Agnostic

Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist."

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Agnostic

What is an appropriate Islamic response for individuals who identify as agnostic?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

It depends whether they say they are agnostic or they deny that.If they say they are agnostic, we need to talk to them and present the clear evidence that Allah is the Creator of everything.Usually such people claim that they use their intellect, hence we need to focus on intellectual evidence to prove from Quran and the sayings of the Prophet (SAWA) and Ahlul Bayt (AS) who have the maximum intellect that the faith in Tawheed is the compulsory outcome of the proper thinking.

Wassalaam

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Agnostic . Takfir

Is an agnostic person considered to be a Kafir?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 5 years ago

Addendum: It may depend on whether one is using the term for matters of religious law (such as marriage) or in a theological sense. It also depends on how one is using the word "agnostic".

In a theological sense, the Qur'anic term "kafir" is used for those who deny the existence of God or the blessings of God, or God's message, not for those who are genuinely uncertain.

Insofar as an agnostic person neither affirms nor denies these things, and really doesn't know, they are somewhere in the middle (neither mu'min nor kafir).

Some people call themselves "agnostic" because they dislike organised religion (for instance, they had a bad impression of it growing up) but they don't reject the idea of the divine. So this is not theologically the same thing as a "kafir". What it means is that they do not identify as part of a specific religious group, and also are not sure what they believe personally. Oftentimes, this type of agnostic is a genuine seeker of the truth and is in flux since they haven't found answers to their questions yet.

However some people use "agnostic" as a loose synonym for atheism or just not caring enough to think about spiritual matters, and so this type of person could be called a kafir, meaning that they are fully engrossed in the material world and heedless of anything else.

Today there is a tendency to use "kafir" casually as a synonym for "non-Muslim". However, because we live in a sensitive era, it is good to be sensitive and thoughtful about how we use language (not the least because some people are killed on grounds of takfir). This is why when working with Qur'anic texts, I personally try to avoid translating "kafir" as "disbeliever" (or, even worse, "infidel") and instead go for a more literal translation along the lines of "deniers".

Also, it is good to remember that the Prophet and Imams were open to having dialogue with people who were not sure about their beliefs. If they were just called "kafirs" and rejected, Islam wouldn't have spread.

Agnostic . Takfir

Is an agnostic person considered to be a Kafir?

Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 5 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

An agnostic who would be someone that says they cannot confirm God's existence, nor can they reject God's existence would technically not be considered a "believer". One who doubts God existing or not cannot be classified as a believer of a religion, and hence they would be considered a disbeliever.

May the Almighty guide us all to the right path.

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Woman . Marriage . Agnostic

Is it allowed for a Muslim man to marry an agnostic woman who believes in one universal God? If not, what is the philosophy behind such a prohibition?

Muslim man is not allowed to marry an agnostic woman. Marriage is an establishment of shared life between man and woman which must be based on principles of Faith in Allah, The Glorious.

Marriage is not just for fulfilling sexual desires, but to build a shared life based of Faith which is the main condition of harmony.

Wassalam.