The ruling on one who says that the texts of 'aqidah are rigid rulings, and the ruling on the people of Lut if they had affirmed the oneness of Allah

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah preserve you and protect you. I read in the book *How the Prophets' Method in Calling to Allah* where the author says: "I looked at the chapters on 'aqidah and found that they were written in a manner other than 'aqidah, because they are texts and rulings. From this, the youth have isolated themselves from the religion or 'aqidah." Also, in the same book, he said: "If the people of Lut had said *La ilaha illa Allah*, it would not benefit them as long as they persisted in their sin." What is your view on his case with this statement?

Answer:
As you pointed out in the lecture, there are people who disdain teaching 'aqidah, disdain the books of the Salaf, and disdain the writings of the imams of Islam. They want to divert people to their own writings and those of the ignorant and callers to misguidance like them. This speaker is one of the callers to misguidance; may Allah grant us safety. We must be wary of this book and wary of him. I remind you that Shaykh Muhammad 'Aman al-Jam'i, may Allah guide him, dictated a complete tape in response to this statement, the statement that "the books of 'aqidah are rigid or dry texts and rulings," as he calls them. He responded to him with a eloquent refutation. So you should look for this tape and spread it among the Muslims so that they may be wary of this evil and this harm that has come to the lands of the Muslims. The second statement is the statement of the Khawarij.
As for his statement that if the people of Lut had affirmed the oneness of Allah and not left sodomy, they would be disbelievers, this is a false statement. Because sodomy is undoubtedly a crime and a major sin among the major sins, but it does not reach the level of disbelief. So if one repents to Allah from shirk (associating partners with Allah) and does not commit shirk, but commits the crime of sodomy, this is considered having committed a major sin among the major sins, but he is not declared a disbeliever. If the people of Lut had affirmed the oneness of Allah the Exalted and Worshipped Allah alone with no partner, but remained in the crime of sodomy, they would have been open sinners committing a major sin among the major sins. Allah would punish them for it, either in this world or in the Hereafter, or He would pardon them, Blessed and Exalted is He, but they would not be disbelievers. Allah the Exalted says: .
And in the authentic hadith, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, commands on the Day of Resurrection that or the weight of a mustard seed of faith. This refers to the people of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) who have sins and enter the Fire because of them; they are punished and then come out of the Fire by their tawhid and their 'aqidah. So the one who affirms the oneness of Allah, even if he enters the Fire, will not remain in it. And Allah may pardon him and he may not enter the Fire at all. So this statement is the statement of an ignorant person, or the best we can attribute to him is ignorance. The best we can attribute to him is ignorance.
And ignorance is a deadly disease, may Allah protect us from it. This is a plague of many of the callers today who call to Allah in ignorance; they fall into such things and declare people disbelievers without reason, and they are lax in matters of tawhid. Look at this ignorant person, this ignorant person is lax in 'aqidah and magnifies the matter of sodomy. Which is more severe? Is shirk more severe or sodomy? May Allah grant us safety. Yes. Yes. The tape, my brothers. Yes, this is a very valuable tape. May Allah reward Shaykh Muhammad 'Aman al-Jam'i with good, and may He cause Islam and the Muslims to be victorious through it. Yes.