Assalamualaikum
In a situation when muslim though calls himself a muslim, believes in all articles of faith, pillars of islam and all the rulings of shariah, yet chooses to do research on all religions to identify which is the true religion of God but is hardly praying because he desires to be convinced about truth of islam first. Will situation like this amount to kufr and make muslim a kafir? Will search for the truth be classified as doubting islam, hence equal to kufr?
Answer
Wa’alaykum as Salam wa rahmtullahi wa barakatuhu,
A person who is not well versed in Islamic ‘Aqidah should not study other religions.
A scholar who has mastered ‘Aqidah may study other creeds, just for information purposes, or to refute them,
If a person studies other religions with the intention of searching for the truth, and he also does not pray, then such a person will not be a Muslim.
And Allaah Ta’aala knows best
Wassalaam,
Ismail Moosa (Mufti)