Does the lack of knowledge of the legal ruling that it is disbelief make one not reject it, nor detest it? Or does the mere realization of the ugliness and vileness of the matter make a person detest it and reject it, even if they are ignorant of its legal ruling? By realizing its description and vileness, they have attained detestation and rejection, even if the legal ruling has not reached them.

Here is Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl, who used to say to his people before the Prophetic mission: "O assembly of Quraysh, by God, none of you is on the religion of Abraham except me." He realized the ugliness of polytheism and disassociated himself from it with his sound innate disposition, before he learned that from the scholars of the Jews and Christians.

And these are the People of the Cave, who disassociated themselves from polytheism with their sound innate disposition. Allah Almighty said about them: "And We will support them with a fourth, and say my Lord is the most knowing of their number. So do not dispute about them except with an apparent dispute, and do not ask of them any of them [to inform you] about the Cave." [Surah Al-Kahf: 22]

All of these disassociated themselves from polytheism, realized its description and vileness, before realizing its legal ruling. Therefore, you find their words express disassociation, detestation, rejection, and withdrawal. There is nothing to indicate that they were judged by the legal ruling of disbelief, nor by Islam; because the legal ruling of disbelief or Islam is only known by revelation and news, not by innate disposition. They disassociated themselves from polytheism, withdrew from their people because of it, clung to monotheism, and called their people to it, without addressing the legal rulings, because the news of them had not reached them, nor had the revelation reached them.

I ask Allah Almighty to guide us all to the truth and to the straight path. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may Allah bless Muhammad, his family, and his companions, and grant them peace.