Does Falsely Claiming Lineage Lead to Major Disbelief?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
Does the hadith about falsely claiming lineage refers to major disbelief that takes a person out of Islam?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Allah says:
“Call them by (the names of) their fathers; it is more just in the sight of Allah” [Quran, 33:5]
Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Prophet (Allah bless and give him peace) say:
“There is no man who knowingly attributes himself to someone other than his father, but he has committed an act of disbelief, and whoever claims to belong to people when he is not one of them, let him take his place in Hell.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
A person should be attributed to his father, according to scholarly consensus.
However, the scholars explain that the term kufr in this hadith has two interpretations.
“The first interpretation applies to someone who considers such an act permissible. The second interpretation is that it refers to ingratitude for blessings and kindness, as well as violating the rights of Allah (Most High) and the rights of his father. However, the intended meaning is not disbelief that takes one out of the fold of Islam. This is similar to when the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) mentioned “disbelief” concerning women and then explained it as their ingratitude for kindness and their ingratitude toward their husbands.” [Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim]
Thus, falsely claiming lineage is a grave sin but does not make someone a disbeliever unless they deny the obligation of truthful lineage while knowing that Islam commands it.
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Mohammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.
