The Difference Between Practical Disbelief and Doctrinal Disbelief
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The questioner asks: What is the difference between practical disbelief (kufra 'amali) and belief-based disbelief (kufra i'tiqadi)? And if someone commits a major sin, such as drinking intoxicants or committing unlawful sexual intercourse, is it said that he has committed practical disbelief?
The Shaykh:
Doctrinal disbelief is that which pertains to creed, such as calling upon other than Allah, seeking aid from other than Allah, or slaughtering for other than Allah, or other matters of creed. It may be a cause of exiting the religion, or it may be less than that.
As for practical disbelief, it is what is mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah, (Glorified and Exalted is He), where sins are termed disbelief, yet they do not cause one to exit the religion. For example, the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih Muslim 65. This is practical disbelief, minor disbelief that does not cause one to exit the religion. The evidence is that the killer is not declared a disbeliever, even if his killing was an act of aggression, as in the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) regarding blood money [Al-Baqarah 2:178]. He called the killer the brother of the slain, meaning in faith. Also, as in the saying of Allah the Exalted [Al-Hujurat 49:9] up to His saying, "Indeed, the believers are brothers, so make settlement between your two brothers." These verses indicate that the killer is not a disbeliever. However, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) called it disbelief in the hadith mentioned, in the sense that it is of the minor practical disbelief that does not cause one to exit the religion, by reconciling the evidences. This is practical disbelief. Yes.
The questioner:
If someone commits a major sin, such as drinking intoxicants or committing unlawful sexual intercourse, is it said that he has committed practical disbelief?
The Shaykh:
This is not called practical disbelief; because there is no text naming the drinker of intoxicants or the fornicator as a disbeliever. Rather, it is stated that he is an open sinner. So it is said that he is an open sinner, and it is said that he has committed a major sin from the major sins. It is not called disbelief; because there is no text in the Book and the Sunnah naming the fornicator, the drinker of intoxicants, or the thief as a disbeliever. Rather, he is called an open sinner, or he is called a believer whose faith is deficient.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner asks: What is the difference between practical disbelief (kufra 'amali) and belief-based disbelief (kufra i'tiqadi)? And if someone commits a major sin, such as drinking intoxicants or committing unlawful sexual intercourse, is it said that he has committed practical disbelief?
The Shaykh:
Doctrinal disbelief is that which pertains to creed, such as calling upon other than Allah, seeking aid from other than Allah, or slaughtering for other than Allah, or other matters of creed. It may be a cause of exiting the religion, or it may be less than that.
As for practical disbelief, it is what is mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah, (Glorified and Exalted is He), where sins are termed disbelief, yet they do not cause one to exit the religion. For example, the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
Do not return to unbelief after me by striking the necks of one another.
لا ترجعوا بعدي كفارا يضرب بعضكم رقاب بعضBut whoever overlooks from his brother anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up
فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِAnd if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two
وَإِن طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَاThe questioner:
If someone commits a major sin, such as drinking intoxicants or committing unlawful sexual intercourse, is it said that he has committed practical disbelief?
The Shaykh:
This is not called practical disbelief; because there is no text naming the drinker of intoxicants or the fornicator as a disbeliever. Rather, it is stated that he is an open sinner. So it is said that he is an open sinner, and it is said that he has committed a major sin from the major sins. It is not called disbelief; because there is no text in the Book and the Sunnah naming the fornicator, the drinker of intoxicants, or the thief as a disbeliever. Rather, he is called an open sinner, or he is called a believer whose faith is deficient.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good.
Source
الفوزان - الإجابات العلمية والتوجيهات المنمهجية - 02 — archive.org (42:01)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.