in summary, the grave robber was a believer in tawḥīd, and his command to his children to burn him was either due to his ignorance of Allāh's power to resurrect him—which I personally find unlikely—or due to his extreme fear of his Lord's punishment, which clouded his understanding. This is as Ibn al-Mulaqqin mentioned in what the ḥāfiẓ recorded (11/314), and this is what I find most likely from the various narrations of his story. And Allāh knows best. Whether it was this or that; it is certain that the man did not commit anything that contradicted his tawḥīd, which would take him out of faith into disbelief; for if there had been anything of that sort, Allāh would not have forgiven him, as Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr has established. From this, it becomes clear that not everyone who falls into disbelief among the believers is overwhelmed by disbelief. An example of this is the man who lost his camel, which carried his food and drink, and when he found it, out of extreme joy, he said: "O Allāh! You are my servant and I am your Lord!" In all of this, there is a very strong refutation of two groups of young people who are deluded by their shallow knowledge: the first group is those who assert that ignorance is never an excuse; to the extent that some of their contemporaries have even written treatises on this! The correct view, which is necessitated by the principles
وخلاصته؛ أن الرجل النباش كان مؤمناً موحداً، وأن أمره أولاده بحرقه ...إنما كان إما لجهله بقدرة الله تعالى على إعادته- وهذا ما أستبعده أنا- أو لفرط خوفه من عذاب ربه، فغطى الخوف على فهمه؛ كما قال ابن الملقن فيما ذكره الحافظ (١١/٣١٤) ، وهو الذي يترجح عندي من مجموع روايات قصته، والله ﷾ أعلم. وسواء كان هذا أو ذاك؛ فمن المقطوع به أن الرجل لم يصدر منه ما ينافي توحيده، ويخرج به من الإيمان إلى الكفر؛ لأنه لو كان شيء من ذلك لما غفر الله له؛ كما تقدم تحقيقه من ابن عبد البر. ومن ذلك يتبين بوضوح أنه ليس كل من وقع في الكفر من المؤمنين وقع الكفر عليه وأحاط به. ومن الأمثلة على ذلك: الرجل الذي كان قد ضلت راحلته، وعليها طعامه وشرابه، فلما وجدها قال من شدة فرحه:"اللهم! أنت عبدي وأنا ربك " (١) ! وفي ذلك كله رد قوي جداً على فئتين من الشباب المغرورين بما عندهم من علم ضحل: الفئة الأولى: الذين يطلقون القول بأن الجهل ليس بعذر مطلقا؛ حتى ألف بعض المعاصرين منهم رسالة في ذلك! والصواب الذي تقتضيه الأصول