The Ruling on Phrases in a Textbook That Attribute Faith to Emotion and Will
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, I am a high school student. In one of the literary topics we are studying, the author says: "Whoever is not strong in power, strong in management, strong in will, and strong in determination, is a Muslim without Islam."
In another place, he says: "In every society, and in every time and place, man asks: Where did I come from, and where am I going, and how did I come to be?" He then says: "The paths to faith in Allah differ; one may reach it through reason, through emotion, or through will." He asks: "It is your honor to clarify whether these means are valid, because the music teacher says they are literary expressions, while the philosophy teacher says they are ideological expressions."
The Shaykh:
No, these are expressions of disbelief, not literary ones. The last statement in particular—I do not know where I came from, I do not know where I am going, I do not know—this is confusion and doubt, and may Allah protect us from it. This is disbelief. We know where we came from, we know where we are going, and we know the path of good and the path of evil by what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has revealed to us. So this is denial of what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has revealed. Faith is attained through the means he mentioned, by inheritance, by such and such? No, faith is only attained through the Book and the Sunnah, and by following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is not permissible to remain silent about this speech; rather, it is obligatory to write about it and submit it to His Eminence the Mufti for review, because this is dangerous, especially if it is in a textbook that is taught to students. As for the first statement, which is
The questioner:
"Whoever is not strong in power, strong in will, and strong in determination, is a Muslim without Islam."
The Shaykh:
This is false speech. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 4168Sahih (Darussalam) So the weak believer has good in him, whatever his state, because of his faith in Allah, Mighty and Majestic. But if there is a strong believer, he is better than him without a doubt, and more beloved to Allah. As for stripping faith from the weak believer, this contradicts the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so it is false. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, I am a high school student. In one of the literary topics we are studying, the author says: "Whoever is not strong in power, strong in management, strong in will, and strong in determination, is a Muslim without Islam."
In another place, he says: "In every society, and in every time and place, man asks: Where did I come from, and where am I going, and how did I come to be?" He then says: "The paths to faith in Allah differ; one may reach it through reason, through emotion, or through will." He asks: "It is your honor to clarify whether these means are valid, because the music teacher says they are literary expressions, while the philosophy teacher says they are ideological expressions."
The Shaykh:
No, these are expressions of disbelief, not literary ones. The last statement in particular—I do not know where I came from, I do not know where I am going, I do not know—this is confusion and doubt, and may Allah protect us from it. This is disbelief. We know where we came from, we know where we are going, and we know the path of good and the path of evil by what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has revealed to us. So this is denial of what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has revealed. Faith is attained through the means he mentioned, by inheritance, by such and such? No, faith is only attained through the Book and the Sunnah, and by following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is not permissible to remain silent about this speech; rather, it is obligatory to write about it and submit it to His Eminence the Mufti for review, because this is dangerous, especially if it is in a textbook that is taught to students. As for the first statement, which is
The questioner:
"Whoever is not strong in power, strong in will, and strong in determination, is a Muslim without Islam."
The Shaykh:
This is false speech. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The stronger believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, although both are good.
المؤمن القوي خير وأحب إلى الله من المؤمن الضعيف وفي كل خير
Source
شرح لمعة الاعتقاد [ صالح الفوزان ]، بداية من قوله : وقال تعالى : { ما أصاب من مصيبة في الأرض ولا في أنفسكم إلا في كتاب من قبل أن نبرأها } — islamhouse.com (58:19)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.