الاستخفاف والاستهزاء بالدين وأثرهما في الفتنة والتكفير المعاصر

Mockery, Disrespect, and Excommunication: A Theological-Legal Study of Istikhfāf, Istihzāʾ, and Takfīr

Abstract

One of the most pressing issues confronting the contemporary Muslim world is the phenomenon of excommunication, known as **Takfīr** — the act of declaring a fellow Muslim to be a disbeliever (*kāfir*). This practice has increasingly become a major source of division and discord within the Muslim *Ummah*. While *Takfīr* has historical precedents within the broader Semitic tradition, its modern manifestations are often associated with alarming patterns of extremism and ideological rigidity.

Contemporary challenges also include a dangerous tendency on the opposite extreme: the trivialization or mockery of religious values and sacred symbols. This is seen in two critical concepts — **Istikhfāf** and **Istihzāʾ**. *Istikhfāf* refers to the act of treating sacred, serious, or prohibited matters in Islam as insignificant, unimportant, or worthy of disregard. *Istihzāʾ*, derived from the Arabic root *hazʼ*, denotes mockery or ridicule — particularly when directed toward Islamic beliefs, rituals, or the faithful. Both attitudes reflect a profound disrespect toward the sanctity of religion and, when normalized, erode the ethical and spiritual foundations of the Muslim society.

This dual imbalance — between excessive harshness in *Takfīr* and negligent disrespect through *Istikhfāf* and *Istihzāʾ* — distorts the foundational principles of Islamic jurisprudence and theology. This paper examines the conceptual and historical treatment of *Istikhfāf* and *Istihzāʾ* in classical Islamic thought, their theological and legal consequences, and how they have contributed to ideological extremism, social disunity, and moral decline. It aims to clarify the boundaries between legitimate criticism and impermissible contempt, addressing key questions within the frameworks of Islamic law (*fiqh*) and theology (*ʿIlm al-Kalām*).

In light of the Muslim world’s current crises, a balanced, scholarly, and principled approach is essential to confront both excess and negligence. This research is a modest contribution toward understanding the risks of *Istikhfāf* and *Istihzāʾ* when misapplied — and toward building a path of unity, reverence, and authentic orthodoxy within the *Ummah*.