Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: The Bedouins said, “We have believed”

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Question:
May Allah reward you and bless you. The brother, the student, asks: Which is more appropriate in the noble verse, in the saying of the Blessed and Exalted is He:

The bedouins say, "We have believed." Say, "You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts.

قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَٰكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ

[Al-Hujurat 49:14]

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Answer:
Yes, this verse was revealed regarding a group who came as delegates to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and claimed this claim, and they were from the Bedouins, meaning the desert dwellers.

The bedouins say, "We have believed."

قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا

[Al-Hujurat 49:14]

They claimed faith and self-purification for themselves, praising themselves with what they did not possess, because their saying "We have believed" implies that their faith is complete faith, and this is self-purification. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said, "But say, 'We have submitted,'" and Islam is the first rank of entering the religion, and faith is above it and after it. So they claimed a rank they had not reached; they had weak faith, and they had submitted, and it is hoped that their faith will increase, as indicated by the word "will" in the saying of the Exalted:

for faith has not yet entered your hearts

وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ

[Al-Hujurat 49:14]

, which indicates that faith will enter their hearts in the future. But they hastened before that. So this contains the prohibition against purifying oneself and praising oneself with what is not in one.

Source نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/207 — archive.org (3:17)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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