Denial of Faith in the Qur'an and Sunnah: Denial of the Essence or Denial of Perfection
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Is the default ruling regarding the denial of faith in the Qur'an and Sunnah that it is a total denial, or a denial of perfection?
The Shaykh:
This is based on the evidence. The default is the negation of the original; the default in negation is that it is for the original, not for perfection, unless evidence indicates that it is for the negation of perfection, in order to reconcile the evidence. For example, the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), along with the saying of Allah the Exalted [An-Nisa 4:31] regarding evil deeds, and His saying, "Indeed [Ali 'Imran 3:64] forgives [Ali 'Imran 3:64]," together with this verse [An-Nisa 4:48] concerning theft and zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), indicates that it is under Allah's will and does not take one out of the religion. This proves that the negation of perfection regarding the one who commits zina or theft is a negation of perfection, not a negation of the original of faith.
The questioner:
Can it be said that its denial in the Qur'an indicates a total denial, whereas in the Sunnah it is according to the circumstances?
The Shaykh:
No, there is no difference between the Book and the Sunnah. The Book is specified by the Book and specified by the Sunnah, and likewise the Sunnah is specified by the Qur'an and specified by the Sunnah. That is, all of it is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic); the Book and the Sunnah are all from Allah. Thus, some of it qualifies some, some specifies some, and some explains some.
Is the default ruling regarding the denial of faith in the Qur'an and Sunnah that it is a total denial, or a denial of perfection?
The Shaykh:
This is based on the evidence. The default is the negation of the original; the default in negation is that it is for the original, not for perfection, unless evidence indicates that it is for the negation of perfection, in order to reconcile the evidence. For example, the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
The adulterer is not a believer when he commits adultery, and the thief is not a believer when he steals.
لا يزني الزاني حين يزني وهو مؤمن، لا يسرق السارق حين يسرق وهو مؤمنIf you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you
إِن تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْAllah and not
اللَّهَ وَلَاassociate anything with
نُشْرِكَ بِهِIndeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ وَمَنThe questioner:
Can it be said that its denial in the Qur'an indicates a total denial, whereas in the Sunnah it is according to the circumstances?
The Shaykh:
No, there is no difference between the Book and the Sunnah. The Book is specified by the Book and specified by the Sunnah, and likewise the Sunnah is specified by the Qur'an and specified by the Sunnah. That is, all of it is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic); the Book and the Sunnah are all from Allah. Thus, some of it qualifies some, some specifies some, and some explains some.
Source
شرح قرة عيون الموحدين في تحقيق دعوة الأنبياء والمرسلين، باب قول الله - تعالى - : { وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَتَّخِذُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنْدَاداً يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ } — islamhouse.com (56:55)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.