المعنى الاصطلاحي

"Mawaani` at-takfeer" refer to the qualities and conditions that prevent issuing a judgement of apostasy on someone who might have committed an act of disbelief.

الشرح المختصر

"Takfeer" (considering someone "kaafir" or apostate) is an exclusive right to Allah, so no one can be declared "kaafir" except those deemed by Allah and His Messenger to be so, and until it is verified that the concerned person has met all the conditions of "takfeer" without having any of its impediments. Impediments of issuing "takfeer" are of three categories: 1. Impediments pertaining to the doer. These are the impediments that affect a person, making him not responsible for his words and actions under the Shari`ah. These are also called Impediments of legal competence. Examples of these include: ignorance, incorrect understanding, improper interpretation, coercion, and mistake. 2. Impediments pertaining to the act that causes"kufr" (disbelief). This is either because the act does not clearly indicate disbelief, or because the Shari`ah evidence indicating that act to be an act of disbelief is not conclusive. 3. Impediments pertaining to proving the act. These refer to the impediments that hinder proving that the doer has committed the act, because, e.g., one of the witnesses is not trustworthy or is too young for his testimony to be accepted.

التعريف

The conditions and constraints that prevent a categorical judgement that a person who commits some violation of faith is an unbeliever, such as being compelled to do it, doing it unwittingly or mistakenly, or due to ignorance, or some sort of justification.