The issue of qualification in faith: “I am a believer, if Allah wills”

Question : After the Honorable Shaykh, the questioner says: What is the ruling on qualification in faith, such as saying, “I am a believer, if Allah wills”?

Answer : Yes. Qualification in faith has causes. If it is due to doubt, it is disbelief. If it is to avoid self-praise, it is obligatory. If it is to provide a reason, it is permissible.
How many categories are there? Three. How many? Three. If it is due to hesitation, when we asked him, “Are you a believer?” he said, “If Allah wills,” meaning he is not certain. This is disbelief because faith requires certainty. So whoever does not affirm it—may Allah protect us and you from that—is not a believer, and it is not permissible for him to say that. Now, if it is...
...to avoid self-praise, when he is asked, “Are you a believer?” he says, “If Allah wills,” meaning I did not believe except by the will of Allah, not by my own power or strength. This is obligatory, because if he were to affirm it and say, “Yes, I am a believer,” intending thereby to praise himself, he would fall into what Allah forbade in His saying: . What is the third? That he intends to explain the reason, meaning that my faith was by the will of Allah. This is permissible and there is no harm in it. Meaning, he is asked, “Are you a believer?”
He says, “Yes, if Allah wills.” The faith exists and its completion exists, and he has no doubt, but he wants to clarify that his faith is by the will of Allah. And this is a reality; I mean, qualification by the will of Allah is a reality in what is affirmed. Do you not know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would visit the graves and say, “And we, what? If Allah wills, we will be with you.” Everyone knows that he will die, but the meaning is, “We will be with you by what? By the will of Allah.” Yes. He says in His saying, the Exalted, “And whoever intends...”
Now, if something has already happened, such as if someone is asked when he leaves the mosque, "Did you pray?" and he says, "If Allah wills," what do you say about this? We say: if he means the act itself, there is no need for him to say "if Allah wills," because it is clear. But if he means the prayer being accepted, let him say "if Allah wills," because he does not know whether his prayer will be accepted or not. If someone is asked, "Did you eat the pre-dawn meal?" after he has finished eating, what should he say? He says, "If Allah wills." Or is there no need? There is no need, because his eating it indicates that Allah willed it, unless he intends to attribute the cause to Allah, in which case it is permissible. , or is he not sinful? There is a distinction here. If he intends to inform about what is in his heart and that his intention is to travel, is this permissible? Yes, it is permissible even if he does not say "if Allah wills." But if he intends that he will actually do the act, this is not permissible until he says "if Allah wills," because he does not know what may happen to him tomorrow. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: Yes.