The Ruling on Disparaging Jesus in Retaliation
Question:
A newspaper from Azerbaijan was found this week depicting Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) and his mother Mary (Peace Be Upon Them) in a hideous/vile manner. This was done, according to their claims, in response to what the Danish newspapers did regarding our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Does the person who did this to Jesus and his mother commit disbelief (kufr) and apostatize from the religion of Islam—bearing in mind that those who did this affiliate themselves with Islam?
Answer:
There is no doubt that ignorance does worse to its people than even this. This stems from ignorance—we seek refuge in Allah—and what is the sin of Messiah (Peace Be Upon Him)? What is the sin of his mother (may Allah be pleased with her)? For we believe in all the Messengers, we respect all the Messengers, and all the believers from all nations. Our fellow believers—we ask for mercy upon them and seek forgiveness for them: “Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith” (Qur’an, al-Hasr, 59:10).
We are allies to the believers from any generation and any century; from Adam until the Hour is established, they are our brothers. We pray for mercy upon them and we do not disparage them. As for disparaging the Prophets, that is disbelief (kufr). Those who disparaged Jesus—this is disbelief. It is not permissible to respond to disbelief with disbelief—we seek refuge in Allah—this is a matter that is not allowed.
However, as for ruling these specific people as disbelievers, we do not know; perhaps they are ignorant, or they acted based on a misinterpretation, or something similar. Meaning, they have ignorance, and ignorance is an excuse. We do not know regarding the ruling upon them specifically, so we withhold [judgment]. But this act is not permissible; it is hideous, and it constitutes a [forbidden] differentiation between the Prophets. And Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, says regarding the believers: “We make no distinction between any of them” (Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:136)
We respect Messiah and we respect all the Prophets, and we believe that whoever disparages even one of them is a disbeliever. However, the ruling of disbelief (kufr) upon a specific individual may be withheld due to ignorance or for a reason we are unaware of.