What is the difference between Islam and faith?
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The Shaykh : ... he is a believer but does not speak of his Islam.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: All right; we must distinguish by understanding the subject ... between faith and Islam. Faith pertains to what settles in the heart, while Islam pertains to the limbs. Faith pertains to creed, while Islam pertains to deeds. It is possible to imagine a true believer who does not act upon his Islam, but his faith is then deficient and weak. It is feared that he will collapse at the slightest suitable trial or at the slightest trial in which this believer who is not a Muslim—meaning: not one who acts upon his Islam—is tested.
So the one who is a believer in creed is presumed to be a verifier of everything that came with Islam. Islam, for example, came with prayer, it came with zakah, it came with fasting, it came with Hajj, and so on. So when he saysThe questioner : he is a believer, we should keep in mind that he is a believer in everything that came in the Shari'ah regarding matters of the unseen, but at the same time he does not act upon them; that is, he does not perform Islam. This Islam came with pillars, so if he leaves them, his faith is deficient, but not nonexistent. And if he dies in this state while being a true believer, he will be saved on the Day of Resurrection from eternal abode in the Fire; because the Fire on the Day of Resurrection is two fires: an eternal fire and a temporary fire, if the expression is correct. The eternal fire is the recompense of the defiant disbelievers to whom the call reached and the proof was established against them, then [An-Naml 27:14]. As for the temporary fire, it is the fire of the sinners among the believers, and each one of them has a proportion of punishment that corresponds to his neglect of Islam in action or omission; I mean, there are obligations that he must perform but he neglected them, and there are prohibitions that he must abstain from but he committed them. So each of these has his share of punishment in the Hereafter, then his testimony that there is no god but Allah and his belief that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah save him; as he (peace be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 5401. So whoever is a true believer and this is a word of truth—meaning he does not doubt or have any uncertainty about everything that came with Islam, like this speech we detailed earlier regarding the punishment—whoever believes that there is punishment in the Fire even for the people of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) because of their sins and disobedience; he is as if he is dedicating himself to entering this Fire and enduring its fire, and not enduring the fire of his disobedience to the desires of the self; because our Lord says: Pray, but he does not pray! His self says: Do not pray, and he obeys it, while he knows that in the Hereafter there is punishment. So he is making his state one of Fire, and is content with the mere fact that this faith has not shown its effect on his limbs and his body.
In summary: if the creed, faith, and tawhid (the oneness of Allah) are correct in the heart of the believer, he is saved from eternal abode in the punishment, and he is not like the disbelievers. But that does not mean that he will not be punished absolutely; because there are matters that the Shari'ah came with as commands or prohibitions, so the Muslim must perform them; otherwise he will meet what he deserves of punishment.
This is what we have of the answer.
Other than that?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: All right; we must distinguish by understanding the subject ... between faith and Islam. Faith pertains to what settles in the heart, while Islam pertains to the limbs. Faith pertains to creed, while Islam pertains to deeds. It is possible to imagine a true believer who does not act upon his Islam, but his faith is then deficient and weak. It is feared that he will collapse at the slightest suitable trial or at the slightest trial in which this believer who is not a Muslim—meaning: not one who acts upon his Islam—is tested.
So the one who is a believer in creed is presumed to be a verifier of everything that came with Islam. Islam, for example, came with prayer, it came with zakah
Establish prayer and give zakah
أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَthey rejected them, while their [inner] selves were convinced thereof
جَحَدُوا بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَا أَنْفُسُهُمْNarrated 'Urban bin Malik: who attended the Badr battle and was from the Ansar, that he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have lost my eyesight and I lead my people in the prayer (as an Imam). When it rains, the valley which is between me and my people, flows with water, and then I cannot go to their mosque to lead them in the prayer. O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I wish that you could come and pray in my house so that I may take it as a praying place. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah willing, I will do that." The next morning, soon after the sun had risen, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came with Abu Bakr. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked for the permission to enter and I admitted him. The Prophet (ﷺ) had not sat till he had entered the house and said to me, "Where do you like me to pray in your house?" I pointed at a place in my house whereupon he stood and said, "Allahu Akbar." We lined behind him and he prayed two rak`at and finished it with Taslim. We then requested him to stay for a special meal of Khazira which we had prepared. A large number of men from the adjoining area gathered in the house. One of them said, "Where is Malik bin Ad-Dukhshun?" Another man said, "He is a hypocrite and does not love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Do not say so. Do you not think that he has said: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," seeking Allah's pleasure? The man said, "Allah and His Apostle know better, but we have always seen him mixing with hypocrites and giving them advice." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has forbidden the (Hell) Fire for those who testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, seeking Allah's pleasure. "
مَن قال لا إله إلا الله نَفَعَتْه يومًا من دهرهIn summary: if the creed, faith, and tawhid (the oneness of Allah) are correct in the heart of the believer, he is saved from eternal abode in the punishment, and he is not like the disbelievers. But that does not mean that he will not be punished absolutely; because there are matters that the Shari'ah came with as commands or prohibitions, so the Muslim must perform them; otherwise he will meet what he deserves of punishment.
This is what we have of the answer.
Other than that?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.