The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 8
8 asked most of the leading ulama to give their definition of a Muslim, the point being that if the ulama of the various sects believed the Ahmadis to be kafirs, they must have been quite clear in their minds not only about the grounds of such belief but also about the definition of a Muslim because the claim that a certain person or community is not within the pale of Islam implies on the part of the claimant an exact conception of what a Muslim is. The result of this part of the inquiry, however, has been anything but satisfactory, and if considerable confusion exists in the minds of our ulama on such a simple matter, one can easily imagine what the differences on more complicated matters will be". 3 DISSENT AMONG THE ULEMA ON THE DEFINITION OF A "MUSLIM" After quoting, as examples, the numerous definitions advanced by the ulema , they wrote: "Keeping in view the several definitions given by the ulama , need we make any comment except that no two learned divines are agreed on this fundamental. If we attempt our 3 Report of The Court of Inquiry … into the Punjab Disturbance of 1953. , p. 215. [Publisher]