How do I know if a person is among the pious so that I may greet him?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : A questioner says: Honorable Shaykh! You mentioned that a person should greet the Muslim, the believer, the pious one. So if I know that he is a Muslim.
The Shaykh : I did not say "the Muslim, the believer, the pious one." I said:
The questioner : What is the point? The point is:
The Shaykh : The believer, the pious one. I corrected the word "Muslim" because the open sinner is a Muslim, and faith is more specific than Islam. So every believer is a Muslim, but not every Muslim is a believer.[Al-Hujurat 49:14] Yes, correct the phrase.
The questioner : All right, you mentioned (may Allah preserve you) that a person should greet the believer, the pious one. So if I meet a person, how do I know that he is among the pious?
The Shaykh : Yes. The default is that if we do not know that a Muslim falls into what is forbidden, we assume he is free from it. That he is safe from it, so we greet him. This is the default. But if he is shaving his beard, or if he has a bottle in his hand drinking smoke, or if he is wearing his garment tight, you know that the man has a deficiency in his faith.
The presenter : May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh
The Shaykh : I did not say "the Muslim, the believer, the pious one." I said:
The questioner : What is the point? The point is:
The Shaykh : The believer, the pious one. I corrected the word "Muslim" because the open sinner is a Muslim, and faith is more specific than Islam. So every believer is a Muslim, but not every Muslim is a believer.
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 قُلُوبِكُمْThe questioner : All right, you mentioned (may Allah preserve you) that a person should greet the believer, the pious one. So if I meet a person, how do I know that he is among the pious?
The Shaykh : Yes. The default is that if we do not know that a Muslim falls into what is forbidden, we assume he is free from it. That he is safe from it, so we greet him. This is the default. But if he is shaving his beard, or if he has a bottle in his hand drinking smoke, or if he is wearing his garment tight, you know that the man has a deficiency in his faith.
The presenter : May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh
Source
دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام لعام 1414 هـ - 14 — binothaimeen.net (53:20)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.