The ruling on one who says "La ilaha illa Allah" and the application of the description of Islam to him
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, he says: There are those who say that anyone who says[As-Saffat 37:35] is a Muslim and a monotheist, and this statement is made in its absolute sense. Is this statement correct?
Answer:
No, it is not correct. If a person says "La ilaha illa Allah," we rule that he is a Muslim and we leave him alone; we consider him a Muslim. If something appears from him that contradicts this phrase, we rule that he has apostatized. If something appears from him that contradicts the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), even if he is saying it, he is considered an apostate. As for what has not appeared from him, we accept it and consider him a Muslim. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) rebuked Usamah when he killed the man who said "La ilaha illa Allah." He said: Did you kill him after he saidSahih Ibn Hibban 62:82 to protect himself from the sword? He said: Why did you not cut open his heart?
So we have only the apparent. We accept the one who says "La ilaha illa Allah" and rule that he is a Muslim, as long as nothing appears from him that contradicts this phrase and opposes it with disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah). Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, he says: There are those who say that anyone who says
There is no deity but Allah
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُAnswer:
No, it is not correct. If a person says "La ilaha illa Allah," we rule that he is a Muslim and we leave him alone; we consider him a Muslim. If something appears from him that contradicts this phrase, we rule that he has apostatized. If something appears from him that contradicts the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), even if he is saying it, he is considered an apostate. As for what has not appeared from him, we accept it and consider him a Muslim. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) rebuked Usamah when he killed the man who said "La ilaha illa Allah." He said: Did you kill him after he said
Say: "There is no deity except Allah." He said: "Indeed, I
قُلْ لا إِِلَهَ إِِلا اللَّهُ قَالَ إِِنَّمَاSo we have only the apparent. We accept the one who says "La ilaha illa Allah" and rule that he is a Muslim, as long as nothing appears from him that contradicts this phrase and opposes it with disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah). Yes.
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، فصل وأول كيده ومكره : أنه كاد الأبوين بالأيمان الكاذبة — islamhouse.com (1:02:34)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.