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Fatwa CenterRuling on not learning the religion and not acting in accordance with it
Question
I read that this is shirk and takes you out of Islam. What are examples of doing this e.g. choosing to do something else instead of learning about Islam? '10 – Turning away from the religion of Allah, not learning it and not acting in accordance with it. The evidence for that is the verse : “And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of his Lord, then turns aside therefrom? Verily, We shall exact retribution from the Mujrimoon (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners)” [As-Sajdah 32:22]'
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
said: “As regards the disbelief of turning away: It is to turn away with the ears and heart from the Prophet neither believing in him nor belying him; neither allied with him nor taking him as an enemy, and not listening to his message at all.”
Shaykh Saalih ibn Abdul ‘Azeez Aal Ash-Shaykh clarified this matter very well as he said: “The criterion of turning away is that a person does not learn the religion and does not abide by it, he is not concerned with knowing the Tawheed (Oneness of Allaah) or acts of worship, neither in terms of knowledge nor in terms of performance ... rather, he is not concerned about this matter even though he is able to do so. He is like a person in our country who has sufficient means, books are available, studying is available, scholars are available, as well as the Khutbahs (Friday sermons) and Friday prayers; and he is not at all interested in this, totally turning away. He is a materialist who does not care about the prayer, nor about listening to a verse or a Khutbah, and he does not seek knowledge. It is this kind of person who disbelieves by his turning away (from the religion of Allaah). He does not learn the religion and does not act according to it. He does not want to look into it and he is not concerned with it at all. If he needed bread for a living, he would go and look for it until he brings it, and if he needed something in his house, he would go until he brings it. But when it comes to religion, he turns away from it, he does not learn it and he does not act according to it, so this is the criterion for turning away.”
As regards the verse in Chapter As-Sajdah [Quran 32:22], it was originally revealed to explain the disbelievers' denial, refusal and lack of response for the truth. Ibn Katheer said about the interpretation of this verse: “It means there is no one more unjust than the one whom Allaah reminded about His verses (signs, proofs, evidences) and clarified them to him, and after all this, this person abandons them and turns away from them and forgets them, as if he does not know them.”
However, although this verse originally has to do with turning away as denial and disbelief, if a Muslim knows an Islamic ruling on a particular matter and does not accept the ruling of Allaah on it, then he may be included in this verse from the aspect of not responding to the truth. That is not to say that he becomes a non-Muslim by this, as this sense of turning away is of a lesser degree than the first sense of it.
Concerning choosing to do something else instead of learning about Islam, then if this is not out of disbelief and denial, then this does not take a person out of the fold of Islam. Islamic knowledge is the best thing that a person may aspire for and it is a way that leads to Paradise. Some Islamic knowledge is an individual obligation, in that it is sinful for a person not to acquire this kind of knowledge, such as to learn what makes creed and worship valid. Some other Islamic knowledge is a communal obligation and if a sufficient number of people know it, then the other people are not sinful for not acquiring it. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 84369.
Allaah Knows best.
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