A Response to Those Who Say That Religion Is in the Heart
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner asks: What do we say to the one who, when we advise him, says, "Religion is in the heart"?
Answer:
It is known that religion in the heart is the limbs. When the heart is sound, the limbs follow it. And its meaning is that the one who says religion is in his heart does whatever he pleases. No, when the heart is sound, the limbs follow it, and when the heart is corrupt, the limbs are corrupt. But there must be an indication of the soundness of the heart, and the soundness of the heart is not known except by the actions of the limbs. If he fears Allah and obeys Him, preserves the prayers, and is upright upon the religion of Allah, then this is a sign of the soundness of the heart, by the success of Allah. And if he displays sins, then this is a sign of the sickness of the heart. We ask Allah for well-being.
The questioner asks: What do we say to the one who, when we advise him, says, "Religion is in the heart"?
Answer:
It is known that religion in the heart is the limbs. When the heart is sound, the limbs follow it. And its meaning is that the one who says religion is in his heart does whatever he pleases. No, when the heart is sound, the limbs follow it, and when the heart is corrupt, the limbs are corrupt. But there must be an indication of the soundness of the heart, and the soundness of the heart is not known except by the actions of the limbs. If he fears Allah and obeys Him, preserves the prayers, and is upright upon the religion of Allah, then this is a sign of the soundness of the heart, by the success of Allah. And if he displays sins, then this is a sign of the sickness of the heart. We ask Allah for well-being.
Source
لقاءات لابن باز - لقاء مع إخوة في الله - ابن باز - ٢ — archive.org (11:15)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.