Is the argument established against disbelievers merely by their hearing about Islam, or must all the tenets of Islam reach them?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : How is the argument established against them? Do all the tenets of Islamic belief have to reach them, or is it sufficient that they merely hear that there is something called Islam in... what?
The Shaykh : Now I want to distinguish between two matters, as I have noticed that many Muslims do not distinguish between them. We have two realities: the first is faith (iman) and the second is Islam. Faith and Islam often coincide, and in many or few cases they do not coincide. That is, we can conceive of a Muslim who is not a believer. Do you understand this concept?
The questioner : Understood.
The Shaykh : Very good.
So, if you are asking your question regarding faith, it has an answer, and if you are asking regarding Islam, it has an answer.
The questioner : Suppose...
The Shaykh : You have done well.
A person does not escape eternal abode in the Fire except by believing in everything that has reached him from Allah and His Messenger; from Allah and His Messenger, except by believing in everything that has reached him from Allah and His Messenger. He does not escape eternal abode in the Fire except by believing in everything that has come from Allah and His Messenger. If he denies the least thing of what has reached him from Allah and His Messenger...
The questioner : Belief.
The Shaykh : Then it is...
Denial. I say: this denial is a belief. If he denies any of that, he is eternally in the Fire. This is from the perspective of faith.
As for Islam, merely testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, meaning raising the banner of testimony to Allah in His oneness and to the Prophet in his messengership, he is treated as a Muslim, even if he is among the hypocrites in his heart who are in the lowest depth of the Fire. This is because their hypocrisy is a hidden matter from us, and their reckoning is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), He is the One who will judge them. But as long as he has displayed Islam, we treat him as a Muslim. Therefore, it is not permissible to mix the two matters; between Islam and faith. While we are speaking about what saves the Muslim, we say: if we see him praying night and day and being the most God-fearing of people, but in his heart he denies, for example, the pre-Zuhr sunnah, then he is eternally in the Fire, and all these acts of worship and obedience will never benefit him. And the reverse is the reverse: if he testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah sincerely from his heart, but he falls short in fulfilling its practical implications, then he is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith:Sahih al-Bukhari 5401, and as the many hadiths have come in succession regarding the intercession of the Messenger (peace be upon him), then the intercession of the Lord of the Worlds: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2598Sahih (Darussalam). So he is saved as long as his faith in the Shari'ah that has reached him has been affirmed by him, and he has not denied or rejected it.
Therefore, the issue of faith is one thing and Islam is another; that is: the inner reality is one thing, and this is between the servant and his Lord (Glorified and Exalted is He), and the outward appearance is another thing, and this is among the children of Adam, some with others. This outward appearance often contradicts, without doubt. A person says: there is no god but Allah, for example, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, but on the other hand, he may say: my brother, prayer is reactionary, for example. This is an outward contradiction of his Islam, contradicting what he claimed of there being no god but Allah and Muhammad being the Messenger of Allah. Because this testimony necessitates, as Abu Bakr said in the story of the people of apostasy: "except by its right, and their reckoning is with Allah." So the right of the testimony is to acknowledge everything that the one testified to as a messenger brought from the one testified to as the One in His oneness (Glorified and Exalted is He).
So if he explicitly denies, nothing is gained from his previous testimony except that he is trying to be a hypocrite, and soon his hypocrisy will be exposed. Therefore, doctrinal hypocrisy, as is the case with the hypocrites in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), some of their hypocrisy was exposed, and some of their hypocrisy was not exposed. So within the bounds of Islam, we deal with people by their outward appearances. If only Islam appears from them, they are Muslims, even if they are the most disbelieving of disbelievers in their hearts with the Lord of the Worlds. And if what contradicts Islam appears from them, and what denies what is established in Islam, then the testimony that there is no god but Allah does not benefit him, according to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):.
And upon you be peace and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Did I perhaps answer you?
The Shaykh : Now I want to distinguish between two matters, as I have noticed that many Muslims do not distinguish between them. We have two realities: the first is faith (iman) and the second is Islam. Faith and Islam often coincide, and in many or few cases they do not coincide. That is, we can conceive of a Muslim who is not a believer. Do you understand this concept?
The questioner : Understood.
The Shaykh : Very good.
So, if you are asking your question regarding faith, it has an answer, and if you are asking regarding Islam, it has an answer.
The questioner : Suppose...
The Shaykh : You have done well.
A person does not escape eternal abode in the Fire except by believing in everything that has reached him from Allah and His Messenger; from Allah and His Messenger, except by believing in everything that has reached him from Allah and His Messenger. He does not escape eternal abode in the Fire except by believing in everything that has come from Allah and His Messenger. If he denies the least thing of what has reached him from Allah and His Messenger...
The questioner : Belief.
The Shaykh : Then it is...
Denial. I say: this denial is a belief. If he denies any of that, he is eternally in the Fire. This is from the perspective of faith.
As for Islam, merely testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, meaning raising the banner of testimony to Allah in His oneness and to the Prophet in his messengership, he is treated as a Muslim, even if he is among the hypocrites in his heart who are in the lowest depth of the Fire. This is because their hypocrisy is a hidden matter from us, and their reckoning is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), He is the One who will judge them. But as long as he has displayed Islam, we treat him as a Muslim. Therefore, it is not permissible to mix the two matters; between Islam and faith. While we are speaking about what saves the Muslim, we say: if we see him praying night and day and being the most God-fearing of people, but in his heart he denies, for example, the pre-Zuhr sunnah, then he is eternally in the Fire, and all these acts of worship and obedience will never benefit him. And the reverse is the reverse: if he testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah sincerely from his heart, but he falls short in fulfilling its practical implications, then he is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith:
Narrated '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 دهرهWhoever had the weight of a speck of faith in his heart will depart from the Fire.
أخرجوا مِن النار مَن كان في قلبه مثقال ذرَّة من إيمانTherefore, the issue of faith is one thing and Islam is another; that is: the inner reality is one thing, and this is between the servant and his Lord (Glorified and Exalted is He), and the outward appearance is another thing, and this is among the children of Adam, some with others. This outward appearance often contradicts, without doubt. A person says: there is no god but Allah, for example, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, but on the other hand, he may say: my brother, prayer is reactionary, for example. This is an outward contradiction of his Islam, contradicting what he claimed of there being no god but Allah and Muhammad being the Messenger of Allah. Because this testimony necessitates, as Abu Bakr said in the story of the people of apostasy: "except by its right, and their reckoning is with Allah." So the right of the testimony is to acknowledge everything that the one testified to as a messenger brought from the one testified to as the One in His oneness (Glorified and Exalted is He).
So if he explicitly denies, nothing is gained from his previous testimony except that he is trying to be a hypocrite, and soon his hypocrisy will be exposed. Therefore, doctrinal hypocrisy, as is the case with the hypocrites in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), some of their hypocrisy was exposed, and some of their hypocrisy was not exposed. So within the bounds of Islam, we deal with people by their outward appearances. If only Islam appears from them, they are Muslims, even if they are the most disbelieving of disbelievers in their hearts with the Lord of the Worlds. And if what contradicts Islam appears from them, and what denies what is established in Islam, then the testimony that there is no god but Allah does not benefit him, according to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
How many are there who stand in prayer but have nothing from their standing except sleeplessness, and how many are there who fast but have nothing from their fasting except hunger and thirst.
كم من قائمٍ ليس له من قيامه إلا السهر ، وكم من صائمٍ ليس له من صيامه إلا الجوع والعطشAnd upon you be peace and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Did I perhaps answer you?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.