came to them with clear proofs.” [30:9] They did not believe in what the messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) came with, but they cultivated the land and built it up. The reason is so clear. There must be diligence, order, system and hard work. There must be an innovative, not heretical, movement to deal with this universe. Without this we cannot build up the land in a perfect and guided way. Allah knows best.