In our country, there are those who say: Faith increases and decreases, and then they say: One who has never done any good is under the will of Allah!

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner says: In our country, there is a group of shaykhs who claim to belong to the methodology of the people of the Sunnah, and yet they say that faith increases and decreases. Then they say that the deeds of the limbs are a condition for the perfection of faith. So if a person has never done any good, he is under the will of Allah, as long as he says, "There is no god but Allah."

Answer:
This is misguidance, and I seek refuge in Allah. If one intentionally abandons the deeds, "There is no god but Allah" will not benefit him. If one intentionally abandons the deeds, "There is no god but Allah" will not benefit him. Because "There is no god but Allah" has implications. It has a meaning and it has implications. Therefore, when it was said to Wahb ibn Munabbih (may Allah have mercy on him), "Is not the key to Paradise 'There is no god but Allah'?" He said, "Yes. But there is no key without teeth."
So if you come with a key that has teeth, it will open for you; and if you do not come with it, it will not open for you. By "teeth," he means the deeds. "There is no god but Allah" requires acting in accordance with its implications, which is acting in accordance with what Allah has prescribed and made obligatory upon His servants. Otherwise, what benefit is there in "There is no god but Allah" as a mere utterance? Yes.