The ruling on one who believes in his heart but does not pronounce the testimony of faith
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Question:
If a person embraces Islam and believes in his heart but does not utter the testimony of faith and then dies, is he among the people of Paradise?
Answer:
It is necessary to utter it, and it is necessary to act. Faith is belief and action: speech with the tongue, action with the limbs, and belief in the heart. If a person acknowledges the truth in his heart but does not speak it with his tongue and does not act upon it with his limbs, then he is not a believer. Allah the Exalted says regarding the disbelievers:[An-Naml 27:14] the wrongdoers. Pharaoh acknowledged the truth in his heart, but he did not speak it out of arrogance and stubbornness. That is why Musa (peace be upon him) said to him.
He is the truthful one who is believed, (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said to him:[Al-Isra 17:102] Pharaoh acknowledged the truth in the depths of his soul, but arrogance and, may Allah protect us, his tyranny prevented him from acknowledging it and acting upon it, even though he knew it in his heart.
Most, or all, of creation know Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) with their hearts, and they know the truth with their hearts, but something diverts them from acting upon it and speaking it. That something is either arrogance, or envy, or love of this world, or desire, or something else. The result is that it is not sufficient for a person to know the truth with his heart while not acting upon it with his tongue. Allah the Exalted says regarding the disbelievers:[Al-An'am 6:33] No, [Al-An'am 6:33] they do not deny. They do not lie, but the wrongdoers deny the signs of Allah.
If a person embraces Islam and believes in his heart but does not utter the testimony of faith and then dies, is he among the people of Paradise?
Answer:
It is necessary to utter it, and it is necessary to act. Faith is belief and action: speech with the tongue, action with the limbs, and belief in the heart. If a person acknowledges the truth in his heart but does not speak it with his tongue and does not act upon it with his limbs, then he is not a believer. Allah the Exalted says regarding the disbelievers:
And they rejected them, while their [inner] selves were convinced thereof, out of injustice and haughtiness. So see how was
وَجَحَدُوا بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَا أَنفُسُهُمْ ظُلْمًا وَعُلُوًّا فَانظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُHe is the truthful one who is believed, (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said to him:
[Moses] said, "You have already known that none has sent down these [signs] except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as evidence, and indeed I think, O Pharaoh, that you are destroyed."
لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا أَنزَلَ هَٰؤُلَاءِ إِلَّا رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ بَصَائِرَ وَإِنِّي لَأَظُنُّكَ يَا فِرْعَوْنُ مَثْبُورًاMost, or all, of creation know Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) with their hearts, and they know the truth with their hearts, but something diverts them from acting upon it and speaking it. That something is either arrogance, or envy, or love of this world, or desire, or something else. The result is that it is not sufficient for a person to know the truth with his heart while not acting upon it with his tongue. Allah the Exalted says regarding the disbelievers:
We know that you
قَدْ نَعْلَمُ إِنَّهُyou, [O Muhammad], are saddened by what they say. And indeed, they do not call you untruthful, but it is the verses of Allah
لَيَحْزُنُكَ الَّذِي يَقُولُونَ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يُكَذِّبُونَكَ وَلَٰكِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 17 من 19|مذهب السلف الصالح|مواعظ وكلمات في الحرم المكي|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (54:06)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.