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The question

Is a Muslim considered an apostate for insulting another Muslim, based on the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "A Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand other Muslims are safe"?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

A Muslim does not become an apostate (kafir) by cursing or killing, according to Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah (the People of the Sunnah and the Community). The meaning of the Hadith: "A Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe" is that the perfect Muslim is he from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe. And the other Hadith: "Cursing a Muslim is فسوق (disobedience), and fighting him is كفر (disbelief)" means that cursing a Muslim without right is forbidden by the consensus of the Ummah, and the one who does it is a fasiq (disobedient person). Fighting him without right does not make him an apostate (kafir) who leaves the fold of Islam, unless he deems it permissible (istihlal).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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