From a Religious Concept to an Instrument of Conflict: How Did “Loyalty and Disavowal” Become Fuel for Infighting?

The term “loyalty and disavowal” is among the most controversial concepts in contemporary Islamic thought. Although terms denoting allegiance and disavowal occur in the Qur’an in various contexts relating to faith, justice, and disavowal of polytheism and injustice, the Qur’an did not present “loyalty and disavowal” as an independent doctrine or a detailed, self-contained system.

How Did the Concept Expand?

As religious thought developed over the centuries, this concept gradually changed from general meanings of faith associated with truth, justice, and divine unity into a more expansive doctrinal and political framework. Certain currents then broadened their interpretation of it until loyalty to the group, school of thought, organization, or emir became part of the concept of loyalty to religion itself, while disavowal of opponents and those who differed became part of these groups’ intellectual and political identity.

In times of upheaval, war, and division, certain hardline movements found in this concept an effective instrument for dividing society into two camps: “with us” and “against us.” Loyalty to the organization or leader thus became a criterion for judging individuals and groups, while recourse to the values of justice, mercy, and individual accountability emphasized by the Qur’an receded.

From Disagreement to Existential Conflict

In recent decades, extremist groups such as al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Jabhat al-Nusra, as well as certain armed sectarian militias in the region, have employed the concepts of loyalty, disavowal, and takfir—declaring others unbelievers—in their political and military conflicts. Rather than remaining within the sphere of thought or independent interpretive reasoning, disagreement became an existential conflict in which the opponent was regarded as an enemy, as someone outside the community, or as someone deserving to be fought.

As the scope of takfir expanded, it became easy to justify bloodshed, the confiscation of property, and forced displacement, and even to revive practices such as taking captives and enslavement, which certain hardline groups revived under religious cover. The victims of these conflicts were not only non-Muslims; the greater number were Muslims themselves who differed with these groups in their school of thought, political outlook, or position on authority and war.

This approach has left devastating effects in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and elsewhere, where civil wars and sectarian divisions have depleted lives and wealth, destroyed cities, weakened state institutions, and opened the way for foreign interventions and regional conflicts.

Amid this disintegration, numerous regional and international powers, including Israel, benefited from the region’s preoccupation with its internal conflicts. The more the people of the region fought among themselves, the more their capacity diminished to build development projects or unified political positions on the major issues affecting their shared future.

Qur’anic Constraints

It is noteworthy that the Qur’an established clear constraints to prevent disagreements from turning into wars of identity and doctrine. When it spoke of fighting among believers, it did not strip them of their designation as believers:

﴿وَإِن طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا﴾ (If two groups of believers fight one another, make peace between them.) [الحجرات: ٩]

Despite the fighting, both parties remained within the fold of faith, and what was required was reconciliation, not declaring them unbelievers or negating their standing. The Qur’an also prohibited factionalism and religious division:

﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا لَّسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ﴾ (Those who divided their religion and became sects—you have nothing to do with them.) [الأنعام: ١٥٩]

﴿وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ۝ مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ﴾ (Do not be among those who associate partners with God—among those who divided their religion and became sects, each faction rejoicing in what it possesses.) [الروم: ٣١-٣٢]

The importance of these verses lies in their shifting the focus from partisan and sectarian affiliation to unity in values and principles, and in their warning against turning religion into conflicting identities, each faction claiming that it alone represents absolute truth.

Who Holds Final Judgment?

Nor did the Qur’an grant any group, school of thought, or religious institution the right to adjudicate definitively people’s destinies and beliefs. Rather, it reserved judgment on major disagreements for God alone:

﴿إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَقْضِي بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ﴾ (Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they differed.) [يونس: ٩٣]

﴿اللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ﴾ (God will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which you differed.) [الحج: ٦٩]

﴿إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ﴾ (To God you will all return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you differed.) [المائدة: ٤٨]

Thus, the Qur’an establishes that the ultimate authority in judging beliefs, intentions, and destinies in the hereafter is God, not groups, sects, or religious leaders. The human task, by contrast, is to establish justice, conduct dialogue in the best manner, and follow what people consider true, without claiming to possess the keys to salvation or issuing certificates of belief and unbelief to others.

For this reason, the Qur’an warned against the path taken by earlier communities when they monopolized truth and made salvation the exclusive preserve of a particular group:

﴿وَقَالُوا لَن يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَن كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ﴾ (They said, “None will enter Paradise unless they are Jews or Christians.” Those are their wishful fancies.) [البقرة: ١١١]

﴿وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَىٰ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَىٰ لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ﴾ (The Jews said, “The Christians have no foundation,” and the Christians said, “The Jews have no foundation.”) [البقرة: ١١٣]

It then concluded the scene with the words: ﴿فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ﴾ (So God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they differed.).

The Danger of Hasty Declarations of Unbelief

The most dangerous thing that can happen to any community is for intellectual and religious disagreements to become a justification for exclusion and infighting. When loyalty to the emir, organization, or sect takes precedence over loyalty to justice and truth, and those who differ become adversaries who must be excluded or declared unbelievers, societies enter a spiral of conflicts that produces only more bloodshed, division, and weakness.

﴿وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰ إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا﴾ (Do not say to someone who offers you a greeting of peace, “You are not a believer,” seeking the fleeting gains of worldly life.) [النساء: ٩٤]

The verse does not merely prohibit denying the faith of others; it links this conduct to the pursuit of “the fleeting gains of worldly life.” This is a profound indication that takfir and exclusion may not always arise from concern for religion, but may be mixed with the pursuit of power, spoils, influence, or political gains. The Qur’anic warning therefore serves to prevent human disagreements from becoming a justification for treating lives and property as licit targets under religious cover.

The Supreme Authority

The Qur’an also affirms that the believer’s supreme authority is not individuals, groups, or leaders, but divine revelation itself:

﴿اتَّبِعُوا مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ﴾ (Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord, and do not follow protectors other than Him. How little you take heed.) [الأعراف: ٣]

The foundation of religion is to follow what God has revealed, not to give precedence to the statements of men or group loyalties over the texts of revelation. When loyalty to the emir, party, or sect becomes a criterion of truth, a person becomes a follower of individuals rather than a follower of truth. Here began many of the divisions against which the Qur’an warned: affiliation with a group came to take precedence over the search for truth, and obedience to leaders became an authority competing with the authority of revelation itself.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons the Qur’an offers is that the unity of the community is built not on subjecting people to a single group or a single understanding, but on justice, respect for human dignity, and leaving final judgment on major disagreements to God, to whom all return and whose presence is their final destination.