And what is the reasoning behind your citing the Hanafi school's position on the matter—that faith either exists or it does not—as being supported by the hadith regarding the faith of the fornicator?

The Shaykh : As for the questioner's statement: "And what is the reasoning behind your citing the Hanafi school's position on the matter—that faith either exists or it does not—as being supported by the hadith regarding the faith of the fornicator; given that it aligns with their school? How does it align with their school? Do the Hanafis say: the fornicator becomes a disbeliever?"
The answer: No. I have explained to you what the Hanafis say, which supports the fact that the correct view on the matter of faith is the position of the majority. It is sufficient to alert the questioner that the verses he referred to are explicit regarding the increase of faith. Therefore, if a hadith comes to us like the one he asked about, or the hadith: ; we must interpret these hadiths in a way that agrees with the other texts from the Book and the Sunnah, so that we remain safe and protected from deviation to the right or the left, becoming like the Khawarij or the Mu'tazilah—may Allah the Exalted protect us from that!