Is every person who possesses a characteristic of disbelief a disbeliever?

The questioner : If Allah wills. As for the believers.

The Shaykh : Yes, just as they are our brothers, yes.

The questioner : Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says.

The Shaykh : We share.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : This is disbelief in itself; the act of fighting is disbelief. His fighting is disbelief, but here there is a distinction between the act and the actor, like his saying: "Two things among the people are disbelief: slandering lineage and wailing." The act itself is disbelief, but the one who slanders lineage is not a disbeliever.

The questioner : What is this?

The Shaykh : Because a person may possess a characteristic of disbelief and a characteristic of faith. Yes.

The questioner : And where is al-Muradi?

The Shaykh : If he said "There is no god but Allah" and then insulted a person regarding his lineage, he would possess a characteristic of faith, which is "There is no god but Allah," and a characteristic of disbelief, which is slandering lineage.

The questioner : I mean, this matter is a form of boasting; why would you bring up the rain?

The Shaykh : No, there is a difference between the act and the actor. A person may possess a characteristic of disbelief, and we do not say that he is a disbeliever.

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Shaykh : For example, now there are some scholars we know to be from the people of the Sunnah and from the Salafis who follow the Salaf, but they have a slip in some of the attributes, for example. Do we say that this man, for example, is an Ash'ari if he said some of the sayings of the Asha'irah? We do not accept that, and we say that what he said is the school of the Asha'irah.

The questioner : Out of scrupulousness.

The Shaykh : Being lenient with him? Well, praise be to Allah.