المُكَلَّفُونَ بِالأَحْكَامِ (الَّذِينَ كُلِّفُوا أَوْ أُلْزِمُوا بِالأَحْكَامِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ)
Al-mukallafoon Bil-ahkaam (those Who Have Been Charged Or Made Responsible With The Rulings)
المكلَّفون بالأحكام (الشرعية) هم جميع الناس، ولذلك قيل في تعريف الحكم الشرعي إنه: «خطاب الشارع المتعلق بأفعال العباد»، والعباد يُراد بهم الناس، سواء كانوا مسلمين أو كفارًا.
Those who are Mukallaf (charged) with the Ahkaam (of Islaam) are all of the people and for that reason it has been said in regards to the definition of the Hukm Ash-Shar’iy that it is: “The address of the legislator related to the actions of the ‘Ibaad” and the ‘Ibaad refers to the people whether they are Muslim or Kuffaar (disbelievers).
الدليلُ على ذلك كما يلي:
The Daleel for that is as follows:
1 – اللہ (سبحانہ وتعالیٰ) فرماتا ہے:
1 – Allah (swt) says:
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا ﷺ Note: The source text is a Qur'an verse (Al-A'raf 158), so the honorific ﷺ is not written inside the verse text itself, per the rules.
Say: O people (Mankind) verily, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all (Al-A’araaf 158)
وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى:
And Allah Ta’Aalaa said:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا ﷺ
And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner (Saba’ 28).
لہٰذا الناس (البشر) جميعًا قد خوطبوا بدين الإسلام، وصار من واجب المسلمين أن يبلغوهم الإسلام بأسلوبٍ جذّابٍ يلفت الأنظار، تمامًا كما فعل رسول الله ﷺ حين أرسل الرسل والكتب إلى الملوك والحكام المشهورين والبارزين في زمانه يدعوهم إلى اعتناق الإسلام والخضوع للدولة الإسلامية.
So the ‘Naas’ (people/mankind) as a whole have been addressed with the Deen of Islaam and it is a duty for the Muslims to convey Islaam to them in an eye-catching manner. This is just as the Messenger of Allah (saw) did when he sent messengers and letters to the well-known and prominent kings and rulers existing at his time inviting them to embrace Islaam and to submit to the Islamic State.
2 – القرآن الذي يخاطب الناس أو الإنسانية جمعاء:
2 – The Qur’aan addressing the people or mankind as a whole:
قال الله (سبحانه وتعالى):
Allah (swt) said:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
O Mankind worship your Lord (Al-Baqarah 21).
المراد بالعبادة هنا معناها العام، وهو امتثال أوامر الله واجتناب ما نهى عنه. قال الله تعالى
What is meant by ‘Ibaadah (worship) here is its general meaning which is to follow the commands of Allah and keep away from what He has forbidden. Allah (swt) said
وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا
And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House (Aali ‘Imraan 97).
قال الله سبحانه وتعالى:
And Allah (swt) said:
"مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَرَ؟ قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَ" (المدثر: ٤٢-٤٣).
"What put you into Saqar?". They said: We were not of those who used to pray (Al-Mudaththir 42-43).
ذُكر هذا في سياق سؤال الكفار عن فروع الأعمال، كالصلاة، وعن عقوبتهم على ما تركوه منها، كما يدل عليه قولُ الله تعالى المتصل بذلك في السورة نفسها:
This was mentioned in the context of asking the disbelievers about their branch actions like the Salaah and their punishment for what they didn’t perform, as shown in the following Qawl of Allah Ta’Aalaa connected to that in the same Soorah:
وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ
And we used to deny the Day of recompense (Al-Mudaththir 46).
فَتُشِيرُ هَذِهِ الْآيَاتُ إِذًا إِلَى أَنَّهُمْ مُكَلَّفُونَ بِالْأَحْكَامِ الْفُرُوعِيَّةِ كَمَا أَنَّهُمْ مُكَلَّفُونَ فِيمَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِالْعَقَائِدِ. وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُونُوا مُكَلَّفِينَ وَمُسَاءَلِينَ عَنِ الْفُرُوعِ لَمَا تَوَعَّدَهُمُ اللهُ بِالْوَعِيدِ الشَّدِيدِ عَلَى تَرْكِهَا وَعَدَمِ أَدَائِهَا.
These Aayaat therefore indicate that they are Mukallafeen (charged) with the Ahkaam Al-Furoo’iyah (branch rulings) just as they are Mukallafoon in respect to the ‘Aqaa’id (beliefs). Had they not been charged and accountable for the Furoo’ (branches) Allah would not have threatened them with a severe threat of punishment for leaving and not performing them.
بناءً على ذلك، فإن الناس (النَّاس) جميعًا مخاطَبون بالشريعة الإسلامية بكاملها، بأصولها وفروعها، أي بالعقائد والأحكام. وسيعاقبهم الله سبحانه وتعالى على عدم الإيمان وعلى عدم القيام بالأعمال الواجبة.
Consequently, the people (An-Naas) in their entirety are addressed with the Islamic Sharee’ah as a whole including its Usool and Furoo’ i.e. Aqaa’id and Ahkaam. And Allah (swt) will punish them for not having Imaan and for not undertaking the obligatory actions.