Nullifier 10 Turning Away from the Religion of Allah: Nawāqiḍ al-Islām

The Arabic Text of the Nullifier

العَاشِرُ: الإِعْرَاضُ عَنْ دِينِ اللهِ تَعَالَى، لَا يَتَعَلَّمُهُ وَلَا يَعْمَلُ بِه. وَالدَّلِيلُ: ﴿وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ ذُكِّرَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا إِنَّا مِنَ المُجْرِمِينَ مُنْتَقِمُون﴾ "The tenth: turning away from the religion of Allah Most High not learning it and not acting upon it. The proof: 'And who does more wrong than one who is reminded of the signs of his Lord but then turns away from them? Indeed, We will take retribution from the criminals.' [al-Sajdah 32:22]"

What Al-Iʿrāḍ (Turning Away) Means

The Arabic word إِعْرَاض (iʿrāḍ) comes from the root ʿaraḍa to turn one's face away from something. It describes a deliberate, settled act of averting oneself. Al-Fawzān calls this nullifier "al-iʿrāḍ al-kull" the complete and total turning away involving both abandonment of knowledge (taʿallum) and abandonment of practice (ʿamal).

Two Elements Both Required

Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb specifies both dimensions explicitly:

"Not learning it" (lā yataʿallamuhu): Not making any effort to learn even the obligatory fundamentals the meaning of the shahādah, the basics of ṣalāh, the pillars of Islam and īmān, what nullifies one's Islam. This is not about gaps in specialised knowledge; it is about abandoning the knowledge every Muslim must have (farḍ al-ʿayn).
"Not acting upon it" (lā yaʿmalu bihi): Not performing any act of worship no ṣalāh, no ṣawm, no engagement with any obligation. A complete practical absence.

Farḍ al-ʿAyn vs. Farḍ Kifāyah Al-Fawzān's Important Distinction

Farḍ al-ʿAyn (individual obligation): Knowledge every Muslim must have meaning of the shahādah, conditions of ṣalāh, pillars of Islam and īmān, basics of tawḥīd. Turning away from this obligatory knowledge is what constitutes the tenth nullifier.
Farḍ Kifāyah (communal obligation): Specialised knowledge (detailed fiqh, advanced ḥadīth sciences, Arabic grammar) that not every individual must know. Turning away from this does not constitute the tenth nullifier.

What This Nullifier Does NOT Cover

Al-Fawzān is careful: this nullifier requires a comprehensive and total turning away not negligence, weakness, or gaps.

NOT this nullifier:

A Muslim who commits major sins while still believing in Islam and acknowledging its obligations
A Muslim who prays occasionally but struggles with consistency
A Muslim who has gaps in knowledge while still making efforts to learn
A Muslim who struggles with faith while still intending to improve

Al-Fawzān warns: "Those who know little about Islam are not automatically in this category. Scholars should not be hasty the ruling requires a comprehensive and total turning away."

Quranic Proofs

﴿وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ ذُكِّرَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا إِنَّا مِنَ المُجْرِمِينَ مُنْتَقِمُون﴾ Al-Sajdah 32:22 "And who does more wrong than one who is reminded of the signs of his Lord but turns away from them? Indeed, We will take retribution from the criminals."

﴿وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ ذُكِّرَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا وَنَسِيَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاه﴾ Al-Kahf 18:57 "And who does more wrong than he who has been reminded of the signs of his Lord but turns away from them and forgets what his hands have put forth?"

﴿وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا عَمَّا أُنذِرُوا مُعْرِضُون﴾ Al-Aḥqāf 46:3 "And those who disbelieve from what they have been warned, they turn away."

The Qurʾān repeatedly connects iʿrāḍ (turning away) with kufr and with a deliberate rejection of the religion that has been presented to a person not passive neglect.

Hadith Evidence

«مَنْ يُرِدِ اللهُ بِهِ خَيْرًا يُفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّين» "When Allah desires good for a person, He gives him deep understanding (fiqh) of the religion." Bukhārī and Muslim. Al-Fawzān uses this to note: pursuit of religious knowledge is a sign of Allah's favour; complete abandonment signals a serious condition.

The Tenth Nullifier as the Encompassing Case

Al-Fawzān observes: this final nullifier functions as a kind of encompassing category. The other nine concern specific acts or beliefs. The tenth addresses wholesale abandonment of the religion itself a person who has turned away completely has implicitly rejected everything the other nine nullifiers touch upon. It closes the ten with the broadest possible statement: total disengagement from Islam in both knowledge and practice is itself kufr.

Both learning AND acting must be absent not just one of them
Deliberate, not accidental iʿrāḍ implies a settled turning of the face away
Farḍ al-ʿayn only applies to obligatory individual knowledge, not specialised sciences
Al-Fawzān warns against hasty application weak or ignorant Muslims are not automatically in this category