Combining the condition of prayer with the hadith of the one who said, "There is no god but Allah, he enters Paradise"
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Question:
How do we reconcile the fact that prayer is a condition of faith with the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever says, 'I testifySahih Muslim 29 enters Paradise"?
Answer:
His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) means that the one who comes with the testimony enters Paradise; this is qualified by the condition that no nullifier of Islam occurs from him. If he says "There is no god but Allah" and does not come with what contradicts the testimony, that is one thing. But if he comes with what contradicts the testimony, then "There is no god but Allah" does not benefit him. If he says "There is no god but Allah" while he fears the graves and seeks aid from the dead, then "There is no god but Allah" does not benefit him, even if he says it as many times as he takes breaths, because it contradicts and invalidates it. For this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, AllahSahih al-Bukhari 5401 This saying seeks thereby the Face of Allah," he (peace and blessings be upon him) said.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5401 and disbelieve in what is worshipped besides Allah; his blood and wealth are forbidden, and his reckoning is with Allah. This saying must be accompanied by disbelief in what is worshipped besides Allah. As for the one who says "There is no god but Allah" and says, "There is no harm in the invocation of al-Husayn, or the invocation of such-and-such a wali, or slaughtering for the grave," saying, "These are matters with no harm," while he says "There is no god but Allah," this word does not benefit him, because he has come with what contradicts and invalidates it. "There is no god but Allah" is to be worshipped by it from their hearts; is it not absolute?
Whoever says it knowing its meaning and acting in accordance with its implications enters Paradise. As for the one who says it while not knowing its meaning, or knowing its meaning but not acting upon it, and instead acting with its opposite and contrary, namely shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah the Exalted, then "There is no god but Allah" does not benefit him. When it was said to Wahb ibn Munabbih (may Allah have mercy on him), one of the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions), "Is not 'There is no god but Allah' the key to Paradise?" he said, "Yes, but there is no key without teeth. If you come with a key that has teeth, it will open for you; otherwise, it will not open for you." The meaning of this is that "There is no god but Allah" is a key, but it has teeth, which are prayer, zakah (the obligatory alms), fasting, and Hajj (the major pilgrimage), and the pillars of Islam. It is necessary to come with them. If he comes with "There is no god but Allah" and does not come with prayer, or does not come with the rest of the pillars of Islam, then he has come with a key that has no teeth, so it does not benefit him in any way. Yes.
How do we reconcile the fact that prayer is a condition of faith with the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever says, 'I testify
that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah
أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول اللهAnswer:
His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) means that the one who comes with the testimony enters Paradise; this is qualified by the condition that no nullifier of Islam occurs from him. If he says "There is no god but Allah" and does not come with what contradicts the testimony, that is one thing. But if he comes with what contradicts the testimony, then "There is no god but Allah" does not benefit him. If he says "There is no god but Allah" while he fears the graves and seeks aid from the dead, then "There is no god but Allah" does not benefit him, even if he says it as many times as he takes breaths, because it contradicts and invalidates it. For this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah
Allah has forbidden the (Hell) Fire for those who testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, seeking Allah's pleasure.
حرم على النار من قال لا إله إلا الله يبتغي بذلك وجه اللهNarrated 'Urban bin Malik: who attended the Badr battle and was from the Ansar, that he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have lost my eyesight and I lead my people in the prayer (as an Imam). When it rains, the valley which is between me and my people, flows with water, and then I cannot go to their mosque to lead them in the prayer. O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I wish that you could come and pray in my house so that I may take it as a praying place. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah willing, I will do that." The next morning, soon after the sun had risen, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came with Abu Bakr. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked for the permission to enter and I admitted him. The Prophet (ﷺ) had not sat till he had entered the house and said to me, "Where do you like me to pray in your house?" I pointed at a place in my house whereupon he stood and said, "Allahu Akbar." We lined behind him and he prayed two rak`at and finished it with Taslim. We then requested him to stay for a special meal of Khazira which we had prepared. A large number of men from the adjoining area gathered in the house. One of them said, "Where is Malik bin Ad-Dukhshun?" Another man said, "He is a hypocrite and does not love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Do not say so. Do you not think that he has said: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," seeking Allah's pleasure? The man said, "Allah and His Apostle know better, but we have always seen him mixing with hypocrites and giving them advice." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has forbidden the (Hell) Fire for those who testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, seeking Allah's pleasure. "
من قال لا إله إلا اللهWhoever says it knowing its meaning and acting in accordance with its implications enters Paradise. As for the one who says it while not knowing its meaning, or knowing its meaning but not acting upon it, and instead acting with its opposite and contrary, namely shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah the Exalted, then "There is no god but Allah" does not benefit him. When it was said to Wahb ibn Munabbih (may Allah have mercy on him), one of the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions), "Is not 'There is no god but Allah' the key to Paradise?" he said, "Yes, but there is no key without teeth. If you come with a key that has teeth, it will open for you; otherwise, it will not open for you." The meaning of this is that "There is no god but Allah" is a key, but it has teeth, which are prayer, zakah (the obligatory alms), fasting, and Hajj (the major pilgrimage), and the pillars of Islam. It is necessary to come with them. If he comes with "There is no god but Allah" and does not come with prayer, or does not come with the rest of the pillars of Islam, then he has come with a key that has no teeth, so it does not benefit him in any way. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-038-الفقه الأكبر|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:15:42)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.